Statement of Policies

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Under new federal regulations that became effective on July 1, 2011, Stanford is required to implement Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies to ensure that students receiving federal student aid are making adequate progress toward completing their degree programs.

Introduction/Background

The information on this page applies to all undergraduate students (new and continuing students) who are requesting federal and/or state student aid funds for Autumn Quarter 2011 or any subsequent quarter. Federal and state student aid programs include Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Cal Grants, Federal Work-Study, Perkins Loans, Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans (Graduate or Parent). For Direct PLUS Loans borrowed by parents of undergraduate students, the parent borrower's eligibility to receive loan funds is dependent on the student's SAP Status.

Stanford's federal student aid SAP policies for undergraduate students are similar, but not identical, to the university's Academic Standing policies. Students should review both sets of policies and ask for clarification as needed. Questions about federal student aid SAP policies should be directed to the Financial Aid Office; questions about the university's Academic Standing policies should be directed to the Undergraduate Advising & Research office at advising@stanford.edu.

Conditions for Making Satisfactory Academic Progress

In order to maintain full eligibility for federal student aid funds authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, undergraduate students at Stanford must meet the following five conditions for each quarter of enrollment:

Minimum Earned Units Per Quarter: 9

Students must successfully earn at least nine course units per quarter. Successful completion means obtaining a passing grade. Students who are in Financial Aid Warning status or Financial Aid Probation status must earn at least twelve units per quarter.

Minimum Earned Units Over Three Quarters: 36

Students must successfully earn at least 36 course units over the most recent three quarters, not including Summer Quarter.

Minimum Cumulative Pace of Progression: 60%

Pace of progression is defined as total earned course units divided by total attempted course units during all quarters of enrollment at Stanford. Transfer units and test units that count toward the Stanford degree program are included as both attempted and earned units in the pace calculation.

Example: Student A has attended Stanford for three quarters. During that time, Student A attempted 45 units and earned 36 units. She also has earned 15 units of credit toward her Stanford degree from AP tests. For purposes of the pace calculation, her total earned units would be 36 + 15 = 51. Her total attempted units would be 45 + 15 = 60. Therefore, her cumulative pace of progression would be 51/60 = 85%. Since her pace is at or above 60%, she meets the cumulative pace of progression condition for SAP.

Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA): 2.00

Transfer units and test units are not included in the GPA calculation.

Maximum Quarters of Enrollment: 18

Undergraduate students cannot receive federal student aid funds after the equivalent of 18 total quarters of enrollment in any undergraduate program at any institution, including Stanford. Semesters generally are counted as 1.5 quarters. Partially earned quarters are included in the total number of quarters. Quarters are counted even if a student earns zero units. Note: A student who has earned the equivalent of 18 quarters is assigned an SAP Status of Financial Aid Ineligible, with no appeal possible.

Consequences of Failure to Make Satisfactory Academic Progress

The Financial Aid Office (FAO) measures SAP at the end of each quarter. If the student meets all five of the conditions listed above, they remain eligible to receive federal student aid funds in the next quarter of enrollment. Otherwise, one of the following SAP Status designations will be assigned to the student.

SAP Status: Financial Aid Warning

If a student without an existing SAP Status fails to meet any or all of the five SAP conditions, the student will enter Financial Aid Warning status for their next quarter of enrollment. The student will be notified of this status via electronic communication from the FAO within four weeks of the end of the quarter. The student will continue to be eligible to receive federal student aid funds while in Financial Aid Warning status. No action is required on the part of the student to continue to receive federal student aid funds while in Financial Aid Warning status. However, the student may be required to meet with an academic advisor at the Undergraduate Advising & Research (UAR) office. In addition, students in Financial Aid Warning status are subject to an increased Minimum Earned Units Per Quarter condition: the student must earn at least 12 units.

Financial Aid Warning is a one-time status. If a student has been in Financial Aid Warning status in the past, and fails to meet any or all of the five SAP conditions for the current quarter, the student's status will be changed to Financial Aid Ineligible, bypassing Financial Aid Warning.

SAP Status: Financial Aid Ineligible

If a student in Financial Aid Warning status fails to meet any or all of the five SAP conditions at the end of the Financial Aid Warning quarter, their status will change to Financial Aid Ineligible. A student in this status is ineligible for federal student aid status. The student will be notified of Financial Aid Ineligible status via electronic communication from the FAO within four weeks of the end of the quarter. In some cases, federal student aid funds for the next quarter may have been disbursed to the student before the notification of Financial Aid Ineligible status is made; when this situation arises, the federal student aid disbursements will be removed from the student's account, which may result in a balance due to the University.

Appeal Process
Students in Financial Aid Ineligible status may appeal the loss of eligibility by meeting with a UAR advisor to develop an academic plan. Once the academic plan has been approved by the UAR, the FAO will change the student's status to Financial Aid Probation and will notify the student via electronic communication. To schedule a meeting with a UAR advisor, call (650) 723-2426 or stop by the first floor of Sweet Hall.

SAP Status: Financial Aid Probation

A student in Financial Aid Probation status is eligible to receive federal student aid funds. If aid funds had already been disbursed to the student, then were reversed when the student entered Financial Aid Ineligible status, the funds will be re-disbursed to the student.

If a student in Financial Aid Probation status meets all five conditions for SAP, the student's Financial Aid Probation status is removed, and the student regains full eligibility for federal student aid funds for the subsequent quarter. If a student in Financial Aid Probation status does not meet all five conditions for SAP, the student returns to Financial Aid Ineligible status for the subsequent quarter and must appeal again in order to return to Financial Aid Probation status.

Special Circumstances

Drops and Withdrawals

If a student drops a course or reduces their number of enrolled units prior to the Final Study List deadline for the quarter, the dropped units are not included as attempted units in the SAP Status calculation. If a student withdraws from a course after the Final Study List deadline, they will receive a notation of "W" for the course, and the units for the course will be included as attempted units in the SAP Status calculation.

Incompletes

The units for a course in which the student has received a grade of Incomplete are included in the SAP Status calculation as attempted units but not as earned units.

Reduced Course Load

If a student has received approval from the Office of Accessible Education to enroll for a reduced course load, the Minimum Earned Units Per Quarter and Minimum Earned Units Over Three Quarters conditions may be reduced to 8 and 24 units, respectively. The student remains subject to the standard Minimum Cumulative Pace of Progression, Minimum Cumulative GPA and Maximum Quarters of Enrollment conditions.

Repeated Courses

A student may repeat a course in order to earn a higher grade. When a student repeats a course for the first time ("first repeat"), the units for this course count as attempted units in the SAP Status calculation, and count as earned units if a passing grade is obtained. In certain circumstances a student may be given permission by the UAR to repeat a course for a second time ("second repeat"). However, "second repeat" units are not included as attempted or earned units in the SAP Status calculation.

Summer Quarter

Summer is a non-standard quarter for undergraduate students at Stanford. For students who wish to receive federal student aid funds for Summer Quarter, the Financial Aid Office will calculate their SAP Status as of the end of Spring quarter, and this status will determine whether the student may receive federal student aid funds for Summer.

The Minimum Earned Units Per Quarter condition does not apply to Summer Quarter enrollment. Students may enroll for any number of Summer units (or none at all) without impacting their eligibility to receive federal student aid funds for subsequent enrollment. Similarly, the Minimum Earned Units Over Three Quarters condition does not apply to Summer enrollment. However, Summer Quarter units will be included in the evaluation of Minimum Cumulative Pace of Progression, Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average, and Maximum Quarters of Enrollment when determining eligibility for subsequent quarters.

Updated on August 7, 2014 12:55 PM