Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Federal financial aid regulations require you to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA and progress at a pace to ensure that you achieve your degree within the maximum timeframe permitted, as measured in credit hours. Temple University's SAP policy is intended to assist you in reaching graduation within the timeframe.

You must maintain SAP to remain eligible for financial aid. To ensure financial aid recipients are making Satisfactory Academic Progress, Student Financial Services will review GPA, Pace, and Program Length at the end of each academic term (Fall, Spring, Ssmmer I, Summer II). We review all terms for all students, even if you did not receive financial aid in that semester. You will be assigned a SAP Status based on your progress that you can view on Self-Service Banner within TUPortal, under the Financial Aid tab. You must meet both the GPA and Pace requirements to retain your financial aid eligibility.

GPA

As an undergraduate student, you must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0. Graduate students should refer to their college for the GPA requirements. Grades of A, B, C, D, and F (including +/- variations) affect your GPA. Grades of W, WE, I, NC, and MG do not affect GPA.  

PACE

You must successfully earn at least 67% of your attempted credits to maintain Pace. 'Attempted credits' are defined as credits you registered for, and remain registered for beyond the add/drop period for your academic term. Course outcomes of F, W, WE, I, NC, and MG all affect your pace. 

MAXIMUM TIME FRAME

You must complete your program within 150% of the allotted credits, including all transfer credits and credits not associated with your degree but earned. 

Students who do not meet their GPA, Pace, and/or Program Length are able to submit a SAP or Maximum Time Frame Appeal via the SFS Dashboard - see below for more information. A full explanation of the policy, including the statuses, is linked below.

SAP-Related Forms

Financial Aid Plan (FAPLAN)
Financial Aid Graduation Form (FAMAX)
Full SAP Policy

Eligibility Review

Academic records are reviewed by the Office of Student Financial Services (SFS) once the Office of the University Registrar completes the end of semester processing review and grades are transcripted. This review typically begins 1-2 weeks after the final grading dates for each term.

All SAP benchmarks are reviewed on a cumulative basis - GPA, Pace, and Program Length. You must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA (cGPA) of 2.0 or higher. Pace is determined by calculating the number of earned credits divided by the number of attempted credits. You must meet both. Program Length is determined by 150% of the your required credits for degree completion. You can consult the Temple University Bulletin for your individual program length. 

Students whose PACE exceeds 67%, who meet the 2.0 cGPA, and who have not reached the 150% of the credits required for their program are considered to be making Satisfactory Academic Progress and are eligible for financial aid.

Students who are not meeting the 67% threshold and/or the 2.0 cGPA for the first time are placed on Financial Aid Warning. If a student does not meet the 67% and/or 2.0 cGPA threshold for a second semester (consecutive or not), then the student is placed on Financial Aid Ineligibility beginning with the next immediate term.

Academic Forgiveness

Students who are readmitted to the University under Academic Forgiveness will retain their former academic progress standing. Students who enter Academic Forgiveness as ineligible have the option to appeal for financial aid. Please consult the Academic Forgiveness section of the University Bulletin.

Although a student's cumulative GPA may have been reset to 0.00 due to Academic Forgiveness, all of their attempted credits (including those no longer being used for credit by the University) must be factored into the calculation of their completion percentage. Students who are admitted under Academic Forgiveness but who do not meet the 67% threshold or the maximum time frame limit may submit an appeal.

Submitting a SAP or MAX Appeal

Students that have lost eligibility for financial aid may submit an appeal in order to regain financial aid eligibility. The SAP and MAX Appeals for the Fall and Spring are automatically opened for FAFSA-filers following the first notification of their ineligibility. Appeals received after a published final deadline may not be considered, and incomplete appeals will be automatically closed and denied. All appeals will be considered by a committee and their decision is final. Please do not submit any documentation to the Office of Student Financial Services via email. All appeal documents should be uploaded to the SFS Dashboard under the appropriate task listed. 

Appeals submitted prior to the priority deadline are reviewed and responded to by the end of the add/drop period. We cannot guarantee an approval, just that SFS will review the appeal and provide a response to the student. A response may be a request for more information, for a revision of provided information, a conditional approval, a denial, etc.

Because of the short time period between the end of the spring semester and the start of the summer session(s), appeals for summer are not considered, as we cannot ensure a timely review during those shortened periods.

Conditions of Appeals

Failure to finalize your submission by clicking the 'Submit' button, incomplete appeal forms, failure to submit required supporting documentation, and failure to e-sign your appeal will result in a denial for the current term and your appeal will be closed. 

The SFS office makes every effort to review appeals as quickly as possible so that our office can notify students of the decision before the end of the semester drop/add period (see Office of the University Registrar Academic Calendar for deadline date). However, please be aware that students may not receive a decision before the drop/add period concludes, so early submission is encouraged. All students are financially responsible for semester charges regardless of financial aid eligibility. 

Depending on the type of appeal you submit, you may be required to submit the following documents:

Updating Your Financial Aid Plan (FAPLAN or FAMAX)

Students placed on a Financial Aid Plan as a result of their appeal must adhere to that plan each term. This means you must attempt and earn the number of credits outlined on the plan, as well as meet the target GPA, for each term. 

If, for any reason, you cannot fulfill the terms of the plan, then you may submit an updated plan to Student Financial Services no later than the last day of classes in that term - not the last day of exams, the last day classes meet. Please review the university's Academic Calendar to determine the appropriate date for the term in question.

Re-Enrolling Students

Students who previously attended Temple and are re-enrolling are subject to the current SAP and MAX Time requirements. Prior credits attempted, earned, and/or transferred into Temple will be considered in the student's overall PACE and Program Length evaluations, even if it has been several years since your last semester at Temple. Re-enrolling students who are ineligible for aid are encouraged to submit an appeal via the guidelines above. 

 

There is not a deadline for submitting a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal. As long as you are actively enrolled, you may request the appeal during your registered term(s). However, there comes a point when we cannot provide a thorough review before the semester ends. As such, we recommend submitting your appeal no more than one week prior to the end of term to ensure our office can review before your enrollment ends for the year. Please see below for those suggested dates. We also strongly recommend providing all requested documentation with your appeal to ensure an efficient and timely review.

 

This table provides the dates when we can no longer process a SAP Appeal.

Enrollment Period

Last Day of the Enrollment Period

Last Day Students can Submit and Receive a Review

Last Day to Submit an FAPLAN

Fall 2023 registration only

December 19, 2023

December 1, 2023

December 14th, 2023

Spring 2024 registration only, or Fall 2023 & Spring 2024

May 7, 2024

April 15, 2024

April 30th, 2024