Keeping Your Aid - Graduate Students

What is Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)?

The US Department of Education (via The Higher Education Act of 1965) requires that all institutions of higher education establish a minimum standard of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for students receiving federal financial aid. At CSULB, these SAP Standards are applicable to all federal, state, and institutional aid programs for the purpose of maintaining a consistent policy for all students receiving financial aid.
 

CSULB has three specific standards for measuring Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for students applying for, and receiving, financial aid:

1. GPA Standard: Maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA (Graduate Students)

2. Pace of Progress Standard: Complete at least 67% of cumulative credit hours attempted

3. Maximum Time Frame (MTF) Standard: Not exceed the established Maximum Time Frame for completing a degree (based on attempted units).

Your SAP Status is reviewed after each semester in order to verify your continued eligibility to receive financial aid.  You will receive an email letting you know that results of the review – and the impact on your ability to continue to receive aid. 

Failure to meet one or more of the SAP Standards may affect whether or not you can continue to receive your aid.

Once you have been enrolled for at least one semester at CSULB, you can monitor your SAP status through your MyCSULB Student Center, including how you measure up against each of the three required SAP Standards. Please note that if you do not attend CSULB during a specific semester, but were previously enrolled at the University, we will evaluate your SAP status prior to the awarding – and/or release of funds.

Students who are not meeting SAP may be able to appeal the decision.  For more information regarding the appeal process, please review our Understanding SAP page.

In order to be eligible to receive your financial aid funds, there are enrollment requirements that you must meet. All financial aid awards are initially offered based on the expectation of full-time enrollment; a minimum of half-time enrollment is required in order to remain eligible to receive funds from State and CSULB Grants, Federal Loans, and Federal Work-Study. As you add and drop units, your eligibility for various financial aid programs will increase or decrease.

The final amount of aid that you will receive in any semester will be based upon your official enrollment as measured at University Census, which is the last day of the add/drop period. This occurs at the end of the fourth week of the semester. At Census, CSULB takes a snapshot of all students' enrollment which becomes your official University enrollment status.

Review Types of Aid for details on how your enrollment will impact your specific awards. 

The decision about whether or not to drop a class is an academic matter that should always be discussed with your academic program or advisor; however, it is your responsibility to understand the financial implications of this decision. Dropping a class may impact your aid eligibility for the current and future semesters. Your aid will be recalculated at Census based on your verified enrollment; you may have to return some, or all, of your aid for the current semester – depending on your enrollment status. Review Types of Aid for details on how your enrollment will impact your specific awards

The impact on your aid eligibility depends on the time during the semester that you drop a class:

Period I: First two weeks (Fall and Spring)

• You will not receive a grade for a course you withdraw from during this time (the dropped course will not be recorded on your transcript)
• Financial Aid Awards may be adjusted based on specific enrollment requirements for each award.
• You are responsible for any charges resulting from an enrollment change and your aid eligibility

Period II: Third through fourth week/Census (Fall and Spring)

• You will receive a “W” grade for the course when you withdraw, which may impact your SAP Status
  • Classes with a grade of W impact both the Pace of Progress and the Maximum Time Frame Standards for financial aid, as these courses are considered to be Attempted – but not Completed
• Financial Aid awardsmay be adjusted based on specific enrollment requirements for each award.
• You are responsible for any charges resulting from an enrollment change and your aid eligibility

Period III:  Fifth Week through the end of the semester (Fall and Spring)

• You will receive a “W” grade for the course when you withdraw, which may impact your SAP Status
  • Classes with a grade of W impact both the Pace of Progress and the Maximum Time Frame Standards for financial aid, as these courses are considered to be Attempted – but not Completed
• Financial Aid awards that were already releasedwill not be adjusted
• New Financial Aid award amounts will be based on your enrollment at the time of awarding

The laws governing federal financial aid state that a student must "earn" federal financial aid awards directly in proportion to the number of days of the term attended. In other words, you earn your financial aid as you attend class.

If you completely withdraw from all classes during a semester, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships must recalculate your aid eligibility based on the amount of aid you “earned” (according to the Return of Title IV Funds policy).  If you received, or the school received on your behalf, more aid than was earned, the unearned funds must be returned to the federal programs, which may result in a balance due on your account.

Additionally, withdrawing from all classes can also affect your Satisfactory Academic Progress, which ultimately affects your aid eligibility. For more information, review our Understanding SAP  page. 

Impact on Financial Aid if you withdraw from ALL classes

• Your financial aid will be recalculated based on “earned” aid
• You will be notified by email with the results of the aid recalculation (within 30 days of withdrawing from CSULB)
• You will be required to return the portion of aid that was not earned
• If you have received a loan (for the current semester, or in previous semesters), your loans will enter into their 6-month grace period. If you have previously used the entire 6 month grace period – your loans will enter active repayment.
• All classes that receive a grade of “W” may negatively impact your SAP Status (both the Pace of Progress and the Maximum Time Frame Standards for financial aid), as these courses are considered to be Attempted – but not Completed

Federal and state regulations limit your eligibility for financial aid with regards to retaking or repeating coursework. You may only receive financial aid for one repetition of a previously passed course (grade of D or better). In addition, repeated courses will not count towards your actual enrollment for financial aid purposes. Make sure to review our Understanding Repeat Coursework and Aid Eligibility page.

Impact on Financial Aid

• You will be notified by email if you are registered for any courses that are considered to be not eligible for aid due to retaking / repeating the course
• Your enrollment for the semester will be verified at Census.  If you are registered for any courses that are not eligible for aid due to retaking / repeating the course, your aid will be recalculated based on enrollment in aid eligible courses only
• The aid recalculation may result in an adjustment to your aid based on specific enrollment requirements for each award. Review Types of Aid for details on how your enrollment will impact your specific awards
• Each time you retake (repeat) a class, it counts as units attempted.  This may negatively impact your SAP Status (both the Pace of Progress and the Maximum Time Frame Standards for financial aid), as these courses are considered to be Attempted – but not Completed
• You are responsible for any charges resulting from an enrollment recalculation (and your aid eligibility)