Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require that Kent State University review the academic progress of students who apply for federal financial aid. The purpose of this review is to measure whether a student is making satisfactory progress towards his or her educational goals.

To be eligible for federal student aid funds, a student must make reasonable satisfactory academic progress toward the attainment of a degree or certificate program. The criteria are GPA, percent completion and maximum time frame (each are explained below). This policy is specific to federal regulations regarding financial aid. This policy does not prevent enrollment, but does prevent the awarding of federal financial aid.

View the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (PDF)

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be evaluated at the end of the spring semester or at the time the student applies for federal assistance (completes the FAFSA). Evaluation of SAP occurs annually for all programs except programs that take one year or less to complete. Students enrolled in programs that take one year or less to complete are evaluated for SAP after every payment period (semester).

Students can view their Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Calculation by following these steps:

  1. Log into FlashLine
  2. Click Student tab in left column
  3. Under Finances, click Financial Aid
  4. Choose Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Calculation

This Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Calculation displays a student's Financial Aid GPA, SAP Financial Aid Completion and SAP Maximum Time Frame values.  Please note the SAP earned hours value.  SAP earned hours is used to determine percent completion standard. 

Undergraduate Student Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Undergraduate Students

Measure SAP Policy

GPA: Undergraduate students
  • All students must have a 2.00 overall SAP GPA regardless of grade level. Students who fail to maintain a minimum 2.00 overall SAP GPA are not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.
  • After attending Kent State for two calendar years, all students must have a 2.00 overall SAP GPA regardless of grade level.
  • All grades count in the GPA, including grades that are waived under the academic forgiveness policies. Remedial coursework is included in the GPA calculation.

Percent Completion: Undergraduate students
  • Percent completion will be calculated by dividing overall SAP earned hours by overall SAP attempted hours. For example: If a student attempted 50 credit hours but only successfully completed 40 out of those 50 credit hours, the completion rate would be 80% (40/50=80%). Transfer hours are included in the percent completion calculation.
    • 0-29 SAP earned hours: at least 50% overall completion rate
    • 30-59 SAP earned hours: at least 60% overall completion rate
    • 60+ SAP earned hours: at least 67% overall completion rate

Maximum Time Frame: Undergraduate students
  • Grades of W, WF, WP, F, U, SF, NF, NR, IP, IN and Z will count as zero in the earned hour calculation and will negatively affect the percent completion calculation. Courses in which a student remained registered past the add/drop date and earned a grade of “W” or its equivalent are included in SAP evaluation. Regarding incomplete (IP) grades, once the IP grade is finalized, the new grade would be considered at the next annual SAP evaluation. Students are encouraged to speak with an academic advisor and the Student Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course
    • Undergraduate students pursuing an associate degree can attempt up to 97 hours.
    • Undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor's degree can attempt up to 180 credit hours.
    • Undergraduate students pursuing an undergraduate certificate program can attempt up to 29 credit hours.

Students must complete their program within 150% of the published length of the program. A student is ineligible when it becomes mathematically impossible for them to complete the program within the maximum timeframe established by the school. Students who lose student aid eligibility due to this standard can regain eligibility for financial aid by submitting a successful SAP Appeal.

Course repeat hours Credit for repeated coursework will only be counted once in earned hours; however, all repeated coursework attempts are counted in attempted hours. This will negatively affect the percent completion rate. See Kent State University’s Course Repeat Policy in the University Catalog for guidance on how repeating courses affect grade point average and total hours for graduation.  

Graduate Student Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Graduate Students

Measure SAP Policy

GPA: Graduate students
  • Grade point average will be monitored by academic units. As noted in the Kent State University Graduate Catalog, graduate students are expected to maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in all work attempted at Kent State University.      

Percent Completion: Graduate students
  • Percent completion will be calculated by dividing overall SAP earned hours by overall SAP attempted hours. For example: If a student attempted 50 credit hours but only successfully completed 40 out of those 50 credit hours, the completion rate would be 80% (40/50=80%). Transfer hours are included in the percent completion calculation.

    • Graduate applicants must have completed at least 65% of overall SAP attempted hours.

Maximum Time Frame: Graduate students

  • Maximum time frame will be monitored by academic units. As noted in the Kent State University Graduate Catalog, graduate students in a master’s program are held to a 6 year time limit and graduate students in a doctoral program a 10-year limit.

What is included in SAP Attempted Hours?
  • Overall institution attempted hours even if the student changes majors
  • Overall transfer hours
  • Attempted hours are counted for all terms, even those semesters during which the student did not received financial aid as well as those waived under academic amnesty policies
  • Remedial, repeated and forgiveness hours are included in the overall SAP attempted hours calculation

Students who have reached the maximum time frame limit and who have completed coursework to graduate but have not yet received their degree cannot continue to receive further financial aid as an undergraduate student.

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS APPEAL PROCESS

If extenuating circumstances contributed to the student not meeting the SAP Policy, the student may appeal for federal financial aid by submitting a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal. The purpose of the appeal is to show that there were extenuating circumstances that lead a student to not meet the standards and that federal financial aid should be awarded on a one-semester basis.

Examples of extenuating circumstances are: death of a relative, an injury or illness of the student, or other special circumstances, including a public health emergency. The appeal is an online form that you complete, sign and submit to your campus' financial aid representative. Once you receive confirmation that it has been completed, it will be automatically sent to your campus' committee. In an appeal, a student must explain the circumstances that prevented the student from meeting the SAP policy standards and explain what has changed that will allow the student to meet the standards at the next evaluation. Supporting documentation must be provided. Examples of documentation that support the circumstance are medical documentation, obituary or a counseling record.

