Page Overview

Federal and state financial aid regulations require Skyline College to establish, publish, and apply qualitative, quantitative, and incremental standards to determine whether a student requesting or receiving financial aid is maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in their course of study. Financial aid recipients must also have a declared and be enrolled in a Title IV–eligible program.

We also provide helpful videos that explain how SAP is calculated and outline related processes.

SAP Standards apply to: To qualify for or keep financial aid, we review a student’s entire academic record—including transfer credits—even if you didn’t receive aid for previous terms.

Note for Dual Major Students: You can get financial aid for only one major. Once you finish one degree, you’ve earned it—even if you’re still working on another 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: Financial aid students need to finish their program within 150% of the normal program length. For most 60-unit programs—like AA/AS, transfer, or vocational—you must finish by 90 attempted units. Vocational programs have a limit of 150% of their required units. For associate degrees or transfer programs, the maximum is 90 attempted units.

B. Pace Rate: Financial aid students are expected to make steady progress toward their educational goals, called Pace Rate. After each term (Fall, Spring, and Summer), SMCCCD checks if you’re on track. You should complete at least 67% of all units you’ve attempted. Grades of A, B, C, D, and P (Pass) count as completed, while F, NP (No Pass), I (Incomplete), and RD (Grade Delayed) do not. Classes taken at other colleges through a consortium agreement are also included in your Pace Rate.

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
  • 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 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 
    • Write a statement explaining what happened. Be clear and direct. Then explain what steps you will take 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. 

Note: Students may submit up to two appeals per semester. The decision on the second appeal is final. A new appeal may only be submitted in the following semester and will apply only to that term. Students will not qualify for retroactive financial aid disbursements. 

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.