Satisfactory Academic Progress
To maintain your financial aid eligibility, both from federal and state sources, you must receive passing grades and progress through your courses. This is called Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). If you do not meet SAP requirements, you could lose your financial aid, but don’t worry, the California College Promise Grant is an exception.
All Chaffey students are encouraged to utilize the numerous academic resources available in order to meet SAP requirements. To learn more about the different tutoring services on campus, which includes tutoring in various subjects in the evenings and on weekends, please visit the Success Centers webpage.
For more details on what you need to do to keep your financial aid and to learn about the standards for the California College Promise Grant, check out the State Aid Programs page.
SAP Standards
Chaffey College requires students to meet SAP standards in order to remain eligible for financial assistance. These standards are a set of requirements all students are evaluated on at the end of each semester to determine if they are meeting SAP eligibility.
A student is meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress as long as the student:
Maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA or higher.
All students must complete at least 67% of all attempted units, including units transferred into Chaffey. Completed units are enrolled units for which credit is received and final grades posted, which are courses with grades of A, B, C, D, CR or P. Therefore, these grades are considered attempted and completed.
Classes in which a student receives a grade of F, I, IP, NP, NC, FW, or W or other will not be counted as units completed for satisfactory academic progress purposes, but the units will be counted as attempted. In other words, these grades will considered attempted units but not completed.
To calculate your PACE Ratio, please use the PACE calculator below.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Calculator
All students must complete their program within 150% of the published length of the program. If at any point in time it is determined that the student cannot complete their course of study within the 150% time frame, they will be immediately disqualified from future financial aid, with the exception of the California College Promise Grant, for the remainder of their program, even if currently meeting the SAP standards. Academic Renewal is not recognized for financial aid purposes and is always counted in units attempted, GPA calculation, and maximum time frame, even when a more favorable grade was subsequently received, both attempts would be counted.
Examples of how to 150% is calculated:
- AA/AS programs of 60 units must be completed within 90 units (60 unit X 150% = 90 unit maximum time frame)
- Certificate programs of 30 units must be completed within 45 units (30 unit X 150% = 45 unit maximum time frame)
Repeated, Audited, Transfer, or Remedial Coursework
- Transfer credits from other institutions will be included as attempted and completed units in the SAP calculation, whether or not this is the first time a student is applying for financial
- Audit courses are NOT included in SAP calculations as these are ineligible for financial aid.
- Remedial coursework (any grade) is included in the overall evaluation of a student SAP status; up to the max. of 30 units.
- Students on approved appeal may repeat a course they previously failed if it is necessary for completion of the degree or certificate, but the course must be listed on the SAP Educational Plan. Students may repeat, with financial aid, the previously failed course only one time (grades of F on the retake course count as the one allowable retake and no further retakes will be funded). Students may submit and SAP Updated Educational Plan form requesting the addition of a course previously taken (while on approved appeal) and must meet the same criteria as the other repeats.
- EW (Excused Withdrawal) are not part of the calculation. EW's are not considered in completed credits or a student's cumulative grade point average (GPA).
- Up to 30 semester units will be accepted within the maximum time frame.
SAP Status
A student’s SAP status will be evaluated at the conclusion of the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms. Students who are not meeting the SAP Requirements described above will be placed under a Warning or Termination (ineligible) status, dependent on whether they were previously in a Satisfactory or Warning status. An explanation of each SAP status is provided below.
Students meeting and who continue to meet SAP Standards at the end of each term will be assigned a Satisfactory SAP status. Students with this SAP status are eligible to receive financial aid.
Monitoring means you have reached 45 units and within the allowable time frame to take courses you need to reach their academic goal before reaching 150% maximum time frame. Students within this status will remain eligible for financial aid.
Reinstatement means students who were once ineligible can reinstate themselves automatically by having a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 and a cumulative 67% of all attempted units or greater during an evaluation period.
Reinstatement is not retroactive, and you will not receive aid for any semester that you are ineligible. Reinstatement does not apply to students who have reached Maximum Timeframe.
Students previously assigned a Satisfactory SAP status, and who later do not meet SAP Standards at the end of a term, will be moved to a Warning SAP status. Once under a Warning status, students will have only one term (Fall, Winter/Spring, Summer) in which they can complete coursework in order to meet SAP standards. Students with this SAP status are eligible to receive financial aid.
Warning does not apply to maximum unit timeframe.
Students previously assigned a Warning SAP status, and who do not meet SAP Standards at the end of a term in which they were enrolled while under a Warning SAP status, will be moved to a Termination SAP status. Students with this SAP status are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. Additionally, if at any point in time it is determined that a student cannot complete their course of study within the 150% Maximum Time Frame, they will be immediately moved to a Terminated status.
Students who come to Chaffey College with a prior AA degree will be determined ineligible and must appeal for aid (Maximum Timeframe appeal). Students who come to Chaffey College with a prior bachelor’s degree will be determined ineligible and must appeal for aid (Federal Direct Loans and Federal Work Study only).
Once under a Terminated status, students will have one of two options:
- Continue to enroll in coursework, without receiving financial aid, until financial aid eligibility is regained by meeting SAP Standards
- Complete the SAP Appeal Process
Students who have submitted a complete SAP Appeal Form, and whose SAP Appeal is approved, are placed under a financial aid Probation status. While under financial aid probation, a student will regain financial aid eligibility semester by semester. At the conclusion of each semester for which you were under financial aid Probation, each student’s academic performance and educational plan is re-evaluated to determine their SAP status for the following semester. This means, students must follow these conditions:
- register for only courses listed on your approved educational plan
- maintain 2.0 GPA and above
- complete 67% of registered courses from your educational plan
Important reminder: Students who are on Warning, Monitoring, Approved appeal or may have been reinstated after Summer, Fall and Spring terms grades posted, may experience a financial aid disbursement delay in their next semester until is evaluated.
