Standards of Academic Progress Appeal
If you have not met Financial Aid’s standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), you are considered ineligible for financial aid. However, you may submit a Standards of Academic Progress Appeal if you have a documented extenuating circumstance that prevented you from meeting the 2.0 GPA and 67% completion rate requirements.
Learn more about Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Review the following information by section:
What Counts as an Extenuating Circumstance
How to Make a Financial Aid Standards of Academic Progress Appeal
Maximum Timeframe Recalculation Request and Appeal
Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Success Plan
What Counts as an Extenuating Circumstance
You might be able to claim an extenuating circumstances if you experienced something:
- unexpected
- that could not be planned for, or
- or that was outside of your control
Examples of and Documentation Required to Support an Extenuating Circumstance
| Circumstance | Examples of Supporting Documentation |
|---|---|
| your own mental or physical illness, injury, disability | letter from a licensed healthcare provider on the provider's letterhead |
| death of a family member or significant person in your life | copy of obituary or death certificate |
| illness, accident, or injury of significant person in your life | physician's statement, police report, or documentation from third-party professional (e.g., hospital billing statement) |
| your own divorce or separation or of your parents | attorney's letter on law firm's letterhead, petition for dissolution, or copy of divorce decree |
| employment changes | documentation of job loss or other changes in employment |
| you take on an additional degree program, or you complete your degree and start working toward a new degree (maximum timeframe only) | detailed statement of the reason for your changes and a copy of your My Progress plan from MyCollege |
Circumstances such as lack of maturity, lack of effort, and typical work and family life balance will not be considered.
How to Make a Financial Aid Standards of Academic Progress Appeal
Submit all appeal forms and documentation to the Financial Aid office at least fifteen business days before the semester start date. Note that if you submit an appeal after this date, your appeal will be processed before the end of the semester. If you submit an appeal, the financial aid office will not hold your classes.
- Go to GetSAP.
- Log in using your Central Piedmont student ID and password.
- Complete the session in your Dashboard called “Understanding Satisfactory Academic Progress and the Financial Aid SAP Appeal Process.” The session should take 30-40 minutes. You will need an 85% or higher pass rate.
- Print the "Congratulations" page to confirm you passed the session.
- Under "Related Links," fill out the appeal form completely and print. Be sure to address each term your extenuating circumstances occurred.
- Submit your completed appeal form with your statement explaining the circumstances that led to your inability to meet satisfactory academic progress standards, including an explanation outlining circumstances and what steps you will take to allow you to meet satisfactory academic progress standards in the future. Submit all paperwork – your appeal form, "Congratulations" confirmation page, and supporting documentation of your extenuating circumstances – to a Central Piedmont financial aid office.
- We will send you an email to your Central Piedmont student email account within 7–10 business days after you submit your appeal and documentation.
Submitting an appeal does not guarantee that your financial aid will be reimbursed.
The Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee or a financial aid representative will review your appeal and notify you via your Central Piedmont email address. You may also view your satisfactory academic progress (SAP) status and the determination of your appeals in MyCollege.
Appeals are not retroactive — they are approved for your current (if enrolled) semester or the next semester of enrollment. You are generally limited to two suspension appeals requests while attending Central Piedmont. The later appeal must be based on a different reason from the first appeal.
If your financial aid appeal is approved, you will be placed on Financial Aid Appeal Probation and will be reinstated for financial aid eligibility. Approved appeals will clearly state the condition(s) for eligibility and/or reinstatement and your academic plan.
Maximum Timeframe Recalculation Request
If you have attempted more than 150% of the published credits required for you program of study, you are considered not meeting satisfactory academic progress. If you are disqualified from receiving financial aid due to exceeding the 150% maximum timeframe, you may appeal the decision.
If it is mathematically determined that you cannot complete your chosen program of study within the maximum timeframe, you will be placed in suspension status.
Examples for federal maximum timeframe:
- associate degree with 60 total credits: 60 x 150% = maximum of 90 credits for financial aid funding
- certificate program with 16 total credits: 16 x 150% = maximum of 24 credits for financial aid funding
You may request a "recalculation" of the maximum timeframe component if you:
- have a change in your program of study
- attempt multiple programs
- have successfully completed a program and are returning to pursue another program. If deemed appropriate, the recalculation would include only the credit hours that are applicable to your current program(s) of study. In the case of multiple degrees, each program will be calculated separately to only include the credit hours that are applicable to each program.
How to Appeal Maximum Credits Timeframe
You may request a recalculation of eligibility for maximum timeframe by submitting a Maximum Timeframe Recalculation Request Form to the Financial Aid Office. Follow the steps to make a financial aid appeal.
The appeal must contain a description of the extenuating circumstances which led to the need for you to exceed the 150% maximum timeframe limit without completing a program. You must also provide a timetable of the remaining coursework for program completion. The Financial Aid Office may create a plan, of up to four semesters, to assist you in completing your program of study.
