Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
The University is required by US regulations to ensure that all students receiving Federal Aid (Stafford (subsidized, unsubsidized and PLUS loans) are making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in order to remain eligible to receive US loan support.
The University expects all students to maintain satisfactory academic progress throughout their course of study in order to remain enrolled and to continue receiving aid.
For programs of study longer than one academic year, the University is required to evaluate SAP at least once annually. For programs of study that are one academic year or less in length, the University is required to evaluate SAP at the end of each payment period.
Undergraduate students
The SAP review will be conducted annually at the designated progression point which coincides with the timing of departmental Board of Examiners. Any student who does not meet the SAP standards at that point will lose federal loan eligibility.
Postgraduate students
SAP will be evaluated at:
- the end of each term for taught students (i.e. three times per academic year) and
- the mid-point and end point of the academic year for research students.
Shortly before the end of each payment period the University will liaise with your Personal Tutor/Supervisor/Director of Studies to confirm that your progress to date is anticipated to be sufficient for you to obtain a pass when you undertake your assessments.
How is SAP assessed?
SAP uses both qualitative and quantitative measures. Both the qualitative and quantitative SAP standards are reviewed at least annually for each student at each evaluation point (see below).
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is assessed as follows:
Qualitative standard
Students must achieve minimum standards as required by their supervisor/tutor/Department/Faculty and academic standing, consistent with graduation requirements - equivalent at the very least, to be sufficient to obtain a pass when taking their exams and assessments.
The pass mark for undergraduate modules is 40 and for postgraduate is 50.
Research students are required to undergo at least annual monitoring points and this is audited by the Graduate School. Research students are expected to be making steady progress as determined by their supervisor in accordance with Research Degree Regulations.
Students who fail to meet required academic progress to continue study will be withdrawn from the federal aid programme.
At the June Board of Examiners, a student who is not permitted to proceed, but has achieved an average of at least 40, will be required to resit all failed required core modules in September before the next academic year starts.
Additionally, such a candidate who has not achieved passes in whole modules weighted at a minimum of 80 credits, will be required to resit other failed modules, as directed by the Board of Examiners.
Students who fail resit(s) will be required to withdraw and federal aid will be suspended for future periods.
In exceptional circumstances, the September Board of Examiners may permit a student to resit failed examinations in the following summer, without residence. Federal aid will be suspended during this period.
Quantitative standard
Timeframes
Student must progress through their program at a pace which ensures that they will graduate within the maximum timeframe. The maximum timeframe for completion is 150% of the standard published timeframe - as measured by credit hours to include transfer credits and attempted credits.
Students must complete the programme in no more than:
- four and a half years for a three-year undergraduate degree and
- one and a half years for a one-year postgraduate taught degree
This timeframe includes any previous periods of study at other institutions at the same learning level.
There is no appeal for maximum timeframe limitation.
Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)
The University uses the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) to express credit weightings for each unit of learning. The workload for a typical:
- undergraduate year comprises 120 CATS and
- postgraduate year comprises 150 CATS
Pace
In order to meet the quantitative measure of SAP, a student will be measured at each evaluation period to ensure that they are meeting the minimum pace of completion of 66.7% credits in each year. This equates to:
- 80 CATS for undergraduate students and
- 100 CATS for postgraduate taught programmes
Students should pass at least 66.7 % of courses they have attempted for the payment period (or period of enrolment) in order to meet the pace of completion component of SAP.
Pace is determined by dividing the cumulative number of credits students have earned by the cumulative number of credits attempted.
Postgraduate research students
For postgraduate research students, the programme length cannot exceed 150% of the normal length of the programme. This includes time for writing a thesis and viva examinations.
The majority of the PhD programmes at the University are three-year programmes. Students should complete a three-year PhD in four and a half years at the most. This timeframe includes any previous period of study at other institutions for the same level programme.
Please note the maximum registration length permitted for a PhD at the University is 4 years. Therefore in practice, the requirement for SAP is less stringent. The expectation is that students must complete a PhD programme within 4 years of registration in order to graduate.
