Satisfactory Academic Progress Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a HOLD stating you are ineligible for financial aid, you should still complete the FAFSA now! If and when you regain aid eligibility, your aid will be processed faster if your FAFSA is ready.

1. Why do I have a financial aid hold on my record when I don’t even apply for financial aid? Will this prevent me from registering for classes?
2. I’ve already received my award notification and I am already registered for fall semester.  Why am I just now learning about the academic progress issue??
3. How many credits do I need to take in order to meet the 75% completion rate standard?
4. Will my transfer credits from other schools count towards my SAP status?
5. Why is Max Credits not major specific and just looks at the degree program?
6. Does Math 25 apply towards SAP?
7. It looks like the total credits were calculated wrong. Is that possible?
8. I’m a summer student, but am not receiving financial aid this summer. I have a hold on my record.  How and when will that be removed?
9. The policy brochure says that I should be on probation for the first time I don’t meet [SAP] standards?  How come I don’t get a one-semester probation?
10. Why was I sent an email message stating that I was awarded financial aid, and now I am finding out that I can't receive it? I registered for classes because I thought I would receive aid. If I can't get financial aid, then I can't attend school this fall. Is there anyway I can get financial aid and still attend classes?
11. I need to know if I can still apply for student loans if I have financial aid hold?  I had a horrible semester. Can I still take out a student loan so I can keep going to school?
12. If I do well this fall will I be able to receive financial aid in the Spring term?
13. Why do I still have a Hold on my record when I met the semester conditions established after my appeal was approved?
14. My unsatisfactory academic performance is from years ago. How could I have received financial aid this last year and now have an academic performance issue? This last year I passed all of my classes. It doesn't make sense.
     

Why do I have a financial aid hold on my record when I don’t even apply for financial aid? Will this prevent me from registering for classes?

All students are evaluated for financial aid eligibility on the basis of Satisfactory Academic Progress because 1) it is impossible to predict which students plan to apply for aid and 2) federal regulations require the financial aid recipients be treated no differently than non-financial aid recipients.  The financial aid hold only has an impact on your financial aid eligibility. If you will not be applying for financial aid, you will see no impact what-so-ever on your access to registration, transcripts, and other business at Boise State.

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I’ve already received my award notice and I am already registered for fall semester.  Why am I just now learning about the academic progress issue??

Satisfactory Academic Progress is checked once a year after spring semester grades become official. Whenever possible financial aid determined before the spring semester is over so students can take care of business before leaving for the summer. This means some students will become ineligible for the aid offered.

On the Accept/Decline Financial Aid screen of BroncoWeb, there is a red notice with a hyperlink to the Terms and Conditions of your awards that you agree to when you accept your aid. The Terms and Conditions of your award indicates that you must meet all eligibility requirements. Students are referred to Financial Aid Handbook which provides all of the eligibility requirements and it provides the complete Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.

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How many credits do I need to take in order to meet the 75% credit completion rate standard?

The credit completion rate is calculated on your entire Boise State experience and combines undergraduate and applied tech credits.  (Grad students start with a clean record.)  Use the Credit Completion Rate Calculation Worksheet to determine the number of credits you need to complete in order to reach the 75+% mark. The Financial Aid Office can provide each student with his/her totals of attempted and completed credits at the end of spring 2006. The only way to know how many credits you need to take is to add credits to both the Attempted and Earned amounts, divide the new Earned Credits total by the new Attempted Credits total, and see if you meet or exceed the 75% mark. Percentages are not rounded up to whole numbers. Thus, if a student has a 74.8% completion rate, that student does not meet or exceed the 75% minimum requirement.  Also, grade exclusions for past semesters are counted as credits attempted and NOT completed. Excluded grades/credits positively impact Boise State cumulative GPA calculations but not credit completion rate calculations.

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Will my transfer credits from other schools count towards my SAP status?

It depends. When checking completion rate and GPA cumulative, Boise State’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy is only checking academic progress at Boise State.  When checking the Maximum Credit standard, transfer credits and Boise State credits are counted as are test credits. In determining the minimum GPA standard you need to meet, completed credits (both transfer and Boise State credits) determine the minimum GPA.

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Why is the Maximum Credits standard not specific to the major and just looks at the type of certificate/degree program?

Students frequently change majors and even academic careers (between Applied Tech and Undergrad).  The most consistent means to check for Maximum Credits is to check it based on the most current degree or certificate program in which each student is enrolled.  Special exceptions for programs requiring more than the maximum credits listed in the policy are addressed through the appeal process which includes a degree progress audit/graduation evaluation. Graduate students ARE evaluated based on their specific program because of the wide variance in credit requirements.

