Federal and State financial aid regulations require Skyline College to establish, publish and apply qualitative, quantitative and incremental standards by which Skyline College can determine whether a student requesting and/or receiving financial aid is maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in their course of study. Financial Aid recipients are required to have a declared educational goal and enrollment in a Title IV eligible program.

We also offer helpful videos explaining how SAP is calculated and relevant processes. Watch videos about SAP

SAP Standards apply to:

  • A student who wishes to establish or maintain financial aid eligibility,
  • A student's entire academic record (including transfer coursework), whether or not financial aid was received for prior terms of enrollment

Note for Dual Major Students:

  • Students are not eligible to receive financial aid for more than one major
  • Once students meet the degree requirements to complete one of the majors, they are considered to have earned a degree, even if they are still completing the requirements for their other major

Definitions of Standards:

Qualitative Standards

  • The quality of a student’s academic progress is measured by the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA).
  • Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a scale of 4.0.
  • Courses completed with a grade of A, B, C, D, or P will be considered acceptable for Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Quantitative Standards

  • The Financial Aid Office measures academic progress by the number of units a student has attempted and completed.

Incremental Standards

  • The academic progress of financial aid students will be evaluated after each payment period.
  • Federal and state emergency funds do not count against a student's SAP calculation.
  • Progress will be evaluated after grades for the previous term are posted.

Requirements

A. Maximum Time Frame: All financial aid students will be expected to complete their program within 150% of the published length of the program. Students enrolled in 60 unit AA/AS, 4-year transfer, or vocational programs will be expected to complete their program by the time they attempt 90 units. Students enrolled in vocational programs of less than 60 units will be given a maximum time frame (attempted units) that is 150% of their chosen program's length. Associate Degree or Transfer Program maximum time frame is 90 units.

B. Pace Rate: It is expected that financial aid students will make continuous and steady progress towards their educational goals, referred to as Pace Rate. To measure whether students are progressing in their course of study within the maximum time frame, SMCCCD will evaluate the Pace Rate of financial aid students after each term (Fall, Spring and Summer). At the end of each term, students will be expected to have completed at least a cumulative 67% of all units attempted. Classes with grades of A, B, C, D, and P (Pass) are considered to have been completed. Classes with grades of F, NP (No Pass), I (Incomplete), and RD (grade delayed) will not be considered as completed. All classes taken at other institutions through a consortium agreement will also be included in the Pace Rate assessment.

If Satisfactory Academic Progress is not met

Extenuating Circumstances

Students who have been placed on suspension may appeal if they experienced an extenuating circumstance that impacted their academic progress. Examples of some extenuating circumstances include:

  • The death of an immediate family member or close relative (i.e. mother, father, grandparent, sibling, or immediate family such as a related aunt or uncle)
  • A serious injury or illness (physical or mental) that required medical intervention
  • Significant, unanticipated family obligations due to medical issue or illness
  • A catastrophic loss due to fire, flood, or natural disaster that affects the student’s academic attendance or performance
  • An involuntary call to active military duty
  • An unsafe or abusive environment
  • Any undue hardship that prohibits the successful completion of coursework

Request Reinstatement of Financial Aid:

  1. Complete required Appeal Form on your WebSMART account 
    • Provide a statement and explain what happened. Be clear, direct, and to the point
    • Explain what you will do to get back on track
  2. Student Educational Plan (SEP)
  3. Complete an online Student Academic Progress (SAP) Counseling Session
    • Visit the SAP Counseling Center to complete an online counseling session on one of the following topics:
      • The Essentials to Understanding SAP and What it Means to You
      • The Key Components to the SAP Financial Aid Process
  4. Print and upload your certificate of completion indicating that you PASSED
    • Certificate must have your name and student ID Number. 

Our office requires students to submit all documents together. Individual documents will not be accepted.

Note: Students may submit up to two appeals per semester. The determination on the second appeal is final. The student must wait until the following semester to submit a new appeal, which will only impact the term in which the student is completing the appeal. Students will not qualify for a retroactive financial aid disbursement. 

