Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards

A cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale or higher must be attained by the end of the student's first semester of enrollment at the college. This average must be maintained at the end of each subsequent semester for a student to continue to receive financial aid. Students who do not meet this minimum CGPA requirement will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one payment period of enrollment. If a CGPA of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale or higher is not reached by the end of the warning period, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.

To avoid exceeding the maximum time frame required to complete a program of study using financial aid, students are expected to maintain a specific completion rate that is known as the “pace of progress." At the end of each period of enrollment, students must have a cumulative passing rate of at least 67% of all classes attempted. Grades of W, WX, E, F and I will be counted as hours attempted but will not be counted as hours successfully passed. Repeating a course will be counted in the completion rate and against the overall maximum time frame required to complete the program of study. Transfer hours accepted toward the student's primary program of study will be counted as both attempted and completed when calculating the pace of progress. With the exception of those students who exceed the maximum time frame, students who do not maintain the minimum 67% cumulative pace of progress will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one period of enrollment. If a 67% cumulative pace of progress is not reached by the end of the warning period, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.

A student may apply for and, if eligible, receive financial aid for attempted credit hours that do not exceed 150% of the minimum number of hours required to complete the student's primary program of study. All hours attempted toward the completion of a program of study will be counted regardless of whether financial aid was received or not. Credit hours transferred to Dallas College are counted when calculating the 150% maximum time frame. Once SAP is calculated, students who have attempted 150% of the minimum number of credit hours needed to complete their primary program of study will be placed on Financial Aid Max Timeframe Suspension. Students who are placed on Financial Aid Max Timeframe Suspension may have exhausted their financial aid eligibility to complete the program and may not receive financial aid benefits to complete their primary program of study. Previous hours attempted by a student who has been cleared for a “fresh start" by Dallas College will continue to count toward the student's 150% maximum time frame.

Examples:

1. For a student completing an associate degree program that requires 60 hours, the student must complete the degree within 90 attempted hours. The student will lose eligibility for additional financial aid to complete the program after 90 attempted hours.
2. For a student completing a certificate program that requires 32 hours, the student must complete the certificate within 48 attempted hours. The student will lose eligibility for additional financial aid to complete the program after 48 attempted hours.

Students with less than 6 available program hours will be sent a questionnaire to obtain their declared program of study and their consent prior to having their program evaluated for additional available hours. If a student is granted additional hours and they are meeting the other SAP components, their status will be updated to Warning and eligible for financial aid. If a student is determined to be mathematically ineligible or has exhausted all hours granted from the program evaluation, they will have to appeal to determine future financial aid eligibility.

An eligible student may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 attempted credit hours of developmental/remedial course work. Once the 30-credit-hour maximum is reached, additional developmental credit hours will not be used to calculate the award amount. All developmental and ESOL course attempts and grades are used in the measurement of the pace of progress as well as the cumulative GPA.

The Dallas College Department of Student Financial Resources & Scholarships will review academic records at the end of each period of enrollment and determine each student's Satisfactory Academic Progress status. A student who fails to meet the SAP minimum standards for pace of progress or cumulative GPA but has not exceeded the maximum time frame will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one period of enrollment. If a student fails to meet the minimum standards for pace of progress or cumulative GPA by the end of the warning period, they will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. As described in the policy above, a student who exceeds the maximum time frame and fails to maintain the minimum standards for pace of progress, cumulative GPA or both will be placed on Financial Aid Maximum Timeframe Suspension without a warning period. To regain financial aid eligibility, a student placed on Suspension must pay enrollment-related expenses from personal resources until the minimum SAP standards are met. The student's progress will continue to be reviewed at the end of each period of enrollment. Eligibility will automatically be reinstated for the next period of enrollment upon successful completion of a period of enrollment in which the student meets the required SAP standards described in this policy.

A student who exceeds the maximum time frame will be automatically placed on Financial Aid Maximum Timeframe Suspension and will not be eligible for additional financial aid without a Maximum Timeframe appeal approval. To regain financial aid eligibility, a student can complete the appeal process. To be eligible for a SAP appeal, students MUST make a payment plan. A block will NOT be placed on a student record to hold classes until the appeal is reviewed. A deregistration protection will NOT be placed on a student record to hold classes until the appeal is reviewed. If approved, financial aid can be utilized for the approval semester, but a completed financial aid file is required. If denied, a student must pay enrollment-related expenses from personal resources until the minimum SAP standards are met. The student’s progress will continue to be reviewed at the end of each period of enrollment. Students determined to have exceeded the 150% maximum time frame will no longer be eligible for financial aid without an approved Maximum Timeframe appeal.  

