SAP Appeal Process

What is a SAP Appeal?

Students are required to be meeting SAP in order to receive financial aid. If a student is not meeting SAP standards and there were unexpected circumstances that impacted their academic progress, they may submit an appeal to be considered for financial aid probation. This status allows them to receive financial aid for that semester while they work on improving their academics.

The appeal consists of a statement describing the circumstance(s) that impacted the student’s ability to meet SAP standards as well as an outline of  their plans to succeed in future semesters and bring themself within standards. It also includes an academic plan showing the student’s intended enrollment for each semester.

What Circumstances are Appealable?

Appeal circumstances may include:

  • Medical Emergency/Sudden illness of student or family member
  • Death of family member or friend
  • Other unexpected circumstances (transportation issues, work schedule changes, familial circumstances, etc.)
  • Dual Major/Second Bachelors Degree/Second Masters Degree (for those who are failing SAP for exceeding maximum credits)

Students who have been readmitted to the university and are not meeting SAP should check out SAP for Readmitted Students.

Note: the submission of a SAP appeal does not guarantee that the student’s appeal will be approved and their aid eligibility reinstated. Students submitting an appeal should plan how they will cover their balance if the appeal is denied. Decisions made by the SAP Appeals Committee are final and cannot be appealed. Decisions are not retroactive to prior semesters. Students are responsible for paying any balances by the due date while their appeals are pending.

When to Submit an Appeal

Students who have appealable circumstances should submit their appeal as soon as possible after being notified that they are failing to meet SAP. Appeals are considered for the current semester of SAP Restriction or upcoming semester of enrollment as applicable. Students who are on SAP Warning do not need to submit an appeal as they are still eligible to receive financial aid during their warning semester.

Appeal Deadlines by Semester

Summer: August 1st

Fall: September 1st

Spring: May 1st

Appeals must be received before 11:59pm on the deadline for the semester they are appealing for in order to be considered. Appeals received after the deadline for the semester will not be reviewed, except in extenuating circumstances. An appeal is not considered received by the Financial Aid office until it has been reviewed and signed by the academic advisor.

Students should take into account when submitting their appeal that it will take time for their academic advisor to review their appeal in regards to timing of submission. On average, it takes a total of 2-4 weeks from the date the student submits their appeal for it to make it through the whole review process. This includes waiting for an academic advisor to sign off on the academic plan, and for the financial aid office to complete their review. It is recommended that students connect with their academic advisor prior to submitting the appeal to prevent delays.

It is recommended that the student submit their appeal as early as possible; some financial aid funds are limited and may be exhausted during the course of the semester. In addition, there are cutoffs for certain aid, such as federal loans, so appeals received later in the semester may not be reviewed in time for students to receive these awards if submission is delayed.

How to Submit a SAP Appeal Form

SAP Appeal forms are submitted to the Financial Aid office virtually via DocuSign. The appeal form includes the student’s statement describing the circumstance(s) that impacted the student’s ability to meet SAP standards as well as an outline of their plans to succeed in future semesters and bring themself within standards as well as their academic plan. All sections must be fully completed, including the Academic Advisor’s review and comments for the appeal to be considered for review by the Financial Aid office. Students will receive a notification when their SAP appeal form is received by our office. See the section below, as well as the Submitting a Successful SAP Appeal section, for more information on completing the form.

Overview of the Appeal Form

The student will need to provide their Academic Advisor’s name and email address to start the appeal form. The student’s appeal and academic plan will be forwarded to the advisor for their review and comments after the student completes their sections.

SAP Appeal Circumstances Section

Page 1:

On the first page of the form students will be asked to:

    • Indicate their degree program/major
    • Provide their anticipated graduation semester
    • Select which of the circumstances apply to them

This page also includes a section labeled “I am appealing due to not meeting the following SAP standard(s)” This section includes data on why the student is not meeting SAP for their reference. Student can use this to help them construct their appeal. This data is pre-filled using the student’s current SAP information from their myUMBC profile.

Page 2:

In this section, there are two boxes. First, the student will share the reason(s) they failed to meet SAP standards. They will also be asked to explain what has changed to ensure that they will be successful in the future. Please be aware that each box has a character limit of 1000 characters (not words). If the student’s statements exceed this number, please type them in a word document and attach it to the appeal

Please note: Contents of appeals are confidential. However, we are concerned for the well-being of students. In an instance where someone’s well-being appears at risk, our staff will consult with the appropriate UMBC personnel.

Page 3:

This page has links for students to upload documentation to support their appeal. The student will also be asked to read the SAP Appeal terms and initial to acknowledge they have read and understood them.

