Satisfactory Academic Progress

Undergraduate Students

Students must complete their program within 150% of the published length of the program. A student is ineligible when it becomes mathematically impossible for them to complete the program within the maximum timeframe established by the school. Students who lose student aid eligibility due to this standard can regain eligibility for financial aid by submitting a successful SAP Appeal.

Course repeat hours Credit for repeated coursework will only be counted once in earned hours; however, all repeated coursework attempts are counted in attempted hours. This will negatively affect the percent completion rate. See Kent State University’s Course Repeat Policy in the University Catalog for guidance on how repeating courses affect grade point average and total hours for graduation.  

Graduate Students

• Overall institution attempted hours even if the student changes majors
• Overall transfer hours
• Attempted hours are counted for all terms, even those semesters during which the student did not receive financial aid as well as those waived under academic amnesty policies
• Remedial, repeated and forgiveness hours are included in the overall SAP attempted hours calculation

Students who have reached the maximum time frame limit and who have completed coursework to graduate but have not yet received their degree cannot continue to receive further financial aid as an undergraduate student.

Follow these steps to view your Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Calculation:

1. Log into FlashLine
2. Click on the Student tab
3. Under Finances, click on Scholarships & Financial Aid.
4. Scroll down to Additional Financial Aid Resources section
5. Click on Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Calculation

This Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Calculation displays a student's Financial Aid GPA, SAP Financial Aid Completion and SAP Maximum Time Frame values. Please note the SAP earned hours value. SAP earned hours is used to determine percent completion standard. 

If you are not meeting the SAP policy, you may appeal for federal financial aid by submitting a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal. The purpose of the appeal is to show that there were extenuating circumstances that led to you not meeting the standards. 

Examples of extenuating circumstances are: death of a relative, an injury or illness of the student or other special circumstances. In an appeal, you must explain the circumstances that prevented you from meeting the SAP policy standards and explain what has changed that will allow you to meet the standards at the next evaluation. Supporting documentation must be provided.

If you’re cited for SAP and you do not appeal, are denied by the committee or are non-compliant with standards, you will lose federal financial aid eligibility. If you’re cited but now meet SAP standards, you must still file an appeal for review. Paying out-of-pocket or sitting out an enrollment period isn’t sufficient to reestablish federal aid eligibility.

Appeal Deadlines for the 2024-2025 academic year:

Kent State will notify students who do not meet the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress policy after the end of the spring semester or when our office receives the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) results.

To view your status:

1. Log on to FlashLine and select Student.
2. Under Finances, click on Scholarships & Financial Aid.
3. Click on Financial Aid Dashboard. Pin this item to your Student Dashboard.
4. Confirm that the Aid Year displayed in the upper right corner is the correct aid year.
5. Click the Satisfactory Academic Progress tab from the top menu to view your SAP Status.

After finding your SAP status in FlashLine, use the charts below to determine what steps and forms you need to complete the appeal process.

Supporting documentation must be provided. The documentation submitted should support the information given in your appeal statement. Examples of documentation that support the circumstance are medical documentation, obituary or a counseling record.

All documentation must include the student’s full name and dates. For example, if a student is submitting a snapshot of a medical record from their online medical chart, the dates of service for the medical appointment would need to be included as well as the student’s name. The same applies to an obituary, another person’s medical documents or any other supporting documents that are being used. The dates of the occurrences on the supporting documentation should best coincide with the semester(s) the student struggled academically. 

When submitting supporting documentation from third parties (such as counseling statements or medical statements from counseling centers) they should be submitted on the medical provider’s letter head and signed by the provider (electronic signatures are acceptable).   

Gather your documentation when you submit your appeal. Complete appeals will be reviewed promptly.

This appeal is to appeal federal financial aid only, not scholarships. This is not a scholarship appeal.

View the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form(s)

If you were cited for Maximum Time Frame, you must also provide a completed Maximum Time Frame form.

The Maximum Time Frame form must be signed by an academic advisor to be considered complete (through Dynamic Forms). When completing the Maximum Time Frame form, you will need to submit your academic advisor’s name and email. Your advisor will make updates to the form as needed and it will be sent back to your email.  Once your academic or faculty advisor has completed, signed and submitted your form, it will automatically be sent to your campus for processing and you will receive a confirmation email.

If you have already submitted your appeal and need to only submit the Maximum Time Frame form, please complete the Maximum Time Frame form. Once your academic or faculty advisor has completed, signed and submitted your form, it will automatically be sent to your campus for processing and you will receive a confirmation email.

Please read the instructions carefully before completing this form.

View Maximum Time Frame Form(s)

Steps to find your SAP appeal decision in FlashLine:

1. Log on to FlashLine and select Student.
2. Under Finances, click on Scholarships & Financial Aid.
3. Click on Financial Aid Dashboard. Pin this item to your Student Dashboard.
4. Confirm that the Aid Year displayed in the upper right corner is the correct aid year.
5. Click the Notifications tab from the top menu to view messages.