There are requirements and limits to your aid that are important for you to be aware of to ensure you continue to receive financial aid. The following pages will help you learn and understand more about how to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), how to check your current status, what steps to take if you get a warning, and how to submit an appeal if you ever need one. You鈥檒l also find information on managing your Pell Grant, Cal Grant, and other eligibility requirements that can affect your aid.
Make sure to read through each section so you can stay on track and keep your financial aid while you work toward your educational goals.
Workshops: Support with your SAP Appeal
Join us for a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Workshop where you will have the opportunity to receive support from start to end of the appeal process.
Event Details
- Learn about the financial aid academic requirements and how to maintaining eligibility.
- Receive support completing your SAP Appeal and submitting appropriate documents. Please only select one session:
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
The U.S. Department of Education has minimum academic requirements in order for you to continue to receive financial aid. These requirements are called Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Our financial aid team checks your academic standing (SAP) after each semester ends. You will receive an email letting you know if you have not met the requirements typically two-three weeks after each semester.
To meet SAP, you must:
- Keep a cumulative 2.0 GPA or higher
- Students who are meeting all academic requirements need to maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA which means all of your semesters combined and not necessarily each semester.
- Students who are on an academic appeal, will be required to maintain a 2.0 GPA each semester
- Pass at least 66.7% of all your classes cumulatively (this is referred to as 鈥淧ACE鈥�)
- Grades like A, B, C, D, CR, or P count as passed
- Grades like F, W, EW, NC, NP, RD, or I do not count as passed
- Stay within the unit limit for your program.
There is a limit to the number of units students can take at a community college. The unit limit is based on your Goal and Major listed in your Surf Account. For each program, students are required to complete their program within 150% of the required units.
- Most Associate Degree programs have a limit of 90 units
- Example: If your program requires 60 units to complete, 90 is the max (150% of the program)
| Program | Typical Program Units | Maximum Limit (150%) |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Degree (AA/AS) | 60 units | 90 units |
| Associate Degree for Transfer(ADT-AA-T/AS-T) | 60 units | 90 units |
| Certificate Programs | Varies by certificate | |
| Bachelor鈥檚 Degree | 120 units | 180 units |
What happens if I don鈥檛 meet the academic requirements?
Warning Period
The first semester you don鈥檛 meet the requirement is called a warning period. This gives you time to improve your grades and pass more classes. None of your financial aid will be impacted during your warning period.
A warning semester only applies to falling below the GPA and Pace requirement. You will not receive a warning period if you exceed the unit limit for your program.
If you receive a warning, you will receive an email notifying you that you are currently on warning about 2-3 weeks after the semester ends.
After your Warning Period
Not meeting SAP Requirements
If after the warning semester your overall GPA or Pace are still not meeting the SAP requirements, you may lose your financial aid for the next semester.
Example
Your GPA falls below a 2.0 during the fall semester and after all of your fall classes
finish, you still have not increased your overall GPA to a 2.0 or above, then for
the Spring semester, you will be disqualified from receiving certain types of financial
aid. Please see below to see which types of aid are impacted when you are disqualified.
If you do become disqualified, you can submit an appeal to request to receive your financial aid while you work on getting your overall academic progress to meet the requirement.
See below for more information on how to appeal.
Meeting SAP Requirements
If you do raise your overall GPA or completion rate to the requirements then you will resume your academic status of 鈥渕eeting the SAP requirements鈥� and there will be no impact to your financial aid.
What if I get disqualified?
If you do become disqualified, you can submit an appeal explaining the circumstances that made it difficult to meet the academic requirements. If approved, the appeal will allow you to request to receive your financial aid while you work on getting your overall academic progress to meet the requirements.
Submitting an Appeal
Step 1: You may request a SAP appeal directly from the Student Forms web page or contact the Welcome Center at 760. 795.6620.
- Click 鈥� Manage Request鈥�
- Find "SAP Appeal", click the 鈥�+鈥� under the correct Academic Year
- Click Submit
- Write a brief, max 1 sentence, reason for requesting appeal.
- Review tasks listed on dashboard
Step 2: Complete Request
Step 3: Wait 2 weeks for outcome
SAP Appeal Requirements
- A statement explaining your circumstances that made it difficult for you to meet the academic requirements.
- Documentation that supports what you write in your statement
- A recently updated Comprehensive Educational Plan
Processing timeline
SAP Appeals typically take about 10-15 business days to be reviewed after all items have been submitted. For second appeals, typically take about 10-15 business days to be reviewed.
