Satisfactory Academic Progress

To keep financial aid, you have to keep making progress toward your degree. We check three things at the end of each academic year.

We look at all your coursework in your current career level, across every CU campus, including courses from a previous major.

1. YOUR GPA

A minimum cumulative grade point average, set by your program. See the table below.

2. YOUR PACE

How many attempted credits you actually complete. Withdrawals and failures count against it.

3. YOUR TOTAL CREDITS

You have to finish before attempting 150% of the credits your program requires.

Undergraduate 2.0 cumulative

Pharmacy 2.0 cumulative

Dental Between 2.3 and 3.0, depending on your program

Physician Assistant, First Year 2.8 cumulative

Physician Assistant, Second and Third Year A passing cumulative grade

Medical A passing cumulative grade

Falling below a standard usually does not end your aid right away. Most students go on warning first.

Warning

You get one term to recover and keep your financial aid while you do. Bring your numbers back above the standard during that term and nothing further happens.

Suspension

If you are still below the standard at the end of the warning term, you are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. That includes grants, work-study and loans, and it stays in effect until you either appeal successfully or meet the standard again on your own.

SOMETIMES THERE IS NO WARNING TERM In some situations you move straight to suspension. Going past the 150% credit limit is one of them.

Pace is completed credits divided by attempted credits. What counts as completed depends on the grade.

COUNTS AS COMPLETED

A through D minus, P and IP.

Passing grades, plus in-progress coursework that has not been graded yet.

DOES NOT COUNT AS COMPLETED

F, W, I and IW.

These still count as attempted, so they lower your pace even though they carry no grade points.

REPEATS AND TRANSFERS BOTH COUNT Courses you retake and credits you transferred in are included in your completion rate, so a repeated course counts as attempted every time you take it.

AID PAYS TO RETAKE A PASSED COURSE ONCE If you passed a course with any grade above an F, aid can cover retaking it one time. A third attempt does not count toward your enrollment for aid purposes.

THE 150% RULE IN PRACTICE An undergraduate in a 120-credit program reaches the limit at 180 attempted credits. A graduate student in a 60-credit program reaches it at 90.

An appeal explains something that happened to you and got in the way of your coursework. Illness, injury, a death in the family or another serious disruption. It is not a request for another chance on general terms. "I was not ready before and I am now" is not an appeal, because there is nothing to document and nothing that has changed.

A successful appeal does three things. It explains what happened, documents it and shows what has changed so the same thing will not happen again. Missing documentation is the most common reason an appeal comes back incomplete.

The Appeal Form

Completed and signed. It is in the appeals section of our forms page.

Get the Form

A Typed Statement

Say what happened, when it happened and how it affected your coursework. Then say what has changed since, and what you are doing differently going forward.

Supporting Documentation

A physician's letter, court documents, a death certificate or a letter on letterhead from someone who knows your situation. Without it we cannot approve an appeal.

An Academic Plan

Only if you exceeded the 150% credit limit. Your academic advisor certifies what you still need to finish. That form is on the forms page too.

30 DAYS BEFORE CLASSES

Appeals received by then are reviewed before the last day to drop with a full tuition refund. Drop fees may still apply, so check the billing calendar.

14 BUSINESS DAYS BEFORE TERM END

The hard cutoff. Anything later is considered for the next term, and aid is never awarded retroactively.

HOW MANY YOU GET

Five appeals across an undergraduate career, three across a graduate or professional career.

Four things can happen.

Approved

Your status changes from suspension to probation, giving you one term with aid to bring your GPA or completion rate back up.

Incomplete

Something was missing and we could not decide. Call us and we will tell you exactly what we need.

An Academic Plan Is Required

Your appeal is strong, but one term is not enough to catch up. We build a plan for you to sign and return. This also applies to most credit-limit appeals.

Denied

Your aid stays suspended. The way back is completing courses at your own expense until you meet the standards again, then asking us to review your record.

APPROVED IS NOT THE SAME AS FULLY FUNDED

An approved appeal restores your eligibility, not necessarily every dollar you had before. Some funds are limited and may already be committed for the year.

What Now?

Start With the FAFSA Eligibility only matters once you have applied. One form starts everything. Know Your Costs Your cost of attendance sets the ceiling on how much aid you can receive. See Your Aid Options Grants, scholarships, work-study and loans, and how they differ. Colorado Aid Options State grants, the COF stipend and work-study open to Colorado residents. Look for Scholarships Many awards are made just for veterans, service members and dependents. Dropping a Class? Withdrawals count against your completion rate and can mean paying aid back. Check Academic Progress The GPA and completion standards you have to keep meeting to hold your aid. Something Changed? Lost income, a change at home or unusual costs can all be reviewed.

Tools & Resources

CU Campuses

CU Anschutz

Student Finances

Financial Aid

Satisfactory Academic Progress

What Now?

Financial Aid & Scholarships Office

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements

Requirement Topics

The Three Measures

Minimum GPA by Program

Warning & Suspension

How Pace is Counted

Appealing a Suspension

After Submitting Your Appeal

What Now?

Financial Aid & Scholarships Office