The Dallas College Department of Student Financial Resources & Scholarships recognizes that students sometimes encounter circumstances beyond their control that can adversely affect their academic progress. The SAP process will run at the end of the semester, one week after final grades are due. Students will be notified of their current SAP status via email. Students placed on Suspension or Maximum Timeframe Suspension will receive their SAP status notification and appeal application via the Workday Task Box, and it will contain instructions to complete the SAP appeal process.  

SAP appeal deadlines are October 21, 2025, for fall 2025, March 24, 2026, for spring 2026, and July 14, 2026, for summer 2026 by 11:59 p.m. Failing to appeal prior to the semester deadline will result in a continued Failed status. SAP Appeal Committee decisions are final; and cannot be disputed. 

Students must mathematically be able to meet the minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress policy standards by the end of the requested period of enrollment. Aid can only be awarded and transmitted based on eligibility with a complete financial aid file. The maximum time period for this probationary period is one period of enrollment regardless of the student’s enrollment. If the student fails to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy by their next period of enrollment, then they will become ineligible for all subsequent terms until either they meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, or another successful appeal is granted. 

• All documents pertinent to the appeals process become part of the student's record. The decision of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Review Committee is final.
• If a student SAP appeal is approved and they fail to meet all Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements by their next period of enrollment, they cannot be approved for a subsequent appeal for the same reason.
• Once a student is approved for an Maximum Timeframe appeal, they will not be eligible for any additional financial aid for a different program.

Examples:

1. If a student is approved for pace of completion and they fail to meet pace of completion at the end of their approved Warning semester, they cannot be approved for pace of completion again.
2. If a student is approved for pace of completion and they fail the CGPA component at the end of their approved Warning semester, they can submit and potentially be approved for CGPA in the following semester.
3. If a student is approved for an Maximum Timeframe appeal and they complete their program, they will not be eligible for an additional program of study evaluation for additional hours to receive more financial aid with Dallas College.

SAP Appeal Application

• Students are responsible for payments that become due to the college while an appeal is being considered.
• Appeals based solely on financial and/or emotional needs without sufficient documentation will not be approved. Work is not considered a hardship since financial aid is viewed as a supplement to student income in order to help reduce the number of hours the average student would have to work in any given week. It is the responsibility of the student to successfully complete all classes enrolled.
• Students with documented mitigating circumstances will submit their appeal statement and supporting documents via their Workday Student Task Box.  Mitigating circumstances include:
  • Active-duty service or other service in the United States Armed Forces or Texas National Guard during a period in which the student was enrolled that attributed to the failure to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy
  • Personal illness or previously undisclosed disability, injury or accident (requires a written statement by a doctor, valid hospital records, accident and/or police report) that affected the student's academic performance
  • Death of an immediate family member or responsibility for the care of someone who is sick, injured or disadvantaged in which the provision of care affected the student's academic performance
  • Natural disaster or declared national, state or local emergency
  • Personal emergencies such as incarceration, homelessness, complications due to pregnancy or childbirth for a student or an immediate family member* can be considered.

*An immediate family member is classified as a spouse, mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, granddaughter, or grandson determined by birth, adoption, or marriage.  

Suspension students will submit a separate document addressing each of the items below along with any supporting documentation for their appeal application:

• The circumstance that impacted performance.
• What steps have been taken to remove the barriers?
• Describe student educational goals.
• How does the student plan to achieve success for this semester?
• Other items of importance

Students determined to have truly exceeded the maximum timeframe will need to meet with their Success Coach to obtain and complete the Maximum Time Frame Appeal Application form. This form must be completed in its entirety and have a signature from the student, their Success Coach.  

Max Timeframe students will submit their degree plan along with their completed Maximum Time Frame Appeal Application form. Students that have earned the equivalent (two associate’s degrees) of a bachelor’s degree or higher will submit a separate document addressing why they are returning to pursue a program that will take two years or less to complete.

