Students who do not meet the Cal State San Bernardino Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy requirements will lose eligibility for financial aid. However, a student may appeal to regain eligibility for financial aid.
Warning Status
Students who are not meeting SAP standards are first placed on a warning status, only if they were in meeting SAP in the prior term. A student on financial aid warning will continue to receive financial aid for one additional term despite a determination that the student is not making Satisfactory Academic Progress.
At the end of the next enrolled term, students on warning must meet SAP standards to be deemed eligible for continued financial aid. Students who remedy their deficiency and are fully meeting the SAP standards will be considered in good standing for SAP again. If the SAP standards are still deficient, the student becomes ineligible for financial aid. The student may appeal their ineligible status. A student whose appeal is approved will be placed on probation and may receive aid for one additional term.
Probation Status
At the end of the next enrolled term, students on Probation must meet all appeal conditions to be deemed eligible for continued aid. If the student fails to meet the conditions set forth of the appeal decision, they have the option to re-appeal. Additional documents may be requested of the student to document the reason(s) for submitting an additional appeal due to failure to meet SAP again. If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on probation and continued aid eligibility will be monitored each term based on the conditions of the appeal approval. Failure to fully satisfy the approved appeal conditions in the next term will make the student ineligible for financial aid. If the student continues to make progress based on the approved appeal, they will be considered in good standing. Failure to continue to comply with the conditions will result in an ineligible status. Students can also regain financial aid eligibility if they complete additional coursework without the benefit of financial assistance which brings them in full compliance with the SAP Standards.
APPEALING TO REGAIN ELIGIBILITY
In order to appeal financial aid eligibility, a student must document extenuating circumstances. Examples of possible circumstances to be considered when evaluating a student’s inability to meet the SAP requirements include, but are not limited to:
- Loss of a family member or loved one during the academic year;
- The student's own serious illness or injury that led to a complete or partial medical withdrawal from the University, extensive hospitalization, or other ongoing treatment that prevented student from passing the course(s);
- The serious illness or injury of a parent/guardian, spouse or child that required the student to be a primary caregiver and prevented him/her from passing the course(s);
- Extreme change in financial or legal circumstances; or
- The student's compulsory military duty.
Appeal Requirements
- A completed Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal form, Academic Progress Plan and an Academic Contract (if applicable).
- A typed, signed statement that offers a thorough explanation of:
- The circumstances that prevented the student from meeting SAP standards.
- How the student's circumstances have changed and the steps the student has taken to ensure successful SAP Progress in the future.
- Documentation that supports the reason(s) given in student's statement (Photocopies only - original documents will not be returned) This may include:
- a letter from student's doctor
- court document(s)
- death certificate
- military orders
- SAP appeals are not retroactive and must be submitted before census date for which a student would like consideration to regain eligibility.
PLEASE NOTE: You are responsible for any fees incurred in the event that your appeal is not approved. Please plan ahead.
EOP STUDENTS
EOP students must schedule an appointment with their EOP Counselor to discuss and submit his/her SAP appeal.
APPEAL REVIEW PROCESS
Once an appeal is submitted, it will be reviewed by the University SAP Committee and a decision is made on a case by case basis. Appeal approval or denial will be based on the student’s circumstance, documentation, and a reasonable expectation that the student can re-establish progress towards a degree or credential objective.
If the student's appeal is approved, then the student is placed on financial aid probation. The student must meet the conditions of his/her probation to continue receiving financial aid for future terms. Grades/conditions will be reviewed after term appealed for is completed. If conditions of appeal are met, the student will be removed from probation and eligible to receive the next term’s financial aid award.
SAP Probation requires a student to meet specific conditions for a term to remain eligible for financial aid. Probation terms are generally one semester in length. The student is given specific requirements that must be met in order to maintain financial aid eligibility in the future. If SAP probationary requirements are not met within the probation term, the student will again become ineligible for financial aid
APPEAL DECISIONS
Students will be notified via Coyote e-mail of their appeal decision. If an appeal is approved, the student will:
- Be placed on "probation" and become eligible to receive aid for one term. Future aid will be placed on hold pending confirmation that the student met the conditions of his/her appeal in the previous term. If the student did not meet the conditions of his/her appeal, financial aid will be cancelled.
- Be required to submit documentation that appeal conditions have been met, if applicable.
If an appeal is denied, the student may:
- Continue enrollment and make payment arrangements with the Student Financial Services.
- Meet the conditions of his/her appeal decision notice or submit a new appeal with supporting documentation and extenuating circumstances different from original appeal.
- Review the decision with the Associate Director of Financial Aid.
Reinstatement of financial aid is based on availability of funds and will not be paid retroactively.
The University SAP Committee has the discretion to deny financial aid funds to students who appear to be delaying progress toward a degree by repeating courses, taking irrelevant classes or changing degree objectives.
REGAINING ELIGIBILITY WITHOUT AN APPEAL
In order to regain eligibility for financial aid without submitting an appeal, the student must meet the SAP unit and GPA standards for his/her grade level.
If the student previously filed an appeal and did not meet the conditions, then the student will not be eligible for financial aid assistance until he/she meets the SAP standards.
SAP APPEAL FORMS
These forms are in a fillable file format. Download and save to your local computer. Open with Adobe Acrobat, fill-out as needed, save, print, and submit to the Financial Aid Office.