If your financial aid Maximum Timeframe Recalculation Request is approved, you will be reinstated for financial aid eligibility. Approved appeals will clearly state the condition(s) for eligibility and/or reinstatement and your academic plan.
You may only request the recalculation twice in your academic career at Central Piedmont. A review of your remaining aid eligibility and your ability to complete will be taken into consideration if you are completing multiple programs. You must be meeting the GPA and completion rate requirements for a recalculation to be approved.
Regaining Federal Student Aid Eligibility for Maximum Timeframe
If you successfully appeal the 150% timeframe, you are required to complete 100% of everything attempted from that point forward to complete your degree (no withdrawals, no incompletes, no grades lower than a C). Once you are on maximum timeframe, you will be unable to take action to reestablish progress unless your appeal is approved.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Status and Appeal Notification
We will notify you of your satisfactory academic progress at the end of each registered semester via your Central Piedmont student email account. You may also view your updated status in MyCollege under Financial Aid.
Appeals Status
Approved Appeal
If your appeal is approved, you will be placed on “Probation” for your current or next semester of attendance and will be notified of how many credit hours you will need to complete in order to regain satisfactory academic progress and how many terms are allotted to complete graduation requirements (in the case of a maximum timeframe appeal). You would be placed on an academic plan that must be followed in order to continue enrollment. The plan may include requirements for academic performance and/or for meetings with an academic advisor or Central Piedmont counselor. If you meet the academic plan requirements, you will continue to be on probation for the next semester. Continued eligibility for financial aid is contingent on meeting your the requirements of each semester’s academic plan. Failure to meet the requirements of the academic plan will result in termination of financial aid in the next semester of attendance. Your academic progress status does not return to satisfactory until you earn a cumulative 2.0 GPA and a cumulative 67% progress rate and do not exceed the maximum timeframe for program completion.
You may not withdraw, fail, or receive incompletes while on a probation. To successfully complete these credit hours, you must earn a 2.0 GPA each term and earn passing credits in 100% of the attempted classes each term until you regain satisfactory academic progress or graduate. If you fail to meet these requirements, your financial aid will be terminated.
A second appeal may be considered, but you will not be allowed to submit it for the same issue that led to the first appeal, such as the same instance of the same medical condition. You must have very unusual circumstances to warrant a second appeal.
Violated Appeals
If you do not meet the conditions of an approved appeal at the end of the probationary term(s), you will no longer be eligible for financial aid and will have one of the following statuses:
- UBT - Violated Appeal – Both (not meeting the 2.0 GPA and the 100% completion rate requirement)
- UGT - Violated Appeal – GPA (not meeting the 2.0 GPA requirement)
- UCT - Violated Appeal – Pass Rate (not meeting the 100% Pass Rate requirement)
Denied Appeals
If your appeal is denied, or if you do not meet the conditions of an approved appeal, you will be asked to attend at your own expense to satisfy the deficiency either in the hours (Pass Rate), GPA, or both. You cannot make up a deficiency if your appeal was due to exceeding the maximum timeframe to earn a degree.
Regaining Federal Student Aid Eligibility for Satisfactory Academic Progress
If you continue to attend each enrollment period without federal financial aid, you may regain eligibility for financial aid by earning a cumulative GPA of 2.0 and a cumulative completion rate of 67%. You would need to take courses at your own expense until satisfactory academic progress guidelines are met. Satisfactory academic progress is automatically reviewed at the end of each semester.
Warning status or suspension status due to failure to make satisfactory academic progress can be changed only by successfully completing classes — you may not improve your status by simply "sitting out" a semester. Once you meet both satisfactory academic progress requirements — a cumulative GPA of 2.0 and a cumulative completion rate of 67% — your status will change, and you will be considered in good standing for financial aid.
Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Success Plan
If you are placed on suspension and successfully appeal the decision, but your academic situation is such that it would be mathematically impossible for you to regain satisfactory academic progress eligibility during the next semester as required by federal satisfactory academic progress guidelines, the Financial Aid office may, at its sole discretion, place you on a financial aid academic plan. This plan will outline steps of progress that, if you follow them each semester, will lead to your regaining satisfactory academic progress eligibility at a specific time in the future. The academic plan will be used to evaluate your satisfactory academic progress until it expires.
Financial Aid will develop a plan for you based on your individual circumstances. We may request that you provide an academic/graduation plan signed by your academic advisor in addition to an appeal form. The plan may also include requirements for academic performance for one to four semesters and/or for meetings with an academic advisor or Central Piedmont counselor. If you meet these requirements, you will continue to be on probation for the next semester. Continued eligibility for financial aid is contingent on your meeting the requirements of each semester’s academic plan. If you do not meet these progressive steps each semester, you would immediately be placed on financial aid termination. You could then only reestablish your eligibility (and return your progress status to satisfactory) once you earn a cumulative 2.0 GPA and a cumulative 67% progress rate and do not exceed the maximum timeframe for program completion.