Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

To remain eligible for federal financial aid — including Pell Grants, federal student loans, and Federal Work-Study — students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Federal regulations require schools to evaluate SAP at the end of each academic year.

On this page you will find:

Circumstances for a SAP Appeal
Appeal Form
SAP Standards
SAP Chart
Other SAP Policies

What You Need to Know

At the end of the spring term, you will be reviewed to determine if you meet the three required SAP Standards for the upcoming academic year. If you are not meeting one or more of the three SAP standards, you will lose eligibility for federal financial aid. However, you may submit a SAP Appeal to request reinstatement of your aid. If approved, you must successfully follow an Academic Plan to maintain eligibility.

You can determine whether you are meeting SAP standards by:

Using the SAP Eligibility Calculator
Checking your CUNYfirst “To Do” List

If you are not meeting SAP requirements, your CUNYfirst “To Do” section will include a link to submit your SAP Appeal Package.

Submitting a SAP appeal requires an Academic Plan, which must be completed with your Academic Advisor. The Academic Advisement Center is located in Room AC-2C01. A list of Departmental Advisors — including their contact information and office locations — is available through the Academic Advisement Center.

2026–2027 FAFSA Submit or check your FAFSA
2026-2027 TAP Apply or check TAP status

Skip to SAP calculator form

Circumstances for a SAP Appeal

Your appeal must be based on excusable circumstances resulting from events in your life, such as personal illness or injury, illness or death of a family member, loss of employment, or changes in your academic program. Your appeal must actually include an explanation of how these circumstances caused you not to make satisfactory progress and what changes you have made that would allow you to meet the appropriate progress standard in a future evaluation. I think your appeal should include independent third-party documentation of the circumstances you describe in your explanation.

Your appeal must also include a reasonable and attainable academic plan that, if followed, will make sure that you will complete your academic program or make substantial progress towards completing your program in the semesters that you wish to receive aid for.

Appeal Form

If you decide to appeal, please read the instructions on the 2026-2027 SAP Appeal Form.

SAP Standards

1. Maximum Timeframe

Students may not attempt more than 150% of the credits normally required for completion of your degree.

Baccalaurate Degrees: If your degree requires 120 credits, you must complete it within 180 attempted credits (120 × 150%).

2. Qualitative
(Grade based-GPA)

Students must maintain a GPA that meets the College’s minimum requirement.
If in a program longer than two years, you must have a GPA of at least a “C” average or be in good academic standing to graduate.
Federal Minimum Standard:

Credits Attempted	Minimum GPA
1 – 12	1.5
1 –24	1.75
25 and Above	2.0

3. Pace of Progression

For students pursuing a baccalaureate degree, earned credits must be equal to or greater than a specific percentage of attempted credits.

Meets SAP Pace

Attempted: 30 credits
Completed: 24 credits
Pace = 24 ÷ 30 = 80% → Meets SAP (above 67%).

Not Meeting SAP Pace

To keep federal financial aid (like Pell Grants, loans, and Work-Study), students must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). If you do not meet SAP, it means you are not meeting one or more of these federal standards:

Attempted: 30 credits
Completed: 18 credits
Pace = 18 ÷ 30 = 60% → Does NOT meet SAP (below 67%).

Attempted Credits	Earned Credits
15	0
30	5
45	16
60	27
75	42
90	50
105	63
120	72
135	84
150	95
165	110
180	120

^{NOTE: All students (whether aid recipients or not) will be measured against each of the three SAP components at the end of the spring term to determine eligibility for federal financial aid for the upcoming award year. Students planning to use PELL for summer semesters may not be eligible if they are failing SAP at the end of the spring semester.}

For questions or concerns related to your SAP Appeal, please email SAPAppeal@york.cuny.edu

SAP Chart

Follow this SAP Chart to understand your financial aid eligibility based on your academic progress.

Other SAP Policies

Action	Description
Remedial Courses	Federal student aid is not available for remedial hours exceeding 30 credit hours. Remedial hours are not counted towards attempted credits, completed credits, or GPA.
Repeated Courses	Repeated courses are counted towards attempted credits, completed credits, and GPA. Refer to the York College Catalog for details.
Transfer Credits	Approved transfer credits are counted towards attempted and completed credits, but not towards GPA.
Readmission	Readmitted students must be matriculated and meet all SAP requirements to be eligible for federal student aid.
SAP Appeal vs. Readmission Appeal	SAP appeal is different from a readmission appeal. Students readmitted in poor academic standing needing an appeal will also need an SAP appeal for federal aid.
Second Degree Students	At the end of each academic year, after spring semester grades are finalized, the Financial Aid Office evaluates all students for SAP requirements for the following academic year. Students pursuing a second degree may fail SAP standards because of the number of credits earned in a prior degree. York College will waive the SAP requirement for the first year; however, students will still be evaluated based on their progress toward their degree at York. It is possible to not meet SAP requirements while pursuing a second degree.
Health Science Occupational Therapy BS/MS	Students in the combined BS/MS program complete both undergraduate and graduate requirements over approximately 5.5 years. You must follow the SAP Chart as a graduate student and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher.