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, Summer 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

Undergraduate studnets must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0. Graduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. 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. Please note that your eligibility is based on the overall GPA, not the semester GPAs.

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. This also includes credits transferred into Temple, regardless of whether they are applicable to your degree program.

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. This also includes transfer credits accepted by the university, regardless of whether they are applicable to your degree program. 

Appeals

If you are are deemed ineligible for aid due to Satisfactory Academic Progress, you are able to appeal through the SFS Dashboard, temple.studentforms.com as long as you have a valid FAFSA on file for the current year and you have experienced an extenuating circumstance that impacted your progress. Further details are below. A full explanation of the policy, including the statuses, is linked below. Appeals are opened for FAFSA-filers in the Dashboard; non-FAFSA filers need to contact SFS to request a SAP or MAX Time Appeal.

You need to provide an appeal statement, supporting documentation, and a signed copy of your Financial Aid Plan (FAPLAN) as part of your SAP appeal. The statement needs to thoroughly explain what prevented you from making progress, the changes you have made or steps taken to overcome those challenges, and your plan for academic success moving forward. Your documentation should support both what happened and what has changed. It should be third-party documentation, such as statements from medical professionals, clergy, teachers, mentors, counselors, etc. The appropriate documentation will vary based on your circumstances.

If you are taking a leave of absence, your SAP status will roll forward to the semester you return. If you need to appeal your eligibility, please do so upon your return (Fall or Spring).

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. 

Every effort is made to review appeals efficiently. However, we cannot guarantee a response prior to the end of add/drop each term.

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. 

Timeframes

The SAP Committee begins reviewing appeals in mid-July, and reviews continue until April each year. The committee may determine during the course of an appeal review that more information is needed or additional documentation is required. Students are asked to provide those updated statements and documentation requests within two calendar weeks to ensure the appeals are reviewed in a timely manner, and due to the volume of appeals the committee reviews annually. Appeals may be denied if students do not respond within those two weeks. Extensions are granted on a case-by-case basis, so we encourage you to contact SFS if you need more time.

The latest you may submit a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal is two weeks prior to the end of the semester. Appeals submitted after this point are not guaranteed a complete review. It takes time to review appeals, approve (if possible) and reinstate or process aid. Therefore, appeals submitted with less than two weeks remaining in the term are not guaranteed to undergo a thorough review. This is separate from the above timeframes to provide requested information.

 

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 2024 registration only

December 17, 2024

November 26, 2024

December 9, 2024

Spring 2025 registration only, or Fall 2024 & Spring 2025

May 6, 2025

April 18, 2024

April 29, 2025