Satisfactory Academic Progress

You are required to make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in your degree or certificate program to be eligible for financial aid. The Office of Student Financial Assistance evaluates student academic progress at the beginning of each award year. Students failing to maintain the minimum satisfactory academic requirements will be placed on a probationary period of one year. Students failing to meet the minimum criteria during their probationary period will be placed on financial aid suspension.

The Texas Southern University Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) Policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress outlines the standards for maintaining eligibility. Students are evaluated on the basis of grade point average (GPA.), credit hour completion, and maximum time frame limitation. Students must meet and /or exceed the minimum criteria in each of the three areas in order to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress. A detailed explanation of the three areas of evaluation is contained below:

A detailed explanation of the three areas of evaluation are as follows:

1. Quality Grade Point Average - Undergraduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 1.67, freshmen; 2.0, sophomore; 2.0 junior, senior and post-baccalaureate. Graduate students must maintain a cumulative grade of 3.0.
2. Credit Hour Completion - Students must have a class completion ratio of 67%. The completion ratio is calculated by dividing the number of hours earned by the number of hours attempted.

Example - If a student attempts 16 hours but earns only 5, the completion ratio is 5/16 or 31%. Of the 16 hours attempted, the student completed only 31% which is below the 67% mandated by the Federal government.

3. Maximum Time Frame - Students must not exceed 150% of the required program hours to graduate from any one degree program.

Example - Students requiring 129 credits to graduate from a program may not attempt more the 193.5 [129 x 1.50] hours and still receive financial aid.

If you do not maintain the SAP criteria stated above, you may submit an appeals form to the OSFA along with any relevant supporting documentation. By submitting this forms you are requesting reinstatement of your financial aid eligibility. The deadline for ALL SAP appeals is the last day of regular registration each semester in which you are eligible to apply. The OSFA will not accept any documentation beyond this established deadline.

Decisions concerning SAP appeals are voted on by a committee. The decision of the committee is final and will not be overturned by ANY University administrative official. The committee will notify students of their decision by letter within 20 business days of the date your appeal is documented and received in the OSFA.

Appeal forms will be made available at the Office of Student Financial Assistance. Forms may submitted to the front counter or mailed to the following address:

Texas Southern University
Office of Student Financial Assistance
3100 Cleburne
Houston, Texas 77004

Additional Academic Requirements
If students apply for financial aid, their eligibility will be based on past performance as measured by the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards for financial aid. If a student making application is a transfer student, he/she will be evaluated within the financial aid SAP maximum time frame based upon the number of semester credit hours accepted by Texas Southern University.

Other factors that students need to be cognizant of with regard to the assessment of financial aid status are as follows:

1. Semester credit hours earned from foreign institutions are included in the financial aid SAP evaluation if these credits are accepted by the University and the college/school in which a major is declared.
2. If a course is repeated, the semester credits earned will count toward the determination of enrollment status and maximum time frame.
3. Courses in which grades of “I” (incomplete) are received do not earn credits to meet the academic year minimum, nor do they influence GPA’s in the semester in which they are taken; however, the credits are counted in the maximum time frame.
4. Courses in which grades of “W”, (withdrawal) are received do not earn credits to meet the academic year minimum, nor do they influence GPA’s in the semester in which they are taken; however, the credits are counted in the maximum time frame. Students may retake courses from which they withdraw, and retaken credits will count toward the determination of enrollment status and minimum credits earned.
5. Credits earned from undergraduate developmental/remedial courses that students are required to take count toward the determination of enrollment status, minimum semester credits earned, and maximum time frame.
6. Credits earned from undergraduate courses taken while students are enrolled as graduate students do not count toward the academic year minimum, nor do they influence GPAs, nor do they count toward the determination of enrollment status or minimum credits earned, unless these credits are specifically required as prerequisites.
7. All undergraduate and prerequisite courses are included in the financial aid time frame for financial aid SAP.
8. Summer terms are considered special semesters and are not automatically monitored to determine financial aid SAP. Students who attend summer terms and who want credits earned during these terms counted with fall and/or spring semester credit totals must make a request for such at the end of the summer terms of attendance.

Right to Appeal
Students placed on financial aid suspension may appeal this status by completing a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form in the Office of Student Financial Assistance within 30 days of receipt of notification.

Students who believe that they have been identified as not having met financial aid SAP requirements because of late posting of grades should contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance once grades have been posted. A counselor will then review the situation and determine whether or not SAP requirements have been appropriately met.

Students who are placed on financial aid suspension because of GPA’s and minimum semester credit hours earned that violate the financial aid SAP standards should submit a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form and a current Texas Southern University academic transcript to the Office of Student Financial Assistance for review. A counselor will render a decision after reviewing the documentation presented.

Students who fail to achieve financial aid SAP standards because of mitigating circumstances (such as illness, injury, family crisis, or credits earned from incomplete courses) may appeal their financial aid status by submitting a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form, a current Texas Southern University academic transcript, and a letter of explanation to the Office of Student Financial Assistance. The letter of explanation should have supporting documentation attached. A counselor will review the appeal and render a decision based upon documentation provided.

Students who attend either one or both summer terms during a year when they have been placed on either financial aid probation or suspension and succeed in increasing their GPA’s and/or semester credit hours completed in order to meet the minimum financial aid SAP standards for the year should appeal their status in writing with supporting documentation to the following:

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee
Office of Student Financial Assistance
Texas Southern University
3100 Cleburne Street
Houston, Texas 77004-9987

Decisions on these appeals will be made within 20 business days after their receipt. Students will be notified in writing of the Appeals Committee’s decision.