If you are interested in completing an appeal please review the following steps to complete this process. 

  1. Find your SAP Status 
  2. Identify the forms needed based on your SAP Status
  3. Review information on acceptable documentation
  4. Complete and submit needed forms

Please continue to open each of the sections below for additional information as well as forms needed to complete the appeal process. 

Students who are cited and do not appeal, are denied by the committee, or are not in compliance with the standards will not be eligible for federal financial aid until their academic record is once again in compliance with the Standards of Academic Progress. If you are currently cited but are now meeting SAP standards, you will need to file an appeal for review. Neither paying for their classes out-of-pocket nor sitting out for an enrollment period is sufficient for students to re-establish eligibility for federal aid. 
Deadlines for the 2023-2024 academic year:

Term Deadline
Summer 2023 Appeal Thursday, August 10, 2023
Fall 2023 Appeal Sunday, December 10, 2023
Spring 2024 Appeal Sunday, May 5, 2024
How to find your Satisfactory Academic Progress status

The Student Financial Aid Office will notify students who do not meet the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress policy after the end of the spring semester or when our office receives the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) results. To view your status:

  1. Log in to FlashLine
  2. Click Student tab in the left column
  3. Under Finances, click Financial Aid
  4. Click Financial Aid Status
  5. Select the "Aid Year" from the drop down and click Submit
  6. You Academic Progress status will be shown.
What forms do I need to submit based on my SAP status?

After finding your SAP status in FlashLine, use the charts below to determine what steps and forms you need to complete the appeal process.

If your SAP status is: Submit the following form(s)
  • Cite GPA
  • Cite 2-Years Time GPA
  • Cite GPA/2YTF
  • Cite Percent Complete
  • Cite Percent Complete/2YTF
  • Cite GPA/Percent Complete
  • Cite GPA/Percent Complete/2YTF
  • Cite percent complete (Grad)
  1. Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form
    • Collect your supporting documentation and prepare it to be attached to your online appeal.  Supporting documentation must be provided. Examples of documentation that support the circumstance are medical documentation, obituary or a counseling record.  
If your SAP status is: Submit the following form(s)
  • Cite GPA/Percent/Max/2YTF    
  • Cite GPA/Percent/Max Time
  • Cite GPA/Max/2YTF
  • Cite GPA/Max Time Frame
  • Cite Percent/Max/2YTF
  • Cite Percent/Max Time Frame
  • Cite Maximum Time Frame/2YTF
  • Cite Maximum Time Frame
  1. Maximum Time Frame Form

    • Once you have the completed Maximum Time Frame form and it has been returned from your Academic Advisor, download the form and save as a PDF.  This form will be attached to your SAP Appeal Form in step 2.

  2. Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form

    • Collect your supporting documentation and prepare it to be attached to your online appeal.  Supporting documentation must be provided. Examples of documentation that support the circumstance are medical documentation, obituary or a counseling record.  

    • You will attach your completed Maximum Time Frame Form to your SAP Appeal form along with your supporting documentation.
Information on acceptable documentation

Supporting documentation must be provided. The documentation submitted should support the information given in your appeal statement. Examples of documentation that support the circumstance are medical documentation, obituary or a counseling record.

All documentation must include the student’s full name and dates. For example, if a student is submitting a snapshot of a medical record from their online medical chart, the dates of service for the medical appointment would need to be included as well as the student’s name. The same applies to an obituary, another person’s medical documents, or any other supporting documents that are being used. The dates of the occurrences on the supporting documentation should best coincide with the semester(s) the student struggled academically. When submitting supporting documentation from third parties (such as counseling statements or medical statements from counseling centers) they should be submitted on the medical provider’s letter head and signed by the provider (electronic signatures are acceptable).   

Maximum Time Frame Form

If you were cited for Maximum Time Frame, you must also provide a completed Maximum Time Frame form.

The Maximum Time Frame form must be signed by an academic advisor to be considered complete (through DocuSign or Dynamic Forms). On the Maximum Time Frame form, you will need to submit your academic advisors name and email. Your advisor will make updates to the form as needed and it will be sent back to your email. Once you have received the Maximum Time Frame form back, it is suggested to save the form as a PDF so that you attach it to your appeal.

If you have already submitted your appeal and need to only submit the Maximum Time Frame form, please download, and save the completed Maximum Time Frame form as a PDF file. If you are a Kent Campus student, please submit the saved PDF to the One Stop for Student Services via the One Stop Contact Us Form. If you are enrolled at a Regional Campus, submit the saved PDF to your Regional Campus Student Services area.

Please read the instructions carefully before completing this form.

2023-2024 Maximum Time Frame Form

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Forms

Gather your documentation when you submit your appeal. Complete appeals will be reviewed promptly.

This appeal is to appeal federal financial aid only, not scholarships. This is not a scholarship appeal.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form

Where to find your appeal decision in FlashLine

Steps to find your SAP appeal decision in FlashLine:

1. Log into FlashLine
2. Click Student tab in left column
3. Under Finances, click  Financial Aid
4. Click Financial Aid Status
5. Select the “Aid Year” from the drop down box and click Submit
6.  Click on messages in “You have active messages.” 
 

 

What if I am now in compliance with the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy?

Students in compliance prior to the end of the academic year must notify their campus' Student Financial Aid Office in writing by submitting an appeal.

If you have any questions or concerns you can reach the One Stop via our online Contact Us inquiry form. If you are enrolled at a Regional Campus, contact your Regional Campus Student Services area.

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