App State’s Office of Student Financial Aid and University Scholarships is responsible for ensuring all students receiving federal aid meet minimum academic standards. To remain eligible for federal, state, and institutional financial aid, students must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward completing a degree or approved certificate program.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Financial Aid Eligibility

The following standards and processes govern App State’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Financial Aid Eligibility.

Standard 1: Qualitative Standard - Academic Standing (All students)

Appalachian State’s SAP policy for Standard 1 follows the university Academic Standing Policy, which states all students must maintain good academic standing based on the standards prescribed in Appalachian State University’s Bulletin, as applicable. 

In doing so, students must meet cumulative grade point average (GPA) requirements also prescribed in the appropriate bulletin. (It is important to note that transferred credits do not factor into Standard 1 because Appalachian State does not bring in GPAs for transferred credits). 

Students who do not meet Appalachian State’s standards of progress (e.g., those who are academically suspended) generally are ineligible for financial aid. However, students may appeal ineligibility for financial aid under Standard 1 if suspended and allowed to re-enroll in the term following suspension.

Students placed on academic probation are eligible for financial aid provided they meet Standards 2 and 3 below. 

All grades for attempted credit hours, including incomplete, unsatisfactory, and failing grades, as well as late drops or withdrawals are included in the Standard 1 evaluation; grades for transferred credits are not considered in Standard 1. 

Grades earned at Appalachian State that have been “forgiven” under one of the academic forgiveness policies must still use the original grade under Standard 1. Repeated coursework follows the guidelines in the appropriate bulletin

Standard 2: Aggregate Standard - Total attempted hours do not exceed 150% of the published length of the degree program

A student is maintaining SAP if his/her total hours attempted for one or more undergraduate degree(s) or graduate degree(s) will not exceed 150% of hours required for the first undergraduate or graduate degree. (It is important to note that transferred credits do factor into Standard 2; all attempted hours, including transferred and repeated credits, count toward Standard 2). 

A student is no longer making SAP under Standard 2 when it is mathematically impossible to complete the degree program within 150% of the published length of the program in credit hours. For example, if an undergraduate degree program requires 120 credit hours, the 150% limit is 180 credit hours; a student in such a program would be considered not meeting SAP Standard 2 once at least 150 credit hours have been attempted. For purposes of this policy, the 150% maximum for a student seeking a second undergraduate degree is 225 credit hours attempted.

Standard 3: Quantitative Standard - Must earn at least 67% of total attempted hours at Appalachian State (for degree program)

All students must successfully complete 67% of their attempted cumulative credit hours at the end of each evaluation period (For example: At the end of spring semester, if a student has attempted 92 credit hours at  Appalachian State, the student must have successfully completed 62 of those credit hours at Appalachian in order to meet Standard 3). 

All attempted versus earned credits, including transfer credits and repeated courses, are factored into Standard 3 (e.g., noncredit courses and grades such as F, U, I, or W count as attempted hours but would not count in earned hours).

Evaluation Period

The Office of Student Financial Aid evaluates the three standards of SAP at the end of each spring term. The evaluation must be cumulative and include all terms of enrollment at Appalachian State, even if the student does not receive aid in any given term. At the point of evaluation, the student is either making SAP or not making SAP. If making SAP, the student is eligible to receive financial aid for the summer, fall, and spring terms; if not making SAP, the student is ineligible to receive financial aid for the summer, fall, and spring terms, but has the right to appeal this determination using the appeal process(es) outlined in this
policy. 

When a student appeals for financial aid, appeals are reviewed for a single term of enrollment only. If, for example, an appeal is approved for the fall term, that student’s record will be re-evaluated at the conclusion of the fall term to determine aid eligibility in the upcoming spring term. Note that the evaluation conducted at the end of the spring term includes a review of financial aid eligibility for summer for all students, including those students who have reestablished eligibility. In addition, an evaluation is conducted at the end of the summer only for those students who were not making SAP at the end of spring, had a successful appeal for summer, and need to have eligibility determined for fall.

Appeals

Satisfactory Academic Progress appeals are submitted through our secure portal, Student Forms, in AppalNet.

If your SAP appeal is approved, then you will receive a SAP academic plan with conditions you must meet for continued eligibility.

If your appeal is denied and you would like to appeal again, please meet with a financial aid counselor to discuss next steps.

Students who need to appeal to regain their financial aid will need to complete their appeal before the posted deadline for the semester they wish to receive financial aid. Appeals received after the deadline of the semester will not be considered for that semester.

Submitting an appeal does not guarantee approval but a well-written and supported appeal with documentation is more likely to be successful. We highly encourage you to appeal to regain your eligibility.

Deadlines

Deadlines for submitting Satisfactory Academic Progress appeals
SemesterPriority ConsiderationDeadline
FallJuly 1October 1
SpringJanuary 2March 1
SummerImmediately after notificationJune 15

Appeals are only considered for the following reasons:

  • Standard 1: Student is academically suspended, or is otherwise not in good academic standing
    Appropriate, documented extenuating circumstances resulting in academic suspension or otherwise not meeting the qualitative standard, even if the student has been granted readmission (including under a forgiveness policy) or permission to re-enroll following a suspension.
  • Standard 2: Total attempted hours exceed 150% of the published length of the program
    Appropriate, documented extenuating circumstances resulting in total attempted hours exceeding 150% of published length of program in credit hours, or reasonable documented plan to complete the degree program within 150% of published length of program in credit hours.
  • Standard 3: Not earning at least 67% of total attempted hours at Appalachian State (for the degree program)
    Appropriate, documented circumstances for why a student is not completing 67% or more of total attempted hours at Appalachian State in the student’s degree program. Circumstances may include: withdrawal for medical reasons, extended personal illness or injury, death or illness of an immediate family member, required to take pre-requisite or preparatory coursework, called to active military duty, or other extenuating circumstances (all with sufficient and appropriate supporting documentation).

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals must include the following:

  • A Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form
  • A personal statement describing the circumstances that resulted in the student not meeting SAP and the actions the student has taken to achieve academic success going forward, specifically in the term for which the student is appealing for financial aid. This should be a specific plan for being able to meet the SAP standards and graduation requirements in a timely manner.
  • Third party documentation supporting the appeal. Examples of such documentation include, but are not limited to, written statements from doctors on letterhead stationery, copies of medical bills, orders for military activation, and/or death certificate(s).