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Undergraduate Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Eligibility Components

To remain eligible for financial aid, a student must meet three components of Satisfactory Academic Progress. These include:

  1.   GPA: Students must maintain a cumulative 2.0 UCSC GPA to meet SAP for financial aid. SAP is measured at the end of each academic year.
  2.   Pace: Students are expected to enroll full-time, defined as 15 credits per quarter, to maintain good academic standing. You are expected to pass a minimum of 12 credits if you are full-time and 80% of credits attempted if enrolled in the Official Part-Time program.
  3.   Time to Degree: Degree requirements must be completed within a maximum time frame. Students are expected to satisfy all requirements for a degree by completing 180 quarter credits within 4 years. All students can complete or attempt up to 225 credits while receiving financial aid to complete a degree.  The attempted credit limit applies to the time you have spent at any college or post-secondary institution, including non-AP college transfer credits earned in high school, quarters during which you withdrew, and quarters in which you did not receive financial aid. It does not include quarters when you were not registered.

If the Undergraduate Satisfactory Academic Progress measures are not met, you will be required to submit a Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal. If an appeal is approved for GPA and/or Pace, you remain on financial aid probation and must meet the terms of your academic plan(s) to receive aid in subsequent quarters.

Financial Aid Academic Review Process

If an appeal is approved for GPA and/or Pace, you remain on financial aid probation and must meet the terms of your academic plan(s) to receive aid in subsequent quarters.  The Financial Aid and Scholarship office reviews academic progress at the end of each quarter before aid will be released while you are on probation.  This end-of-quarter review will determine the following:

  • If deficit(s) have been made up, financial aid eligibility is regained, and you are no longer on probation.

  • If the terms of the academic plan are met, but deficit(s) are not yet made up, the next quarter’s aid will be released.  You will remain on probation and be subject to review again before any subsequent quarter’s aid can be released.

  • Financial aid eligibility is lost if the terms of the academic plan are not met.  You may submit a new appeal for aid consideration if you have a new special circumstance.  If no new circumstances exist, you must regain eligibility to receive financial aid.

The limited time between quarters does not always allow for the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office to notify students of the review outcome before the start of the next quarter. We will do everything possible to give students timely notification.  Prior to notification, if you know that you did not meet the terms of the appeal and you are unable to finance your education without financial aid, then you may want to consider other options (including a withdrawal) as soon as possible to ensure minimal financial impact. Again we recommend you work with your Academic Adviser to assist with any such transition plan or other options.

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Undergraduate Students