Financial Aid and Scholarships

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Home / Policies / Satisfactory Academic Progress
Financial aid is intended to assist you in making successful progress toward completing your degree. Federal regulations require schools to have a SAP policy to measure the academic progress for all students.

SAP Program Requirements

All UMKC students are subject to the SAP policy and must meet the standards of the policy to receive financial aid. Failing to meet an SAP standard can result in Financial Aid Warning or Financial Aid Suspension. Being placed on Financial Aid Suspension means you are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. If you fail to meet SAP, you may be eligible to appeal under certain conditions.

SAP requirements are based on the program you are in. For information on specific program requirements, select your program below:

SAP and COVID-19

The UMKC Financial Aid and Scholarships Office understands that students have encountered several challenges related to COVID-19. As a result, we have updated our Satisfactory Academic Progress policy to include important information relating to COVID-19 and how grade changes may affect your SAP status.

Additionally, academic issues related to COVID-19 are an acceptable basis for an appeal. If you receive notification that you have failed SAP, you are encouraged to submit an appeal and to use the new check box for indicating issues related to COVID-19.

If you have questions regarding SAP, please reach out to your coordinator for assistance.

Impact of Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) Grading on SAP

Grades of CR/NC will not be included in the calculation of your GPA. UMKC’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy requires a 2.0 UMKC term and cumulative GPA to remain eligible for financial aid. Therefore, a CR/NC grade will not adversely affect the GPA component of SAP.

Grades of CR/NC will count towards SAP pace of completion component. CR grades will count as a completed course. NC grades will not count as a completed course. UMKC requires students to complete at least 2/3 (66.67%) of the courses they enroll in. Therefore, if you receive an NC for one or more of your courses, it may affect your SAP standing.

Grades of CR/NC will count towards the SAP maximum timeframe component. Therefore, if you are nearing your maximum program limit and will need to retake a course due to a CR/NC grade, you may need to discuss your academic plan with your coordinator.

Monitoring SAP

SAP is monitored at the end of each term in which you are enrolled. This includes the fall, spring, and summer terms. If you are enrolled in the summer term, your SAP will be monitored prior to the start of the upcoming fall term and your eligibility for aid can change based on your SAP status following the summer term.

During the SAP review process, specific components are monitored to determine whether or not you are meeting the established standards. SAP requirements may vary between academic programs. In general, in order to maintain SAP at UMKC, you must meet each of the following components (the specific requirements will be based on your program):

  • Grade Point Average (GPA) – The grade point average (GPA) component requires that you maintain a minimum GPA to be considered meeting SAP standards.
  • Pace of Completion – The pace of completion requirement measures the pace at which you are progressing toward degree completion.
  • Maximum Timeframe – The maximum time frame component measures the total time it takes you to complete your degree program.
  • Academic Standing – To be considered meeting SAP standards, you must also be meeting the academic standing requirements for your degree program.

All degree-seeking students who are enrolled are monitored, regardless of if you received financial aid for that term.

If you are placed on Financial Aid Warning or Financial Aid Suspension, you will be sent an email notification to your UMKC email account.

Generally, non-degree seeking students are not eligible for aid and therefore are not reviewed.

Financial Aid Warning

If you fail to meet SAP requirements for one term, you will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. This will allow you an additional term to regain eligibility by meeting the minimum standards. You will be informed that you are in a Financial Aid Warning period via an email to your UMKC email account.

You are only given a warning status after having been in an eligible (or meeting SAP) status. In some cases, you may automatically fail the SAP policy instead of receiving a warning status. If you automatically fail the SAP policy, you become ineligible to receive aid. The following examples indicate instances when you would not be eligible for a warning period:

  • Earning 0 credits for a term (failing all courses or withdrawing from all credit hours in which you were enrolled)
  • Being dismissed from your academic program
  • Exceeding the maximum attempted credit hours total for your program of study

Additionally, if you are placed on academic probation by your school or college, you are also considered to be on Financial Aid Warning and you are expected to comply with the probation requirements of both the school or college and the UMKC Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.

Financial Aid Suspension/Ineligible to Receive Aid

Following your Warning period, if you still fail to fulfill the minimum SAP requirements, or you fail a component that immediately results in a failed status, you immediately become ineligible for financial aid and are placed on Financial Aid Suspension. You will receive notification of your failure to comply with the minimum SAP standards and relevant future aid may be canceled following the appeal period.

Students who have not met Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and/or are on Warning are not eligible for consortium agreements or for participation in study abroad programs.

If you are on Financial Aid Suspension, you have options. You can pursue filing an SAP Appeal if you have an appealable condition. You are also able to regain eligibility by attending UMKC without the assistance of financial aid and meet the established standards.

