Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress

To keep your financial aid, you need to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards. These are standards set to make sure you're moving forward in your program and working toward your degree, diploma, or certificate. If you fall behind on any of these standards, you might lose your financial aid.

What You Need to Do

  • Keep Your Grades Up: You need to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0. That’s like getting a C average or higher in your classes.
  • Complete the Classes You Register For: You have to successfully finish at least 67% of the credits you attempt. For example, if you register for 12 credits in a semester, you need to pass at least 8 of them (that’s 67%).
  • Stay On Track To Finish Your Program: There’s a limit to how many credits you can attempt while working toward your degree. You need to complete your program within 150% of its length.For instance, if your program normally takes 60 credits to finish, you can attempt up to 90 credits (60 x 1.5).

We’ll email you at the end of each semester with your SAP results. Be sure to take quick action to address any issues and stay on track!

Note: These standards apply to your entire academic transcript, including semesters when financial aid wasn’t applied for or disbursed. Classes you took while in high school are also included in this count.

  • Cumulative Credits: These include all credits you’ve taken at Hawkeye as well as any credits transferred in, including college courses completed in high school.
  • Attempted Credits: These are all the credits you’ve registered for, regardless of whether you successfully completed them—this includes repeated courses or developmental courses.
  • Completed Credits: These are the credits you successfully earned a passing grade (A, B, C, D, P). For example, if you take 4 classes that are each 3 credits (totaling 12 credits for the semester) and receive grades of A, C, W, and F.
    • Attempted credits: 12
    • Successfully completed 6 credits (grades of A, C)

SAP Statuses and What They Mean

Here’s a quick breakdown of the different SAP statuses, what they mean for your financial aid, and what actions you might need to take. Staying on top of your SAP status is key to keeping your financial aid and achieving your academic goals!

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Action: Keep up the great work! Stay focused on maintaining your GPA and completing your classes so you stay on track to reach your goals.

Action:

Requesting Review of Your Records:

  • If you think a grade was reported late or incorrectly, you can request a review of your records by submitting a Warning Review Request. You can find this form in your Financial Aid Self-Service.
  • If you’re on warning status due to approaching 150% of the published credit limit for your program, you can request a review of your progress toward graduation before being placed on Suspension by submitting a 150% Warning Request Review. You can find this form in your Financial Aid Self-Service.

Action:

  • Stick to your academic plan and keep working toward meeting SAP standards.
  • Meet with your academic advisor each semester to complete that semester’s Academic Plan Review form. Setting up your meeting early is important because missing the deadline could lead to suspension status and losing your financial aid eligibility. The Fall 2024 Academic Plan Review form was due December 13, 2024.

Action: To regain good standing, focus on meeting the minimum standards by the end of the semester. Identify what may be holding you back and work on making improvements.



Action: Complete a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form if you have a valid reason (for example, illness or personal challenges). Then meet with your academic advisor to create a plan for getting back on track.

If you think a grade was reported late or incorrectly, you can request a review of your records by submitting a Suspension Review Request. You can find this form in your Financial Aid Self-Service.

More Details

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires students to maintain satisfactory academic progress toward their degree in order to receive financial aid.

Hawkeye Community College's Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements for financial aid apply to all students who want to establish or maintain financial aid eligibility for federal, state, and institutional programs. These include but are not limited to Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal / State Work Study, Iowa Grant, Vocational-Technology Grant, Skilled Workforce Shortage Tuition Grant, Iowa National Guard, Stafford Loan (subsidized and unsubsidized), Parent PLUS Loan for Undergraduate Students, and designated Hawkeye Foundation Scholarships.

These requirements apply to a student's entire academic transcript, including terms for which financial aid was not applied for or disbursed, including classes taken while in high school.

The academic progress of students is monitored at the end of each academic term.

Read the full policy in the Financial Aid Handbook.

Contact Us

Financial Aid

Main Campus
Hawkeye Center 118
319-296-4020
800-670-4769 ext.4020
319-209-9239 (text only)
319-296-4495 (fax)
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Regular Hours — Spring 2025

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