Once a PhD student has submitted their thesis, they will be regarded as being less than half-time. Therefore students who have submitted their thesis will not eligible for federal aid from the date of submission.
SAP Appeals Procedure
A student who fails to meet SAP standards will be notified that they are ineligible for further disbursements of US federal aid.
Upon receiving notification, a student can regain their eligibility only by:
- submitting a successful appeal to be placed on probation, or
- taking action that brings them into compliance with SAP standards.
A student may appeal due to extenuating circumstances beyond their control (e.g. injury, ill health, bereavement, or other special circumstances etc.) and state what has changed in their situation that will allow them to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress at the next evaluation date.
Appeals
A student who fails to meet SAP standards must include the following in their submission appeal:
- The circumstances for not meeting SAP requirements
- What will change that will allow the student to satisfy SAP requirements in the future
- Any other relevant information
All appeals must be received within ten days of receipt of the Notice of Suspension.
Note: This process is separate from any academic appeals process, see:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/aro/studentfeedbackandcomplaintsold/studentappeals
Students should submit an appeal in writing to:
Student Finance (US Loans), Finance Office, University House, University of Warwick, CV4 8UW
Appeal process
An Appeal Panel will be convened consisting of at least two members of staff from the Academic Office. The Appeal Panel may require extra evidence, documentation or contributions from the student’s supervisor/tutor Department/Faculty. The decision made by the Appeal Panel will be sent to the student’s Warwick e-mail address. The appeal decision may be:
- a reinstatement of eligibility of US federal aid
- a financial probationary period with conditions, or
- a denial of US federal aid
If the Appeal Panel determines that the student should be able to meet the SAP standards within a set limited timeframe (usually one term/payment period), the student will be placed on probation.
Any conditions (including the requirements of an academic plan) relating to a financial probationary period will be detailed in the appeal decision e-mail.
The student’s progress will be reviewed at the end of each payment period to determine if the student is meeting the requirements of the academic plan. If the student is not meeting the required standards at any reviewing point, then they will not be eligible for further disbursements of US student loans until they are able to take action that brings them into compliance with the SAP standards.
If the Appeal Panel determines that the student will not be able to meet SAP standards, then the student will be ineligible for further disbursements of US federal aid until they are able to take action that brings them into compliance with the SAP standards.
Financial Aid Probation
Any student who has been placed on probation and does not meet the progression requirements applicable to degree level will be suspended and ineligible to receive aid until such a time as they achieve the required standard.
A student can regain eligibility only by taking action that brings them into compliance with the SAP standards or submitting a successful appeal.
If a student has been placed on Financial Aid Probation and subsequently meets the SAP requirements in the next term they will be placed back into good Financial Aid Standing (SAP).
Students who transfer into a new academic program will also transfer with any SAP warning or sanction and will still need to meet the specified criteria in the new program before re-establishing eligibility to receive federal aid.
Financial Aid Warning
Please note the University does not permit a Financial Aid Warning status - this means for a student who has failed to achieve satisfactory academic progress the aid will be discontinued.
Federal Aid SAP vs University academic progression
Please note all students’ progression requirements are subject to the University’s degree regulations and classification on conventions, which can be found:
https://warwick.ac.uk/services/aro/dar/quality/categories/examinations/conventions.
These requirements for progression may be different to what’s required by SAP for federal loan purposes.
If you failed to achieve the SAP but have achieved what’s required by the University in order to progress, you may progress onto the next stage of study but you will not be eligible for federal aid.
Students’ attendance and progression are monitored by academic departments in keeping with the University’s Monitoring Student Attendance and Progression Guide. A course handbook is published for each academic programme by respective academic departments, which sets out course regulations including how it is taught and assessed.
The University’s Regulation 36 in relation to Student Registration, Attendance and Progress and other aspects of study can be accessed here: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/gov/calendar/section2/regulations/.