Required Documentation: A copy of the student’s most recent UMBC transcript.

Current students can view and print their unofficial transcript at no cost online through myUMBC. Once logged in, select “Advising and Student Support” under the Topics menu and then click the “Transcript (Unofficial)” link.

Optional Documentation for the circumstance(s) may also be included – note that time frames on your documentation should match the time frames of the circumstance(s) described in the appeal. Examples of documents that could be submitted:

    • If a family member or friend passed away, include an obituary or death certificate.
    • For medical issues, include a completed SAP Medical Documentation Form. For confidentiality, please do not submit copies of medical records.
    • For an employment situation, include a signed and dated statement from the employer on company letterhead.
    • For an auto accident, include a police report and/or a completed SAP Medical Documentation Form.

SAP Academic Plan

This is where the student will provide their intended course enrollment for each semester for the current  semester through graduation. It is recommended that students connect with their academic advisors prior to submission to ensure that their academic plan is incomplete. An incomplete academic plan or one that has not been approved by the academic advisor will not be accepted.

SAP Academic Plan Worksheet: Use this to help plan your classes out before writing your final academic plan for submission! This can also be used if additional pages are needed to show the student’s full academic plan through graduation.

Once the academic plan is filled in, the student will digitally sign and submit their appeal. It will then be forwarded automatically to the academic advisor for review. Once the advisor has reviewed the student’s appeal form and academic plan, and provided their insight, a final copy of the full SAP appeal including advisor’s comments will be emailed to the student and the completed appeal will be forwarded to the SAP committee for review.

Advising Hints:

  • Connect with your academic advisor before submitting your appeal! This ensures that they are aware it will be coming, and allows the opportunity for you to discuss your circumstances with them if you have not already.
  • Some advisors will require a meeting with the student to discuss the academic plan prior to the student submitting the appeal form, or they may request that the student make updates before signing off on the plan.
  • If the student is unsure of who their advisor is, they can check their myUMBC profile, or check the Departmental Advising page on the Advising website.

26/27 SAP Appeal Form Link 

We are currently accepting appeals for Summer 2026 and Fall 2026.

Information for Academic Advisors reviewing SAP Academic Plans.

 

Complete SAP appeals will generally be reviewed within two weeks of receipt; during high volume periods such as the start of a new semester or billing due dates, decisions may be delayed. Notification of decision will be sent to the student’s UMBC email address.

Students whose appeal are approved will be placed on SAP Probation for one semester. Students whose SAP appeals are not approved will remain on SAP Restriction

Please keep in mind that the submission of a SAP appeal does not guarantee that the student’s appeal will be approved. SAP decisions rendered by the SAP Appeals Committee are final and cannot be appealed. Decisions are not retroactive. The student will be responsible for payment of the bill by the due date for any outstanding charges even if the appeal decision is pending.

The student must be re-admitted to the university before an appeal decision can be made. For best consideration, submit the SAP appeal while awaiting the decision for reinstatement and contact the student’s assigned Financial Aid Counselor once readmitted.

Students should keep in mind that reinstatement to the university does not guarantee receipt of financial aid.

Tips for Students:

  • Be specific, acknowledge the circumstances that caused the academic challenges.
  • Speak to each semester impacted by the circumstances. Provide dates when possible.
  • If this is not the student’s first SAP appeal, they should include information about what has changed since the last appeal (are there new circumstances? what did they change that worked/did not work?)

Example SAP appeal statement*:

Please explain the unexpected circumstances that have resulted in not meeting SAP standards.

During the Fall 2024 semester, I was unable to meet the SAP standards as I was working 20 or more hours each week at my job and was working in the evenings after attending classes all day. My work hours meant that I was not able to make it to office hours or group study sessions. I was also too tired to study after getting home which meant that I was putting off homework and studying for exams until later and often did not have enough time to properly complete anything. I was also not dedicating enough study time to my MATH 155 class which I found more challenging than my other courses, and this resulted in the F that I received in that course.

Please explain how your circumstances have changed and how you plan to ensure future success.

I have adjusted my work availability going forward so I will no longer work on days I have classes and will be working fewer hours overall. This means I will be able to focus on my coursework and have more time to use on campus resources to assist me. I have also met with my academic advocate and plan to use the resources they recommended such as the Writing Center and Computing Success Center to help when I am struggling. I will be retaking MATH 155 this semester and intend to use the free tutoring in addition to dedicating specific time to studying for this class.

*Please note that this is an example for students reference and is not inclusive of all circumstances or explanations that may be needed for an appeal. This should be used as a guideline and exact appeal contents will vary based on personal circumstances.