Graduate Federal SAP Policy

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is the process used to determine if a student is making acceptable progress toward a degree or certificate. A student's failure to meet any of the three of the SAP standards (for all terms enrolled, not just those terms that aid was received) may result in loss of federal aid eligibility.  

Minimum Federal SAP Standards

1

Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)

  • Student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
2

Pace Rate for Attempted Credit Hours

  • Student must complete at least two-thirds (66.67%) of all cumulative attempted credit hours.
  • The following designations are considered to be attempted credit hours but are not considered to be successfully completed: I, N, X, W, U, E, EV, IP and F grades and grades and courses removed through the academic clemency process.
  • Transfer credit hours posted to the official transcript record are counted as attempted and earned credit hours.
  • All courses removed through the academic clemency process will be counted as attempted credit hours but not earned.
3

Maximum Timeframe: Degree Completion within 150% of the average Program Length

  • Students must complete their master's degree or certificate within 150 percent of the normal time required to complete a master's degree.
    • For example, for a degree that requires 30 earned credit hours, student must be able to graduate within 45 credit attempts to remain eligible for federal aid.
  • Federal financial aid eligibility will be terminated when the Financial Aid Office determines it is not mathematically possible for a student to complete his/her degree program within the maximum time frame.
  • The FAO manually reviews graduate student records when they have attempted enough credits needed to graduate.
  • SAP Maximum Time frame FAQ

Failing to Meet SAP Standards

Financial Aid Warning | One semester below standard
A student who fails to maintain the cumulative GPA or Pace requirements is placed on Financial Aid Warning as long as it is mathematically possible to recover in one payment period. There is no action required by the student; federal aid eligibility continues for one payment period/semester. A student's warning semester is always their next semester of enrollment whether or not the student receives federal aid. 

Financial Aid Ineligible | 2 or more consecutive semesters below standard
If a student fails to meet all the SAP standards after the warning semester, their federal aid is terminated until they meet the standards.

Federal Aid Appeal Process | Special Circumstances
If the student is still not making satisfactory academic progress after the Financial Aid Warning semester, he or she is ineligible for federal financial aid until the required standard is achieved.  However, a student has a right to appeal the loss of federal financial aid eligibility if mitigating circumstances (events totally beyond the student’s control) existed). All SAP Appeals should be submitted to the Academic Standards Office, Twin Rise 100, by the deadline indicated on the form. Incomplete appeals or those without supporting documentation will be denied. Students may seek help to complete the appeal form by calling Academic Standards at (716) 878-5222. A committee will review all federal SAP appeals notify the student in writing of the determination.

Financial Aid Probation | Approved Appeal
A student who fails to maintain the cumulative GPA and/or meet the Pace rate standard is placed on Financial Aid Probation only if the student has successfully appealed. The student will continue to receive federal financial aid for one payment period/semester. The student must meet SAP at the end of the probationary period or comply with the Academic Plan requirements (a contractual agreement designed to ensure that the student will make SAP by a specified point in time).

If the student is still not making Satisfactory Academic Progress or fails to meet the Academic Plan requirements after the probationary period, he/she will become ineligible for federal financial aid until all three SAP standards are successfully met.

Other Important Considerations

  • All graduate students must have a bachelor's degree conferred prior to beginning attendance as a graduate student to receive federal aid. Students are required to submit proof to the Graduate School.
  • Repeated Courses: Courses that are repeated to improve a grade are counted as attempted each time they are taken but are only counted as completed once. 
  • Readmission to the college after an absence does not automatically mean reinstatement of aid eligibility.
  • Maximum timeframe cannot be appealed

SAP is reviewed at the end of each semester after grades are officially posted. Below are approximate timeframes of when SAP is reviewed each semester.

  • Fall: Late December/Early January for students that attended during fall.
  • Spring: Late May/Early June for students that attended during spring.
  • Summer: Mid-August for students that attended summer

SAP is not reviewed after J-term. J-term is part of the spring semester for financial aid purposes.

An electronic notification detailing the student's SAP status will be sent to the student’s Buffalo State e-mail address. 

  1. Log in to Banner
  2. Select Financial Aid
  3. Select Eligibility
  4. Select the most recent Aid Year
  5. Click the third tab for Academic Progress. This displays the history of your academic progress for federal and state financial aid. The most recent (top) code is the code used to determine your eligibility.

Review the SAP Status Code handout for an explanation of each of the codes.  Students are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss their status and develop a strategy to come back into compliance (e.g., what grades do they need to achieve; how many credits do they need to complete).

Review the SAP FAQ and SAP Maximum Time frame FAQs for more detailed information