Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policies and Procedures

The UTA Office of Financial Aid determines students who failed to meet UTA's SAP policy a few business days after spring semester grades officially post. Students who fail to meet our SAP policy are notified via email. Students are able to complete a SAP Appeal at that time.

Once a student is notified, that student can complete a 2026-2027 Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeal, students can do so directly in their MyMav Account via the ‘My Forms’ tile on their Student Homepage. You can find a step-by-step instruction guide below.

If you have specific questions regarding UTA's SAP Policy or the SAP Appeal process, please email SAP@uta.edu.

SAP appeal decisions may take up to 30 days to be made. If it has not been 30 days since the submission of you SAP appeal, please do not email us asking for a status update on your SAP appeal. Those emails will not be responded to.


Purpose


Hazlewood Exemption Appeal

The Waiver and Exemption Appeal process for Hazlewood recipients can be found on our Veteran Benefits Certification website.


Policy

Federal Title IV and State of Texas regulations require institutions of higher education to monitor the academic progress of students who receive financial aid. In order to remain eligible for federal, state, and some institutional need-based financial aid, students must comply with The University of Texas at Arlington's standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). A student's failure to meet UTA's SAP policy results in the immediate loss of Title IV eligibility.

SAP is administered on all relevant student populations on an annual basis shortly after the posting of official grades each spring semester. Financial aid does not have to be received for semesters to be included in the evaluation. Students not meeting SAP at the time of the review will be notified.

A student has the right to appeal. Should the student not wish to appeal, the student must meet the SAP requirements before regaining Title IV eligibility.

For purposes of this policy, satisfactory grades include A, B, C, D, P and R; unsatisfactory grades include F, W, I and Q. Unsatisfactory grades and the grade Z are counted in the credit hours attempted but will not count as credit hours completed.

Students who have dropped or received incompletes in all attempted courses at UTA (W's, Q's, or I's) will fail the Minimum Cumulative GPA component of UTA's SAP Policy. These students will have an unearned GPA and will be required to file a SAP appeal.

If enrolled in pass/fail courses, a passing grade of P does not produce grade points. You still earn credit for a course with a grade of P, but it won’t affect your GPA. On the other hand, a failing grade of F will negatively affect your GPA. Passing grades of P are considered satisfactory. Failing grades of F are considered unsatisfactory.

Both the qualitative and quantitative requirements must be met, regardless of full-time or part-time attendance. 

SAP Requirements

Minimum Cumulative GPA earned at UTA

Undergraduate 2.0 for all terms of enrollment at UTA
Undergraduate 2nd Bac 2.0 for all terms of enrollment at UTA
Graduate 3.0 for all terms of enrollment at UTA

Minimum Cumulative Pace of Program Progression

A student must successfully complete at least two-thirds (66.6%) of the credit hours attempted. Pace Formula = cumulative credit hours successfully completed divided by cumulative credit hours attempted. The cumulative measurement includes the total of both the successfully and unsuccessfully completed courses at UTA and all accepted transfer credit hours.

Pace Formula
Cumulative Hours Completed
Divided By
Cumulative Hours Attempted

Maximum Time Frame

A student may attempt no more than 150% of the credit hours required by his/her degree program as defined in the UTA Course Catalog. For SAP Policy purposes, all accepted transfer hours are counted as both attempted and completed hours. See examples below.

A typical bachelor's degree requires 120 credit hours to complete. Therefore, a typical undergraduate student would fail the Maximum Time Frame component of our SAP Policy after attempting more than 180 credit hours (120 x 1.50 = 180).

A typical master's degree requires 30 credit hours to complete. Therefore, a typical master's student would fail the Maximum Time Frame component of our SAP Policy after attempting more than 45 credit hours (30 x 1.50 = 45).

For students enrolled in a doctoral program, UTA includes all graduate level credit hours attempted at UTA (master's and doctoral) in the Maximum Time Frame calculation. Our policy uses 96 credit hours.

For all post baccalaureate and second bachelor’s degree programs, UTA includes all accepted transfer credit hours and all attempted undergraduate credit hours at UTA. Our policy uses 230 credit hours.

All students appealing for maximum time frame must include a degree plan with their appeal. This degree plan must list the academic advisor's information, list all remaining courses needed to complete their degree, and list a reasonable anticipated graduation date.

SAP Appeals

Appeal Deadlines

To be considered for financial aid, the UTA Office of Financial Aid must receive a student’s completed SAP appeal and supporting documentation no later than the deadline shown on the chart below:


Undergraduates & Graduate Students (Non-Accelerated Online)

Summer 2026 Fall 2026 Spring 2027
July 15th November 15th April 15th

All Accelerated Online (AO) Students

Summer 2026 Fall 2026 Spring 2027
Two weeks before your last class ends. Two weeks before your last class ends. Two weeks before your last class ends.

Appeal Procedures

Students may appeal for the following reasons:

  • Serious illness or injury to student or immediate family member (parent, spouse, sibling, child) that required extended recovery time - Documentation example: Doctor's Note/Order
  • Death of an immediate family member - Documentation example: Obituary/Memorial Program
  • Significant trauma in student's life that impaired the student's emotional and/or physical health - Documentation example: Note from counselor/third party
  • Withdrawal due to military service - Documentation example: Orders
  • Second degree, double major, change of major - Documentation required: Degree Plan from you Academic Advisor (must contain all courses remaining, a realistic graduation date, and your academic advisor contact info)
  • Other unexpected circumstances beyond the control of the student - Documentation Example: Third-party letter

Note: Circumstances related to the typical adjustment to college life such as working while attending school, financial issues related to paying bills, and car maintenance/travel to campus are not considered as extenuating for purposes of appealing the loss of Title IV eligibility.

Note: All appeals submitted without proper documentation will be denied and the student's pending financial aid will be canceled. If proper documentation is submitted afterwards, our office will review their appeal again and, if approved, reinstate their financial aid at that time (based on available funding).

Note: All students not meeting UTA’s SAP policy due to ‘Maximum Time Frame’ must submit a signed degree plan from their academic advisor with their SAP appeal.

We strongly encourage a student to file an appeal within 30 days from the date the Notification of Loss of Title IV Aid letter is issued.

A student cannot receive financial aid for a semester that ended prior to their submission of their SAP appeal.

All students for whom an appeal is approved will be placed on financial aid probation.

Academic Plans may be provided to students placed on probation. These plans may be for a single semester, or for multiple semesters. All students on probation will be reviewed at the end of every semester until the student meets UTA's SAP requirements.

If a student's appeal is approved, they may be offered financial aid for an entire school year; however, they must meet the terms of their academic plan each semester to remain eligible for each subsequent semester's disbursement.

Failure to adhere to the terms of their Academic Plan will result in a loss of Title IV aid without the right to appeal and all future financial aid disbursements will be canceled.

The cancellation of a student's financial aid does not automatically drop their courses. It is the student's responsibility to drop any courses they plan not to attend.

A student may not re-appeal in the same academic year for the same SAP violation.

Additional Information

At the time of evaluation, Incompletes (grade of 'I') count as credit hours attempted toward both pace and maximum time frame. Students who complete a previous Incomplete and receive a new letter grade must contact the Office of Financial Aid for further evaluation as it pertains to their SAP status determination.

The grade 'W' received for a withdrawal after the first class day in the term does not affect a student's cumulative GPA for SAP, but counts as credit hours attempted toward both pace and maximum time frame.

Federal financial aid regulations require us to confirm whether or not a student began attendance in at least one course in order to establish eligibility for federal student loans, and in each course for Pell and FSEOG grants. Based on the information we receive, adjustments to financial aid offers may be necessary and will likely result in a balance due to UTA after the completion of the term.

Instructors confirm which students began attendance/participated in their courses when they report grades at the end of each term. Instructors may reference attendance records, graded assignments, quizzes, exams, communications, or papers to confirm that the student began academic participation. If the instructor confirms that attendance began in the class, there will be no adjustment to financial aid offers. If we do not receive confirmation that attendance began in the course(s), we are required to adjust financial aid based on the remaining eligible hours enrolled. If we do not receive confirmation that attendance began for ANY enrolled course, we are required to cancel ALL federal financial aid.

SAP monitoring is a point-in-time calculation; therefore, late posted grades or grade changes will not automatically trigger a SAP recalculation. You may request that your SAP status be reviewed after you have confirmed the grade change has been posted to your academic record.

What is SAP?

S A P information image

In this video, we briefly summarize UTA's SAP policy and definition.

Check out the video here

A Community that Cares

Students meeting and greeting each other on campus

UTA cares about the wellbeing of our student community, and has resources available to help in difficult times.

Find out more information