SAP Status

A student’s SAP status is calculated each semester, after grades are finalized.  There are four separate statuses which may be assigned to a student and that can impact aid eligibility for the next semester. The SAP status affects most financial aid eligibility, although some grants and scholarships may have additional criteria or GPA requirements; students should review any scholarship agreement to identify specific GPA criteria.

The four SAP statuses are:

Students who meet all three of the SAP criteria will have a status of Meeting SAP for purposes of federal, state, and institutional aid.  Please recognize that certain merit scholarships or programs may have higher GPA requirements.

The first time a student is found to not be meeting all three of the SAP criteria, they will be given a one-time, one semester status of financial aid SAP Warning. While on SAP Warning, students are eligible to receive their federal, state, and institutional aid.  Students are to use this semester to build their academic progress in order to be meeting SAP standards by the end of the semester. Students who are meeting SAP standards after their warning semester will have their status updated to Meeting SAP and continue to be eligible for financial aid. Students who are not meeting standards after their warning semester will be placed on SAP Restriction and lose aid eligibility.

If a student fails to meet SAP standards, they will be placed on financial aid restriction. Students on financial aid restriction are not eligible to receive Federal, state, or institutional financial aid. Students on SAP restriction may continue to enroll in and attend classes, without the use of financial aid, if otherwise eligible to enroll.  There are other payment alternatives such as the Monthly Payment Plan or select private loans (see below).

A student on financial aid restriction is eligible to apply for private educational loan with select lenders that do not require students to be meeting SAP requirements. Students may wish to pursue a private loan to assist with payment of school-related charges if:

  • the student does not have a circumstance that warrants a SAP appeal or
  • the student missed the appeal deadline date for the current semester of enrollment or
  • the student submitted a SAP appeal and it was not approved

Additional information about private (alternative) loans can be found here.

A student can re-establish eligibility for financial aid by attending UMBC, paying for tuition and fees without the help of financial aid, and doing well enough in their courses to meet all SAP standards at the next evaluation period. SAP is evaluated at the end of each semester after grades are finalized.

Students whose SAP appeal has been approved will receive a status of SAP Probation for one semester.  Students on SAP Probation are eligible to receive federal, state, and institutional financial aid as they work on improving their academic performance.  While on SAP Probation, students are expected to:

  • Follow their academic plan that was approved by their academic advisor
  • Successfully complete all courses (meaning a passing grade is received and the student did not withdraw)
  • Be meeting all three SAP measurements by the end of the semester in which they receive probation

Passing grades include A, B, C, or P; a grade of “S” is considered as passing if the course will count toward degree requirements.

Students who do not improve their academic performance to be meeting SAP standards by the end of their probationary semester will be returned to SAP Restriction and lose aid eligibility. Students who experienced a new unexpected circumstance are able to submit a new SAP appeal for consideration. Students who have filed more than one SAP appeal should be aware that repeated failure to improve performance reduces the likelhood of being approved.

When a student is found to be meeting SAP standards again at the end of their probationary semester, they will be returned to Meeting SAP status and maintain their aid eligibility.

Students can find more information about their current SAP status on their myUMBC profile.

Students can view their current SAP status in their myUMBC account on the Financial Aid section of their Profile page (see example image below). The first line tells the student their current status. The “Required” column shows the standard that students are required to meet for each criteria. The “Current” column shows the student’s data as of the most recent SAP calculation.

(Click image to enlarge)

Frequently asked questions can be found here.