Student SAP Appeal Guide

SAP Suspension Appeal – Quick Guide

You must submit an appeal if you want to receive financial aid while in SAP Suspension.

What You Must Submit

✔ A letter explaining:

• What happened
• What changed
• My educational goals
• How you will succeed this term

✔ Supporting documents (doctor's notes, obituary, police report, etc.) 
✔ Payment plan
 ✔ Academic Plan (if required) 
✔ Maximum Timeframe Form (if required)

• Illness or injury
• Death in the family
• Mental health challenges
• Homelessness or housing crisis
• Pregnancy/childbirth complications
• Military service
• Incarceration
• Natural disaster or emergency

SAP Appeal Process

1. SAP process will run at the end of the current semester for students not enrolled. SAP will run for students enrolled in the current semester a week after final grades are due.
2. All students will receive the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) engagement in their Workday Student inbox.
3. Students who move to a status of Suspension or Max Timeframe Suspension will receive their SAP status notification via Workday Student My Task Box. 
4. Students moved to Suspension status will complete the appeal application and upload all supporting documentation via the Workday Student My Task Box for processing. 
5. Students moved to a status of Maximum Timeframe Suspension will need to complete the appeal for determination of future financial aid eligibility.
6. Students determined to be failing the Maximum Timeframe component will need to meet with a Success Coach to determine remaining courses and projected graduation. There will be a form students will receive from this meeting with their Success Coach to submit with their appeal application.  
7. Once the appeal application is submitted, applications will be reviewed within 10-14 business days. Students will be notified of decisions via Workday engagement. 

Appeal Decisions

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee will review and notify the student of the decision through the Workday Student Notifications. Appeal approvals are not guaranteed based on appeal submissions. Committee decisions are final. 

• Approved appeals will need a complete financial file to be awarded. The maximum time period for this probationary period is one period of enrollment regardless of the student's enrollment. Students approved for Max Timeframe will need to complete an appeal each semester to complete their program. Approved Max Timeframe appeals will be reviewed every subsequent semester to ensure students are progressing towards completing their degree in the time frame specified. Failure to progress towards completing the approved degree will result in a denial. If an approved Max Timeframe appeal is later denied due to failure of progression, a subsequent appeal will not be approved. For GPA or pace of progress, if the student fails to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy by their next period of enrollment, then they will become ineligible for all subsequent terms until either they meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, or another successful appeal is granted.  
• For appeals denied, the student will not be eligible for financial aid funding. To regain financial aid eligibility, the student must pay the expenses related to the enrollment during the next payment periods until all Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy requirements are met. For denied Max Timeframe appeals, the student will be responsible for all educational expenses out of pocket.

• Undetermined — An Undetermined SAP status means there is not enough academic information to fully evaluate your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). This typically occurs if you are in your first semester of attendance or if your historical academic data is unavailable because only grades from the last five years were transferred during the transition from our previous system to Workday. Once sufficient coursework has been completed, your SAP status will be reviewed and updated.
• Passed — Under a Passed status, a student is considered financial aid eligible, is regarded as meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and can continue to receive financial aid. 
• Warning — Under Financial Aid Warning, a student is not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards for pace of progress or cumulative GPA and may continue to receive financial aid for one period of enrollment. 
• Failed — Under a Failed status, a student is not considered financial aid eligible and is not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards for the next period of enrollment. 
• Max Timeframe Suspension — Under Max Timeframe Suspension status, a student is not considered financial aid eligible and is not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards. Students who have earned the maximum number of credits or exceeded 150% in total attempted credit hours allowed for their degree program, without earning a degree, must be excluded from further participation in federal financial aid programs. The determination of whether a student is meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and, therefore, considered financial aid eligible must be reviewed if the student has not attended Dallas College in the past few years. 
• Financial Aid Probation — The status assigned by the institution to a student who did not meet satisfactory academic progress but successfully appealed and has had eligibility for aid reinstated. 
• Period of Enrollment — A period of enrollment is equal to one term or semester, with Summer treated as one term for this purpose. For this purpose, Winter term is included as part of Spring term, and May term is included as a portion of the Summer term.
• Appeal — An appeal is a request for reinstatement of financial aid eligibility following the determination that the student is suspended from financial aid due to their Satisfactory Academic Progress.