Satisfactory Academic Progress
According to financial aid regulations, students must make satisfactory progress toward a degree in order to remain eligible to receive financial aid. Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) includes both qualitative (grade point average) and quantitative (number of semester hours completed) measures of the student's progress. For financial aid purposes, an undergraduate student must show that a degree program will be completed in six years or fewer, given full-time attendance. This means that a student must enroll for at least 12 semester hours per semester and successfully complete a minimum number of those hours.
The Student Financial Services office will assess the undergraduate student's progress at the end of every semester for the New York State (NYS) aid and once a year (after the spring term) for all federal aid programs. However, while these are guidelines for SAP for financial aid purposes, meeting only the guideline will not ensure a student's graduation from Roberts Wesleyan University (RWU) in four or even six years.
New York State Chart (TAP)
Before being certified for this payment | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
A student must have accrued at least this many credits | 6 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 60 | 75 | 90 | 105 | 120 |
With at least this GPA | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
For NYS TAP recipients, requirements specify that program pursuit must be determined independently for SAP. Satisfactory program pursuit is defined as receiving a passing or failing grade in a certain percentage of full-time course work in each semester for which an award is received. The percentage increases from:
50% (6 semester hours) of the minimum full-time course work (12 semester hours) in each semester of study in the first year for which an award is received.
75% (9 semester hours) of the minimum full-time course work in each semester of the second year for which an award is received.
100% (12 semester hours) of the minimum full-time course work for each semester thereafter.
Note: Students who repeat courses for which they have already received credit will not satisfy this requirement. They must carry additional semester hours for certification for TAP and other NYS programs.
Federal Financial Aid
The following are minimum standards of SAP, the time frame for completion of an undergraduate degree cannot exceed 150 percent of the published program length for a full-time student. For example, for a 12- credit hour (four year) program the maximum number of credits that may be attempted is 180. This calculation does not consider the length of time the student spends in the program; the same maximum number of attempted hours is used for all students, regardless of the students' enrollment status (part-time or full-time). All credit hours attempted, whether or not they are completed or passed, are counted toward the maximum number of credit hours.
Satisfactory Academic Progress chart for federal financial aid
Semester hours earned toward degree | Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average |
| 0-29 | 1.0 |
| 30-59 | 1.5 |
| 60+ | 2.0 |
Graduate students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0.
Transfer Students: If a student transfers credit in from another institution we will determine the number of credit hours acceptable toward a degree and the student will be placed at the appropriate point on the SAP chart.
Students who fail to meet SAP will lose their eligibility for federal or NYS aid. Students may apply for a one time waiver by submitting a request to the Financial Aid office with an explanation of why the student did not meet the standards. Waivers will be considered based on health issues, extraordinary personal difficulty or other special circumstances.