Deadlines to Consider
SAP outcome and eligibility redetermination needs to be completed prior to the end of the term appealing for. Appeals submitted less than 2 weeks prior to the end of the semester may not be reviewed.
What if I get Denied?
The Financial Aid Office will work with you to give you the best chances of getting approved and will not deny your appeal without working with you first.
Reach out to the Welcome Center for support if you get notified that you are denied to see if anything else can be submitted with your appeal.
If you are denied, you may appeal the following semester for your aid.
Aid that is impacted by being SAP disqualified
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
- Federal Work-Study
- Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized & Unsubsidized)
- Cal Grant (A, B, C)
- Chafee Grant
- Student Success Completion Grant (SSCG)
- Dream Service Incentive Grant (DSIG)
How to find out if you are not meeting SAP
You will receive an email from the Financial Aid Office typically two to three weeks after the semester ends notifying you that you are not meeting the minimum requirements.
Example
If the summer semester ends August 1, and you did not meet the requirements, you may
not get notified until approximately August 22.
Once email notifications have been sent out, you can also check your SURF account under the 鈥淭o-Do鈥� list.
Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU)
The Federal Pell Grant has a lifetime limit on how much you can receive. This limit is called your Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU).
How It Works
- You can receive Pell Grant funds for up to the equivalent of 6 years (or 12 full-time semesters).
- Your usage is measured in percentages, not years.
- Each full-time semester of Pell Grant counts as 50% of your annual limit.
- Full-time (12+ units) for a full year = 100% used.
- Half-time or part-time enrollment uses a smaller percentage.
Why It Matters
- Once you reach 600% LEU, you are no longer eligible for Pell Grant funds 鈥� even if you haven鈥檛 earned your degree yet.
- Using Pell Grant at a community college counts toward this limit, so it鈥檚 important to plan ahead if you will be transferring to a university.
How to Check Your Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility (LEU)
You can see your Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) by logging in to your Federal Student Aid (FSA) account.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Go to StudentAid.gov.
- Log in using your FSA ID username and password (this is the same as your FAFSA username and password)
- Once logged in, click 鈥淰iew Details鈥� in the 鈥淢y Aid鈥� section.
- Scroll down to 鈥淕rants鈥� and look for Pell Grant.
- You will see your Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) listed as a percentage.
Example: 350% means you鈥檝e used the equivalent of 3 years and one semesters full-time.
If you鈥檙e close to 600%, plan carefully 鈥� you won鈥檛 be eligible for more Pell Grant once you hit the limit.
Cal Grant Four-Year Limit
Cal Grant awards have a lifetime limit of four years of full-time payment (also called 鈥淔ull-Time Equivalent鈥� years). This applies to all Cal Grant types (A, B, and C) combined.
How It Works
- Your usage is based on the number of units you take:
- Full-time (12+ units) = 1 year used per academic year.
- Three-quarter time (9鈥�11 units) = 0.75 year used per academic year.
- Half-time (6鈥�8 units) = 0.5 year used per academic year.
- Cal Grant received at any California college counts toward your limit, including community colleges.
- Once you reach the four-year limit, you cannot receive additional Cal Grant funding unless you qualify for an approved exception.
Why It Matters
- Using your Cal Grant while at community college will reduce the amount available if you transfer to a university.
- Tuition at universities is usually higher, so some students choose to save their Cal Grant for transfer.
Check Your Cal Grant Usage
Log in to your account to see how much of your Cal Grant eligibility you have used and how much remains.
High School Diploma or Equivalent Requirement
The U.S. Department of Education requires that you have a high school diploma or its
equivalent to be eligible for any grants that are paid directly to you. Please see
below for a list of grants that are impacted by this requirement.
You can meet this requirement by:
- Earning a regular high school diploma.
- Completing a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.
- Earning a High School Equivalency Certificate (such as HiSET or TASC).
- Completing a homeschool program that meets state requirements.
Ability to Benefit (ATB)
If you do not have a high school diploma or equivalent, you may still be eligible for aid through the Ability to Benefit (ATB) process.
To qualify for ATB, you must:
- Be enrolled in an eligible career pathway program, and
- Meet one of these ATB options:
- Pass an ATB-approved test
Take the ATB approved test at an approved center. - Successfully complete 6 degree-applicable college units at an eligible institution
before July 1, 2012.
Please submit your transcripts demonstrating that you enrolled in and completed 6 degree-applicable units.
- Pass an ATB-approved test
Why this matters
Without meeting the high school diploma/equivalent requirement or qualifying through ATB, you cannot receive any grants that are paid directly to you.
For information on where to take an ATB eligible test, contact the Testing Center.
