What is SAP?
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) are a set of standards a student must maintain to be eligible for and to receive any federal aid, state aid, certain types of institutional aid and some private educational loans.
What are the SAP Standards?
At Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) students are required to meet all of the following requirements to continue receiving any federal aid, state aid, or institutional aid:
- 2.00 overall grade point average (GPA),
- Successful completion of at least two-thirds of all attempted coursework, and
- Take no more than 150% of the credits required for degree completion (for example, an associate’s degree of 60 credit hours must be completed within 90 credit hours).
The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy is located in the FSW Catalog.
When are SAP Standards measured?
The SAP process runs after grades post at the end of every semester. If a student is not meeting the SAP standards at the end of the semester but have met these standards in the past, the student will be placed in a “financial aid warning” status which allows the student to maintain eligibility for aid for one semester. If the student does not meet the minimum requirements after this one semester warning period, the student becomes ineligible and will no longer receive financial aid.
What if I don’t meet the minimum requirements after the “financial aid warning” period?
If a student does not meet all of the SAP standards during the financial aid warning period, the student will be placed on “financial aid suspension” and become ineligible for financial aid. The student will NOT receive financial aid for the next semester without an approved SAP appeal. Without an approved appeal, the student will remain on financial aid suspension until they are again meeting all the SAP standards.
How can I submit a SAP Appeal?
Students not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards who have extenuating circumstances that prevented successful completion of any of the SAP standards have the opportunity to submit an Appeal to our office. The online appeal application can be found at https://fsw.studentforms.com and by selecting the “ Manage Requests” icon. Appeals must be accompanied by supporting documentation and an academic plan approved by both an academic advisor and financial aid. Appeals are reviewed within two weeks of submission. A successful appeal allows a student to continue receiving aid on financial aid probation while they adhere to the approved academic plan.
Priority Submission Deadlines:
- Fall 2025: 7/26/2024
- Spring 2025: 12/09/2024
- Summer 2025: 05/01/2025
If, appeals are submitted after these deadlines, the appeal will be accepted through the end of add/drop, but there is no guarantee that the review will be completed in time to hold student’s classes. The last day to submit an appeal is that period's add/drop deadline per the academic calendar. All appeals submitted after the deadline will be applied to the next semester.
