Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards

The following standards are applied to all students taking courses for credit to evaluate financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). This includes financial aid applicants, self-payers, dual credit/high school students, and guest students. A student’s financial aid SAP status does not affect their ability to enroll with the College, only their eligibility for financial aid.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Students must maintain a cumulative GPA that is greater than or equal to 2.0.

Remedial and transfer courses are not calculated in the GPA.
English as a Second Language (ESL) and General Education (GED) courses do not get calculated in the GPA.
Pass/Fail courses do not get calculated in the GPA.
For repeated courses, both grades are used in the GPA calculation.

Completion Rate (Pace)

Students must successfully complete 75% or more of all attempted credit hours.

All for-credit courses taken at Manhattan Tech, transfer credits from other institutions and verified competency credit are included in this calculation. This includes remedial and pass/fail courses.
Withdrawals and repeated courses will be counted toward all hours attempted.
See the chart below to determine the minimum number of hours must be successfully completed to maintain a 75% completion rate.

Hours Attempted	Hours Successfully Completed
12	9
24	18
36	27
48	36
60	45
72	52

Maximum Time Frame (MTF)

The US Department of Education has established a requirement that students receiving Federal Student Aid complete their degree within 150% of the time frame. Time frame is evaluated by the number of hours attempted. Students who cannot graduate within the 150% time frame lose eligibility for financial aid when the hours needed to graduate and the hours attempted exceed the 150% limit.

For example, if your associate degree requires 60 semester hours to complete, you must be able to graduate with no more than 90 credit hours attempted. If you have attempted 45 semester hours and have 25 hours remaining, the total hours needed to graduate are 70. You are no longer eligible for financial aid without an approved appeal.

Changing Programs: Changing programs may impact a student’s maximum time frame calculation because there may be hours from the prior major that now do not count toward the student’s current major requirements but count toward the maximum time frame (MTF) calculation. Changing majors will not “re-set” a student’s GPA, completion rate, or maximum timeframe calculation.

SAP Statuses and Definitions

SAP Status	SAP Status Description	Eligible for Financial Aid?
Good	Student meets all SAP standards (GPA, PACE and MTF)	Yes
Warning	The first time the student does not meet the cumulative GPA or pace SAP requirement, they will be placed on financial aid warning for the following term. They are still eligible to receive financial aid during this time. At the end of the warning period, They will be reviewed for compliance with SAP eligibility criteria once more. If found to be in compliance, they will continue to be eligible to receive financial aid for the following term. Students who do not meet the maximum time frame requirement will be sent an email notifying them that they are approaching the maximum time frame requirement, however they are not given a warning period. Once the maximum time frame has been reached the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.	Yes
Suspension	If a student has been previously given a Financial Aid Warning status and still don’t meet the SAP eligibility criteria at the end of the term, their financial aid eligibility will be suspended. The student may continue to attend Manhattan Tech at their own expense until you once again meet the SAP criteria or submit an SAP Appeal that’s approved.	No
Probation	Student is on approved SAP appeal. In order to remain eligible for financial aid, they must the following conditions set by the appeals committee or regain good SAP standing	Yes

Appeal Process

If you’re placed on Financial Aid Suspension, you will receive a notification at your Manhattan Tech e-mail address. You may file a written appeal by completing an SAP Appeal form that can be found in the forms section of the Financial Aid website. You must clearly explain why your SAP requirements weren’t met and provide proper documentation to support these extenuating circumstances (including if you believe you’ve regained eligibility due to submission of late grades or grade changes). Also, moving forward, indicate how you will improve your academic performance. Outline the changes you might have made in your personal, social, or economic situation that will allow you to improve your future academic success.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form

We recommend submitting your SAP appeal as soon as possible, preferably well before the term begins, to give us time to review, process, and notify you of the decision. We cannot retroactively review a SAP appeal once a term is complete. Once the SAP appeal committee reviews an appeal, the decision is final, and the student will be notified. Students changing majors or seeking additional degrees must complete an appeal form if the change or additional degree results in the student not meeting eligibility requirements. It is a student's responsibility to monitor their own progress each semester. Academic standing may be different than Satisfactory Academic Progress status.

When an appeal is necessary, you’ll still have the option of attending or enrolling in classes. However, financial aid eligibility won’t be calculated and released unless the appeal is approved. If the appeal is denied, you’re responsible for any balance owed to the college.