Satisfactory Academic Progress

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Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is defined as the successful completion of coursework toward an eligible certificate or degree.

Federal regulations require the Financial Aid Office to monitor the academic progress of students receiving financial aid.

SAP Standards

  • apply to all undergraduate students who wish to establish or maintain financial aid eligibility;
  • apply to a student's entire academic record (including transfer courses), whether or not financial aid was received for prior terms of enrollment; and
  • include the following:
     

Minimum College GPA: 

  • 1.0 term GPA after each semester AND
    • 1.0 cumulative GPA after semester 1;
    • 1.8 cumulative GPA after semester 2;
    • 1.8 cumulative GPA after semester 3;
    • 1.9 cumulative GPA after semester 4;
    • 1.9 cumulative GPA after semester 5;
    • 2.0 cumulative GPA after semester 6, and continuing through graduation.

Minimum Major GPA:

  • After semester 7, a 2.0 major GPA is required to be maintained through graduation.

Minimum Credits Completed:

  •  3 credits after semester 1;
  •  7 credits after semester 2;
  • 11 credits after semester 3;
  • 15 credits after semester 4;
  • 19 credits after semester 5;
  • 23 credits after semester 6;
  • 27 credits after semester 7;

Minimum Credit Completion Rate:

  • Students must pass 67% of the credits attempted (i.e., credits earned divided by credits attempted).

Maximum Time Frame: 

  • While federal student aid is available for up to 150% of the published length of a student’s degree program (usually 8 semesters x 1.5 or 12 semesters), to remain eligible for institutional aid, students must generally earn their Davidson degree within the standard 8 semesters, with a 9th semester of financial aid occasionally being awarded if a student appeals, and has their appeal approved, based on extenuating circumstances.

Notes: 

  • Acknowledging COVID-related impacts, an additional one credit’s “grace” is allowed for each term of enrollment during the 2020-2021 academic year.  For example, after semester 4, where 15 credits would ordinarily be required to enroll for the next term, 14 credits will suffice for a student enrolled for one semester, or 13 credits for a student enrolled for two semesters, during 2020-2021. Similarly, while 32 credits are usually required for graduation, 30 credits will suffice for a student enrolled for both Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.
     
  • If a student remains enrolled after the tenth day of classes in any semester (i.e., beyond the end of the add/drop period), even if the student withdraws prior to the end of the term, that semester is considered a "term of enrollment" when counting semesters for the SAP requirements noted above.  For further information, see "Determining Number of Semesters Attended" in the current edition of Davidson College Academic Regulations. However, while the Academic Regulations "ignore" a student's first semester of all WA grades, the Financial Aid Office is not able to ignore any semester in which the student remains enrolled beyond the tenth day of classes. Instead, as noted below, we offer a semester of SAP warning, during which financial aid can still be offered.  This allows the student an additional semester in which to catch up on lost credits before potentially needing to appeal for financial aid.

SAP Eligibility Review

SAP is evaluated for all aided students after the end of each semester. As each term ends and grades are recorded, students are notified by email if they fail to meet SAP requirements.  If failing to meet one or more of the requirements above, students will be placed in one of the following statuses:

  • SAP warning (if they were meeting SAP the prior semester) where the student will still receive financial aid for the semester OR
  • SAP suspension where the student will be notified that no financial aid will be available to them until they are either meeting SAP or file an appeal to be placed on SAP probation using the SAP Appeal Form, a link to which will be provided to any student placed on SAP suspension, OR
  • SAP probation (if a previous semester was a semester of warning and the student submitted a successful SAP appeal).  Students who are on SAP probation are reviewed at the end of their probationary semester to ensure probation requirements are met. 

Regaining Eligibility

SAP Appeal

A student may file the SAP Appeal Form on the basis of:

  • death or serious illness of a relative
  • injury or illness of the student
  • other special circumstances (such as mental health struggles, family issues, etc.)

SAP Appeal Submission Deadlines: 

Fall Semester: August 10
Spring Semester: January 10

Completed SAP appeals will generally be reviewed within 15 business days. You will be notified through your Davidson College email account if your appeal is accepted or denied.

Please note: While students may submit more than one SAP appeal during their studies at Davidson, they may not appeal on the same basis more than once.  If the same basic circumstance applies in more than one term (an ongoing illness, for example), something about the context or impact would need to have changed, as the goal is to resolve or overcome whatever difficulties were encountered earlier and to re-establish a positive academic status. Per Federal financial aid regulations, appeals are not automatically accepted and may be denied based on failure to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress standards set forth in the College’s policies.

If a SAP appeal is denied, a student may be allowed to attend Davidson without the use of federal or institutional financial aid or may potentially transfer courses in (to reach minimum credits completed). Students who have been denied a SAP appeal can re-appeal after one semester without federal or institutional aid. These students are monitored each semester and are made eligible for federal and institutional aid if they subsequently meet overall SAP requirements.

Other Methods to Regain Eligibility

Students who are not meeting SAP may potentially regain eligibility on their own without submitting an appeal:

  • If not meeting SAP based on GPA, a student may potentially attend Davidson and achieve overall SAP without the assistance of federal or institutional financial aid.
  • If not meeting SAP based on minimum credits completed, a student may either attend Davidson and achieve overall SAP without the assistance of federal or institutional financial aid or, with advance approval, transfer courses from another institution.

SAP status is checked each semester for all students, and those who were previously not meeting SAP can once again become eligible for financial aid if they subsequently meet overall SAP requirements.  Notification of re-instated aid eligibility will be made through Davidson College email.