Financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards are mandated by the Department of Education to ensure students are making academic progress toward earning a degree. These requirements must be met by all students wishing to receive federal aid. Students who remain in Satisfactory Financial Aid SAP status may continue to receive federal aid. Students should check their BYU-Idaho email and financial aid portal frequently.
Requirements
To remain eligible to receive federal aid, you must be meeting all three cumulative financial aid SAP requirements:
- Completion Rate (Pace) – You must maintain at least a 67% cumulative completion rate. The pace is based on program applicable (PA) credits only and is calculated by dividing PA credits earned by PA credits attempted. PA transfer credits ARE included in the cumulative financial aid SAP Pace calculation.
Note: Transcripts do not decipher between PA and non-PA credits; therefore, they will not show an accurate representation of pace. - Grade Point Average (GPA) – You must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative Financial Aid GPA, which means that only program applicable credits will be evaluated. Non-PA credits and transfer GPAs are NOT included in the financial aid SAP calculation.
Note: Transcripts do not decipher between PA and non-PA credits, therefore they will not show an accurate representation of GPA. - Maximum Time Frame Limit (MTF) – You must be able to complete your program/major within 150% of the total credits required by your declared program. Changing majors can have a significant impact on the maximum credits allowed for a degree program.
How Courses Are (or Are Not) Counted In SAP Calculations
| Course type | Includes Program Applicable & Remedial Only | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pace | GPA only for PA & Remedial | ||
| Attempted |
Earned | ||
| Progress Grades (A-D) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| P(ass) grades |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| F(ail) grades |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Retake |
Yes |
Yes/No |
Last course |
| Disqualified Repeat |
No |
No |
Last course |
| Repeatable |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Remedial |
No |
No |
Yes |
| W |
Yes |
No |
No |
| UW - attended |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| UW – non-attended |
No |
No |
No |
| Incomplete |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Null grade (T, NR) |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Acad Renewal (PA only) |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| External transfer courses |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| BYU Jerusalem |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Pathway transfer courses |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Audit |
No |
No |
No |
| Credit by exam - resident (considered transfer) |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| AP/IB (considered transfer) |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Vertical credits |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Consortium credits |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| CLEP |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Military |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Non-PA |
No |
No |
No |
SAP Status
Your financial aid SAP status is determined at the end of every attended semester, starting at the end of your first semester at BYU-Idaho. You can view your SAP status on the home screen of your financial aid portal.
| Satisfactory | You are meeting the cumulative SAP requirements and are eligible to receive federal aid. |
| Warning | You are placed on Warning after your first semester of falling below cumulative SAP requirements. A “Warning” semester is granted to allow you to try to get back to Satisfactory requirements. You are still eligible to receive federal aid. |
| Suspended | You are not meeting the cumulative SAP requirements and are not eligible to receive federal aid. |
| Probation | Your SAP appeal was approved, and you are eligible to receive federal aid. You will stay on Probation for continuous semesters as long as you meet semester-specific requirements given to you by the Financial Aid Office. |
SAP Status Notifications
Financial aid SAP notifications are sent to students on Warning and Suspended status at the end of each attended semester after grades are posted. Students on Satisfactory SAP status will not receive an email notification.
- Financial Aid SAP Warning: You remain eligible to receive federal aid. Failure to meet cumulative SAP requirements by the end of your Warning semester will result in financial aid SAP Suspension.
- Financial Aid SAP Suspended: You are not eligible to receive federal aid but may choose to appeal your status (see SAP Appeal Process).
Students on probation who meet their probation requirements will be considered to be maintaining SAP and will continue on probation the next semester.
SAP Appeal Process
Students who are currently enrolled and failing to meet the financial aid SAP requirements are suspended from receiving federal aid. You may appeal your Suspended SAP status if you have experienced an unusual, unforeseen, or extenuating circumstance. Those circumstances may include:
- Severe illness or injury to the student or an immediate family member
- Death of a student’s relative
- Student activation into military service
- Interpersonal difficulties with friends, roommates, or family members
- Difficulty balancing work, family responsibilities, and school
- Financial difficulties
After grades have been evaluated SAP Suspended students will receive an email with instructions on how to appeal and a request for documentation of the extenuating circumstances. If all requests/required SAP documents are not submitted by the appeal deadlines, usually one week from the appeal document being added to your portal, federal aid for the semester will be permanently canceled, and you will be financially responsible for tuition and fees.
To successfully appeal, you must complete the following steps:
- Submit the SAP Appeal Request (link found in the SAP Suspend email) within 7 days of receiving the email notification.
Once the request is reviewed, a SAP Appeal document and request for documentation will be added to your Financial Aid portal. You will have 7 days to submit the appeal document and documentation back to your financial aid portal.
Submissions should explain in detail:
- Why you failed to meet the minimum academic standards.
- What unusual and/or extenuating circumstances caused the failure.
- How the situation has improved and been resolved.
Once all necessary documentation is received and reviewed, an appeal decision will be emailed to your BYU-Idaho email address.
- Appeal Approved - You are placed on a financial aid Probation status in which you will need to meet specific semester probation requirements until you can again meet the cumulative SAP requirements.
- Appeal Denied - You will remain ineligible for federal aid for the semester and must find alternative ways to fund your schooling expenses.
SAP Appeal Deadlines
SAP Appeal Request: Link found in the initial SAP notification email. The request must be submitted online within seven days of receiving the SAP suspend email.
SAP Appeal Document: Added to your financial aid portal only if the SAP Appeal Request is received within the 7-day deadline. The appeal and all supporting documentation must be submitted through your financial aid portal within seven days from the date the SAP Appeal document was added to your portal.
Appeals cannot be processed after the end of a semester.