Satisfactory Academic Progress
Federal regulations require the Blinn College District to implement Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies to ensure that students receiving federal student aid are making adequate progress toward completing their degree programs. Satisfactory Academic Progress will be monitored for all periods of enrollment whether or not you have received financial aid. The satisfactory academic progress policy applies to all federal, state, and institutional aid, including federal loan programs. Private loans that require school certification also may be subject to SAP policies.
Blinn's financial aid SAP policies are similar, but not identical, to the College's Academic Standing policies. Students should review both sets of policies and ask for clarification as needed. Questions about financial aid SAP policies should be directed to the Financial Aid Office; questions about the College's Academic Standing policies should be directed to the Admissions Office.
| Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standard Measurements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Qualitative | Quantitative | |
| CUMULATIVE GPA | CUMULATIVE Pace of Completion (Hours Completed/Hours Attempted) |
Maximum Attempted Hours (Including Transfer Credits and Dual Credit hours) |
| Minimum 2.00 | 67% | 90 |
Blinn College’s Satisfactory Academic Progress is measured annually at the end of the spring term. Entering first time freshman students with no previous academic history are meeting the satisfactory progress requirements by being accepted as a regular student in an eligible program requiring that the student have a high school diploma or GED. For entering transfer students, SAP is evaluated prior to awarding of financial aid. All prior accepted academic history is reviewed and used to determine if the student is meeting SAP.
It is possible that students who have earned an associate degree will already have over 90 attempted hours and will not meet the qualitative standard of having attempted less than 90 hours. Students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree or higher will not meet the qualitative standard of 90 attempted hours since in most cases they will have more than 90 attempted college credits. Students receiving financial aid must be degree-seeking at Blinn College. Students may not receive financial aid if they are not degree-seeking at Blinn College.
First-time freshman students (with no previously attempted college hours at Blinn College or another school) are meeting the satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements as long as they have:
- Been accepted as a regular student in an eligible program. A regular student is defined as someone enrolled in an eligible institution for the purpose of obtaining a degree or certificate offered by the institution.
- A high school diploma or a recognized equivalent of a high school diploma, typically a general education development (GED) certificate. Students who have been homeschooled are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Blinn reserves the right to deny financial aid to any student who does not have a high school diploma or GED from a recognized and accredited institution.
- Students who were previously dual credit students and have academic history at Blinn College will have their SAP status calculated based on their performance at Blinn College.
Students who do not meet the qualitative and/or quantitative measurements are placed on financial aid suspension and not allowed to receive financial aid. Students placed on financial aid suspension may appeal their financial aid suspension by submitting a SAP Appeal. The Financial Aid Office automatically places an appeal request on the student’s requested documents if they are eligible to submit an appeal.
Students who have had their financial aid suspended may submit a SAP Appeal. The appeal must consist of a personal statement explaining why they did not meet SAP standards, what steps they are taking to ensure their performance will meet SAP, along with supporting documentation. The appeal may not be based upon the students need for financial assistance, and the reason for an appeal cannot be used more than once in a student’s academic career.
An appeal must be based upon an unusual situation, condition or other mitigating circumstances, which prevented the student from meeting the SAP standards. Examples of possible situations include, but are not limited to, serious illness, severe injury, or death of a family member, drastic family situations, etc. The student must submit third-party supporting documentation with their appeal. Appeals are reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis using the student’s academic history, personal statement, supporting documentation, and any previous appeals they may have submitted.
When a student’s appeal is reviewed and a decision is made, they will be notified of the appeal decision by email to their Blinn email account; the decision can also be seen in the student’s Financial Aid Checklist in their myBLINN account. If the student’s appeal has been denied, but they were not able to submit all of the third-party documentation when they submitted their appeal, a Review of Denied Appeal may be requested by contacting the financial aid office. When the review of a denied appeal is evaluated, any new documentation along with all previously submitted documentation will be reviewed. Students will be notified by email once their appeal is reviewed.
Any student whose appeal is approved for a semester will be placed on a Financial Aid Academic Plan. Students will have to sign a separate academic plan after their appeal is approved. The sole purpose of the academic plan is to ensure the student meets overall SAP standards within a specified time period.
Any student under Financial Aid Probation for the term who meets overall SAP at the end of that semester will no longer be under a financial aid academic plan. Students on appeal who are not meeting overall SAP at the end of the semester, but have met the conditions of their financial aid academic plan will be able to continue receiving Title IV aid as long as they continue to meet those conditions of their plan at the end of each subsequent term.
After grades post at the end of each financial aid period, students on appeal for that financial aid period will be reviewed. Students who have failed to meet the conditions of their financial aid academic plan for the term and are not meeting overall SAP will have their financial aid suspended. They will be notified regarding their loss of eligibility via their Blinn College email, and their SAP status will be updated in the Financial Aid Checklist in their myBLINN account.
Students are only allowed to submit two financial aid appeals while attending Blinn College beginning with the Fall 2020 semester. Appeals prior to Fall 2020 are not counted towards the 2 appeal limit. Students who exhaust their 2 appeals can only regain financial aid by meeting all the qualitative and quantitative measurements of the SAP policy.