Appeal Process

If it is determined that you are failing SAP and are ineligible for aid but you feel that extenuating circumstances should be considered (family death, illness and/or hospitalization, etc.), you should submit an appeal to the UMKC Financial Aid and Scholarships Office immediately.

The SAP Appeal Form can be downloaded at https://finaid.umkc.edu/docs/financial-aid-process/sap-appeal-form.pdf. 

The appeal deadline is the first Friday after the beginning date of the term for which financial aid consideration is requested. Appeals received after this deadline will be accepted on a case by case basis.  If you fail to submit an appeal within this deadline, your aid may be canceled.

Your appeal must include:

  1. Solid documentation supporting the reason(s) you failed to meet satisfactory academic progress or complete the probationary requirements, including a written statement from the student.
  2. An academic plan approved by your academic advisor outlining one or more of the following:
    1. how you will meet satisfactory academic progress in the future (improve GPA, complete all attempted courses).
    2. how and when you will satisfy current incomplete grades (if applicable).
    3. how you will meet the requirements for graduation by your anticipated graduation date.
  3. A statement explaining what corrective measures you have taken to assure satisfactory academic progress in the future.

Appeals are reviewed by your Financial Aid Coordinator and/or the Director of Financial Aid. You will be notified of the decision in writing via email within two-four weeks of the start of the term.

See the Regaining Aid Eligibility section of this policy for information on if an appeal is denied.

Financial Aid Probation

If you submit an SAP appeal and it is approved, you will be placed on Financial Aid Probation. Once you receive confirmation that your appeal has been approved, you will be required to visit the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office to sign a Financial Aid Probation Contract.  To be considered for financial aid for the specified term, you must sign and return a copy of the contract, thereby indicating that you have read and agreed to the terms of the contract. Once your signed contract is received, your financial aid will be reinstated.  You will be expected to meet the terms of your contract for that term. Failure to meet the terms of your Financial Aid Probation Contract will result in Financial Aid Suspension.

If you are on Financial Aid Probation, you will not be approved for any type of consortium agreement or study-abroad and are ineligible for work-study.

Regaining Aid Eligibility

If you are ineligible to file an SAP appeal, or your SAP appeal is denied, there are ways to regain your eligibility. To regain financial aid eligibility, you must do the following WITHOUT receiving financial aid from UMKC:

  1. Achieve the minimum grade point average necessary
  2. Attain the minimum completion rate for attempted credit hours

It is the student’s responsibility to notify the UMKC Financial Aid and Scholarship Office in writing once all requirements to regain financial aid eligibility have been completed.

Important Terminology

Attempted Credits

  • Attempted credit hours are defined as the number of credits in which a student is enrolled as of the last day to drop with no record** (refer to the UMKC Academic Calendar). Attempted credits include the following:
    • All credit hours also considered Earned/Completed
    • Non-passing grades – Includes:
      • Dropped, failed, and incomplete courses
      • Remedial and audit courses for which no credit is received
      • Any course for which a grade of F, NR, WF, W, I, AU, NC is received
    • Repeated classes
      • IMPORTANT: Repeated courses (in which you previously received a passing grade) do not count towards credit hours earned but do count toward credit hours attempted and may negatively impact your pace of completion and maximum time frame SAP status
    • Dropped credits after the add/drop period
    • Withdrawal completely from a term on or after the first day of class.
    • Grades which are changed to a W through the Academic Standards appeal process
    • Transfer credits
**Students who totally withdraw from the term prior to census will be reviewed for SAP and considered earning zero credit hours for that term. 

Earned/Completed Credits

  • “Successful completion” is receiving earned credit as defined by UMKC grading policy. This includes grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, CR, P, and S

Additional SAP Information

  • Non-degree seeking students are exempt
  • Students enrolling for their first term at UMKC are considered to be making satisfactory academic progress
  • Students who left UMKC while not making satisfactory academic progress and are readmitted to UMKC must file a SAP Appeal with the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office
  • This policy is applicable with respect to eligibility for all types of Federal, State, and University financial aid administered by the UMKC Financial Aid and Scholarships Office
  • Some forms of aid may require higher standards to maintain eligibility
  • Undergraduate students must be enrolled at half-time status for financial aid to disburse (excluding the Federal Pell Grant)
  • Graduate students must be enrolled in at least half-time status for aid to disburse
  • Students on Study Abroad will be monitored for Satisfactory Academic Progress once official transcripts from the visiting institution are received
  • Propel Program students will have all enrolled courses whether taken for a grade, credit/no credit, or audit counted to determine their status

UMKC Catalog Resources

 

Last Updated: 12/20/2021