Video: Satisfactory Academic Progress
Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Disqualified? If you find your status listed as "disqualified" on MyPortal, you may be eligible to appeal on the basis of extentuating circumstances. Scroll down this page for details.
- Withdrawing from school? If you withdraw from school completely, you may be required to return federal financial aid funds that you have received. See our Title IV Repayment page for details.
Under state and federal regulations, De Anza College is required to adopt standards for determining whether a student who seeks financial aid is maintaining satisfactory academic progress, or SAP.
Our SAP policy applies to students receiving federal Title IV aid, and is applied in the same manner for our full-time and part-time undergraduate students
In addition, you must have a declared major and be enrolled in a program eligible for federal financial aid funds.
Your SAP status is evaluated at the end of each quarter. Each evaluation considers your quarterly and cumulative GPA, along with your overall completion rate and maximum time frame. The evaluation covers all courses taken, at either college, in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District.
De Anza College accepts transfer credits from other accredited institutions. The transferred units are also counted as attempted and completed in our SAP calculation.
Students are notified via email at the end of each quarter regarding their SAP standing.
SAP Standards
Grade Point Average (GPA)
- Students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at each SAP evaluation.
- Grades for remedial and ESL courses count in the GPA calculation.
- Incompletes are initially counted toward quantitative progress. Once a grade is posted (and only then), the grade will count toward qualitative progress.
- Repeated coursework is counted in the quantitative progress calculation, and will have an impact on a student's cumulative GPA if the student passes the previously failed course.
Pace of Progression or "Unit Completion"
- Students must complete at least 67 percent of the units attempted cumulatively.
- Your completion rate is computed by dividing the number of units completed by the number of units attempted.
- This calculation will include incompletes, courses in which you earned a "W," and units transferred into the college.
Maximum Time Frame
- You must complete your program without taking more than 150 percent of the units required for completion.
- For degree and transfer programs of 90 units, that means you may attempt no more than 135 units.
- For eligible certificate programs, the maximum time frame will vary. For a 30-unit program, the maximum is 45 units. For an 18-unit program, the maximum will be 27 units.
- This calculation will include courses in which you earned a “W” and units transferred into the college.
In addition, you must be enrolled in a program that is eligible for federal financial aid funds and that leads to a degree, certificate or transfer.
Status Definitions
If you are not found to be meeting the standards, based on your quarterly evaluation, you will be assigned a status of
Warning | Disqualification | Probation
For more information on these status designations, see our SAP Status webpage.
Appealing a Disqualification
Students may appeal a disqualification. For more information see
Appealing a Disqualification on the SAP Status page.
Additional Policies at De Anza
- Remedial and ESL coursework may be excluded from the Pace and Maximum Time Frame calculations, up to a maximum of 45 units combined.
- Remedial courses are eligible for financial aid only if recommended on a student's educational plan by an academic counselor. A maximum of 45 remedial course units will be eligible.
- You may change your major no more than twice.
Federal Eligiblity Requirements
The federal government also sets minimum requirements for students receiving federal loans or grants. These include
- Avoiding default on student loans
- Maintaining satisfactory academic progress
For more information, see the Eligibility webpage of the Federal Student Aid office.
