Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Student Aid Programs

Federal financial aid recipients are reviewed for compliance with the minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) at the end of each term in which they enroll. Three criteria are reviewed as part of SAP requirements: 

1. Qualitative. This is your cumulative GPA. 
2. Quantitative. This is the completion rate; the percentage of attempted coursework that is successfully completed. 
3. Maximum Timeframe. Students may attempt a maximum of 150% of the coursework required to complete their degree program. 

The following provisions apply to The University of Tampa’s standards of satisfactory academic progress for recipients of federal student aid:

1. Credit hours attempted are defined as those credits for which the student is enrolled at the expiration of the tuition refund period.
2. Courses may be repeated. GPA and credits are calculated in accordance with repeat course policies found under the Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog. A course for which a student earned credits may be counted toward her/his enrollment status, and the student may be awarded aid for the enrollment status based on inclusion of the class the first time it is repeated. If a student who earns credit for a class once and is repaid for retaking it and fails (earns no credit) the second time, that failure counts as the paid retake, and the student may not be paid for taking the class a third time. If a student receiving federal funds for a repeated course withdraws before completing the course, then it is not counted as the allowed retake for the course. This federal regulation applies even if the school or program policy requires a higher grade for the student to "pass" the course.  
3. A grade of “I” (incomplete) is considered unsuccessful, and the attempted credit hours are attributed to the successful completion percentage criterion.
4. Credit hours for course withdrawal (“W”) are attributable to the successful percentage completion criterion.   
5. Remedial coursework is counted towards both the GPA and completion percentage criteria. 
6. Changes in major do not affect the GPA and completion percentage criteria. 
7. Students who declare pursuit of a dual degree will have the requirements for both degrees considered in the maximum timeframe criterion. 

Students must meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress to receive aid from federal, state and most institutional aid programs. Generally, requirements for renewal of Florida and Institutional aid programs are more stringent than those of federal SAP. Therefore, students who lose their federal aid eligibility due to failure to meet SAP may also lose aid eligibility from other sources.