SAP Appeal Process
Under certain conditions, a student may be eligible to appeal for reinstatement of aid without meeting SAP Requirements. At Chaffey, appeals are offered in the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters, during a specified period of time (see SAP Appeal Form form for specific deadlines). Students who are disqualified will receive notification of their option to appeal via their MyChaffey portal; and will include the time period that appeals will be accepted during a given semester.
2024-2025 SAP Appeals Deadlines
- Fall 2024 - November 22, 2024
- Spring 2025 - May 1, 2025
- Summer 2025 - July 7, 2025
Reasons a student may be eligible to appeal may include but are not limited to:
Extenuating circumstances must ALWAYS be documented or the appeal will not be reviewed. Extenuating circumstances are considered to be (but not limited to):
- Serious illness, injury or medical condition requiring doctor's care.
- Death of an immediate family member or
- Extenuating circumstances that were beyond the student's control.
Submit a thorough and clearly written explanation, indicating the extenuating circumstance that prevented the student from meeting SAP Requirements. Supporting documentation must be submitted to the financial aid office in order for the appeal to be reviewed. Please note, documentation of extenuating circumstances for the semester(s) where there was a lack of progress must match up with the written explanation.
Students who have reached the maximum time frame of attempted units, but a portion of the unit total is comprised of remedial coursework, may consider appealing if the exclusion of remedial coursework will reduce the total units attempted within the maximum time frame requirement.
Examples of students appealing for exceeding the Maximum Time Frame:
- Completed ESL courses
- Student has reached the maximum time frame of attempted units, but includes remedial coursework, which would reduce the unit attempted total. Up to 30 units for remedial (non-degree applicable) coursework
- High unit majors (Nursing, Vocational Nursing)
- High unit transfer majors (Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering)
- Completed Military or AP courses/credit.
- Change of academic program will be considered on a case by case basis.
Appeals will be accepted only from students who meet both GPA and Pace requirements. The Financial Aid Office may determine to extend a student’s maximum timeframe for
continued eligibility of financial aid for courses listed on an approved Maximum Timeframe appeal provided that the courses in which the student is enrolled
apply to the students program of study or the courses are required for transfer.
It is important to remember that generally, students become eligible for financial assistance again when they are once again meeting SAP standards. The appeal process is designed to be the exception to the rule when extenuating circumstances exist outside the student's control and/or a change of major occurred where the student is now under the maximum time frame for the new program. Students should identify why they were disqualified and what their reasons are before they consider submitting a formal appeal.
SAP Appeal Requirements
Type a concise statement that explains your situation, timeline of applicable events, and reason(s) for not completing your degree within the maximum timeframe allowed OR extenuating circumstance(s). Reason(s) for not completing could be why you have changed your program of study, or why you are taking additional coursework (if you already have a degree). Please address transferred units if it applies to your situation.
TIP: Type this out in a Microsoft "Word" document, check for spelling and grammatically errors, then copy/paste the information into the Appeal form.
Schedule an appointment with an academic counselor to develop a SAP educational plan. This plan needs to clearly state your academic program/major, educational goal, and outline the remaining classes you need to obtain that goal. Please tell the counselor you need a copy of your developed educational plan.
To complete this session, go to “GETSAP Counseling” review the video(s), and download the certificate of completion when you are done.
Submit any supporting documents that can assist the committee in reviewing your appeal.
Maximum Timeframe appeals may or may not have documentation available, depending on the reason for your number of credits.
Extenuating Circumstance appeals must be supported by documentation. The following are examples of documentation you can submit:
| EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCE | DOCUMENTATION |
| Death of an immediate family member | Copy of death certificate or obituary |
| Serious physical or emotional illness of student or immediate family member | Medical documentation confirming onset and duration of illness or condition |
| Accident or injury (Self, child, or parent) | Medical and/or other documentation verifying the date and duration of the occurrence |
| Victim of a crime or unexpected disaster that impacted student's attendance | Documentation of insurance claims or other 3rd party information and nature of disaster |
| Student made significant improvement during warning or probation status, completed a term of at least 6 units, with a minimum 2.00 GPA and 67% completion rate OR if in Ineligible status student completed ONE term unaided and met term SAP of 2.00 and 67% | Only for students who significantly improved in prior semester. Complete the Appeal process. Grades for preceding semester will be verified by the Financial Aid Office. Spring 2025 appeals may be submitted to the Financial Aid Office beginning January 13, 2025 |
Submit an either a SAP Max. Timeframe Appeal or SAP Extenuating Circumstances Appeal application through: https://chaffey.studentforms.com
What Happens After the Appeal is Submitted?
After the appeal is submitted, the Financial Aid department will review the appeal application within 2-3 weeks. During this time, if the Financial Aid department needs more clarification or documentation, they will email your panther email.
If your appeal is approved, you will be placed on financial aid probation each semester going forward. SAP will be reviewed at the end of each term to determine continued financial aid eligibility for the following semester. This means you will only receive financial aid only in the courses listed in your SAP educational plan.
More details will be included in the SAP status email.
If your appeal is denied, you may submit a request for reconsideration of your denied appeal. Details on this coming soon.