For details regarding appeals, please view our Grievance Process.

Other Requirements:

In certain instances, students are allowed to receive financial aid for repeated courses.

  • If a student passes a course on the first attempt and then repeats the course the students is allowed to receive financial aid.

Second Attempt Outcome Scenarios:

  • Student doesn’t receive a letter grade (A,B,C,D,F, and NP)= course qualifies for financial aid
  • Student receives a letter grade (A,B,C,D,F, and NP)= course does not qualify for financial aid

Students are allowed to repeat classes for financial aid purposes provided the classes are allowed under the SMCCCD repeat policy as specified in the Skyline College catalog. All repeated courses will be included in the maximum time frame assessment, the cumulative GPA assessment, and the cumulative Pace Rate assessment.

All courses taken at other institutions will be included in the maximum time frame and cumulative Pace Rate assessment, provided the courses will apply toward degree or certificate requirements. Transfer coursework is not included in the cumulative GPA assessment. Courses at proprietary and trade schools will generally not be accepted for credit toward SMCCCD degree or certificate requirements. Upper division courses from four-year colleges and universities will be counted when calculating maximum time frame. All students with bachelor degrees will be considered to have exceeded the maximum time frame and must be approved by the appeal committee before being funded. Foreign courses will be counted if they have been professionally evaluated and accepted by the district. Students with a foreign bachelor’s degree will be considered to have exceeded the maximum time frame and must be approved by the appeal committee before being funded.

ESL courses will not be counted when determining the remaining maximum time frame for a student. The academic progress in ESL courses will be considered when assessing both the student's cumulative GPA and Pace Rate.

The first 30 remedial English and math units attempted will not be counted when determining the remaining maximum time frame for a student. The academic progress in these remedial courses will be considered when assessing both the student's cumulative GPA and cumulative Pace Rate.

All students with prior Bachelor and/or Associate Degrees will be considered to have exceeded the maximum time frame and must be approved by the appeal committee before being funded. Foreign courses will be counted if they have been professionally evaluated and accepted by SMCCCD. Students with a foreign Bachelor’s Degree will be considered to have exceeded the maximum time frame and must be approved by the appeal committee before being funded. Students with prior Bachelor Degrees, foreign or domestic, are ineligible for both federal and state grant assistance.

"I" (incomplete) grades will be considered as "attempted," but will not be considered to have been "completed." If a student's "I" grade changes during a term, it is the student's responsibility to inform the financial aid office of the change. If the change of grade will affect the student's financial aid eligibility, a recalculation to determine eligibility will be conducted during the term. If the change of grade will not impact eligibility the new grade will not be factored into the cumulative Pace Rate until the next incremental assessment.

Credits earned via Credit for Prior Learning do not apply to enrollment unit load requirements for Financial Aid. However, any credits awarded through Credit for Prior Learning will be counted toward the maximum timeframe under the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy. These credits will not be calculated towards a student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) or Pace Rate for the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.

Special Considerations

Definition of Pace Rate: Units Completed ÷ Units Attempted = Pace Rate

  1. Withdrawals and Grades of “Incomplete”: Students who withdraw from classes or receive grades of “Incomplete” will have those classes included in the “Pace Rate calculation”. “Withdrawals” and “Incompletes” will be included with all other classes attempted.
  2. Grades of “F” and “NP”: Students who receive grades of “F” or “NP” do not receive units for the classes attempted, but the units will be counted towards the maximum time frame. Note that “F” grades will be used in calculating the GPA.
  3. Grades of “D” or better and “P”: Students who receive grades of “D” or better and “P” will receive units for the classes attempted. Thus, these classes would be considered to have been completed and will be used on calculating the maximum time frame, Pace Rate and GPA.
  4. Repeated Courses: Skyline Financial Aid will follow the SMCCCD policy regarding repeated courses.
  5. Progress in Summer Session: A student's progress in summer session will be counted when assessing cumulative Pace Rate and cumulative GPA.