Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
In order to receive federal, state, and institutional financial aid, students must maintain Satisfactory Academic
To maintain SAP, students must do 3 things:
- Pass Attempted Courses
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Pass and complete a minimum of 67 percent (75 percent for Graduate Students) of all attempted courses. Classes must be completed with a passing grade. Failing grades, drops, incomplete, and withdrawals can affect a student's ability to keep their financial aid.
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- Meet GPA criteria
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Students must make sure their GPA is at or above the following levels:
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Undergraduates....2.0
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Graduates................3.0
- Doctoral...................3.25
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Not Exceed Maximum Time Limit to Receive Financial Aid
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Undergraduate students cannot exceed 180 credit hours for a first Bachelors’ or 90 hours if seeking a second Bachelors’ degree
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Graduate students working on a Master’s degree cannot exceed 63 credit hours or 45 hours if working on a second Masters’ degree
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Graduate students working on a Doctoral degree cannot exceed 99 credit hours
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Graduate students working on an Occupational Therapy Master’s degree cannot exceed 107 credit hours
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Graduate students working on a Master in Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) cannot exceed 150 credit hours
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Graduate students working on a School of Psychology Master’s of Arts degree cannot exceed 104 credit hours
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To maintain SAP, medical students must do 2 things:
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Pass Attempted Courses
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Pass and complete a minimum of 67 percent of all attempted courses. Classes must be completed with a passing grade. Failing grades, drops, incomplete, and withdrawals can affect a student's ability to keep their financial aid.
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- Not Exceed Maximum Time Limit to Receive Financial Aid
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- Medical students cannot exceed 150% of program length (6 years).
*The UTRGV School of Medicine (SOM) does not calculate GPA; therefore, students who are allowed to continue in the SOM are considered to be maintaining SAP regarding GPA. Students repeating a year of medical school are eligible for Title IV aid as long as they meet the pace of progression.
To view the full UTRGV Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, see below:
- Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy For Undergraduate Students
- Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy For Graduate Students
Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal
(Financial Aid SAP Appeal)
At the discretion of each school there is a provision outlined by Federal Regulations where schools can allow students who fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress to apply for a Financial Aid SAP Appeal. Students can appeal their SAP status for reinstatement of financial aid eligibility if they had mitigating circumstances, such as:
- Death of immediate family member: a parent, child, spouse, brother or sister.
- Illness or injury: You, your spouse, your dependent children were injured or ill for an extended period of time.
- Military obligations
- Other extenuating circumstances: You experienced an unusual situation in which you had no control. Automobile accident, significant automobile breakdown, family emergencies, change in living situation, separation/divorce are examples of extenuating circumstances.
- Appeals based solely on financial and/or emotional needs without sufficient documentation will not be approved. Work is not considered a hardship since financial aid is viewed as a supplement to student income in order to help reduce the number of hours the average student would have to work in any given week. It is the responsibility of the student to successfully complete all classes enrolled. Please remember that dropping a class, failing a class, or withdrawing from a class is a personal decision made by the student. If you do not meet one of the above reasons you are not eligible for an appeal.
- COVID-19: If this pandemic prevented you from doing well academically, please provide a brief explanation of the circumstances behind not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress. Examples of extenuating circumstances related to COVID-19 are circumstances such as: illness of student or family member; need to become a caregiver or first responder; economic hardship; added work hours; loss of childcare; inability to continue classes via distance education, etc. Please Note: Documentation will be required if poor academic progress occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you think you may be eligible to appeal your financial aid SAP status due to experiencing one of the mitigating circumstances mentioned above, please click on this link to submit a Financial Aid SAP Appeal
Important Notice : Appeal decisions made by the Office of Financial Aid are final and the U.S. Department of Education cannot overturn a decision made by the school.
Important Appeal Deadlines
Fall 2021 appeals:
Spring 2022 appeals:
Summer 2022 appeals:
Available: March 14, 2022
Priority Date: April 15, 2022
Final Deadline: June 10, 2022