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Does Math 25 apply towards SAP?

It depends. It DOES counts towards the credit completion rate as three credits.  It does not affect the GPA calculations.  The same is true for other developmental credits such as English 90.  The developmental credits also count towards the Maximum Credits Standard. A list of these classes can be found in the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

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It looks like the total credits were calculated wrong. Is that possible?

Repeated courses are likely impacting the calculation.  If you have repeated one or more classes in which you had already received a passing grade (such as a D), the credits are only counted as earned or completed the first time you receive a passing grade.  A “D” is considered a passing grade. This negatively impacts the 75% completion rate.

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I’m a summer student, but am not receiving financial aid this summer. I have a hold on my record.  How and when will that be removed?

Once grades become official at the end of each term, we will reevaluate the status of all those students who have Holds in place.  The Hold will be removed once you meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards. Keep a close eye on BroncoWeb for your most current status. 

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The policy brochure says that I should be on probation the first time I don’t meet [SAP] standards?  How come I don’t get a one-semester probation?

There are only two situations where a student may be eligible for a one-semester probation.

• A new freshman may be eligible for the "SAP Alert" program if they meet all of the criteria described on page 3 in the policy.
• If the only HOLD you have is the Boise State “Term Completion” standard. 

The Boise State Cum GPA, Credit Completion Rate, and Maximum Credits standards are federal standards without a probation term. The instructions for regaining financial aid eligibility for these standards appear in the right column within the same section where you will find the standard described. See the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

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Why was I sent an email message stating that I was awarded financial aid, and now I am finding out that I can't receive it? I registered for classes because I thought I would receive aid. If I can't get financial aid, then I can't attend school this fall. Is there anyway I can get financial aid and still attend classes?

In an attempt to be efficient, continuing students are often awarded for the upcoming financial aid year before spring grades are even completed.  On the BroncoWeb Accept & Decline Aid screen, the "Terms and Conditions" section states that your aid is dependent on meeting all eligibility criteria.  That especially means meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress.

To regain your eligibility for financial aid, you must successfully complete enough credits to meet the minimum requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Please read the policy carefully as you may find other options that apply to you.  The Financial Aid web site (http://financialaid.boisestate.edu/forms/sappolicy.pdf ) contains the complete policy.

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I need to know if I can still apply for student loans if I have a financial aid hold?  I had a horrible semester. Can I still take out a student loan so I can keep going to school?

At this time you are not eligible for the federal direct loans.  However, you may be eligible for an “alternative school loan” from a private lender.  Many, but not all, of the lenders also require that the student be meeting satisfactory academic progress.  The best source I have for researching these “alternative school loans” is through our web page http://financialaid.boisestate.edu/aidprograms.htm. Click on the “Loan Finder” button and you will find a service that compares the 6-8 lenders that work closely with Boise State. 

Also, read the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy carefully as you may find several options that will help you to regain your financial aid eligibility. The federal student loans are always a better option for you when you are eligible for federal aid.

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If I do well this fall will I be able to receive financial aid in the Spring term?

If you currently have a financial aid hold on your record, your academic progress will be checked when grades become official after each semester. At that point,  it may be possible to regain eligibility.  It depends on how close you are to meeting the minimum standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress.

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Why do I still have a Hold with academic performance conditions on my record when I met the semester conditions established after my appeal was approved?

If you met the academic performance conditions previously set for you and yet you still see a Financial Aid Hold on your record, you can assume that it will take more than one semester for you to meet or exceed the satisfactory academic progress standards required to be eligible for financial aid. The good news is that you continue to be eligible for financial aid. The not-so- good news is that your academic performance will be evaluated after each term of your enrollment until you meet the minimum standards. Your financial aid eligibility will be determined semester by semester. All students are evaluated once per year after spring semester grades are posted.

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My unsatisfactory academic performance is from years ago. How could I have received financial aid this last year and now have an academic performance issue? This last year I passed all of my classes. It doesn't make sense.

If you were enrolled prior to Fall semester 1999 and returned to school this past year, your past academic performance was not evaluated prior to you receiving aid. There are two reasons for this:

• When a student has taken several years off from school, the student is often in a better position to be successful academically upon their return. The aid received allows the student to improved their academic record before being evaluated. See the Appeal section of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for the best method to regain financial aid eligibility.
• At the time the automated process for evaluating academic progress is run at the end each Spring semester, electronic records are available only for students enrolled since Fall semester 1999.

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