Federal regulations (34 CFR 668.34) require that a student receiving federal and state financial aid make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in accordance with the standards set by the College and the federal government. The policy's purpose is to ensure that students are making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward completing their educational program of study. 

SAP is measured using three standards: cumulative GPA (qualitative), pace of completion (quantitative), and maximum timeframe. The Financial Aid Office evaluates Satisfactory Academic Progress before awarding financial aid and after grades are posted for each semester, starting with the student’s first semester of enrollment. This includes all periods of enrollment, regardless of whether financial aid was received. SAP policy also applies to veteran students using veterans education benefits.

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Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress

A student’s academic progress is measured according to three standards:

1. Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA): Students must achieve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 in all credit courses attempted throughout their entire enrollment at Triton College, regardless of whether financial aid was received.

Non-grade designations such as Withdrawal (“W”) or Incomplete (“I”) will not count towards GPA. For repeated courses, only the grade from the most recent attempt will be used for the GPA calculation. Transfer credits are excluded from the GPA calculation.

2. Progressive Rate of Completion (Pace): Pace is calculated by dividing the number of total completed credits by the number of total attempted credits. A student must earn at least the minimum cumulative Pace percentage, as shown below, depending on their level of attendance.  

Students in their First Semester of Attendance: A student must have a cumulative Pace percentage of 50% or higher at the conclusion of their first semester of attendance to meet standards for Pace.

Students in their Second Semester of Attendance and Beyond: A student must have a cumulative Pace percentage of 67% or higher at the conclusion of their second semester of attendance to meet standards for Pace and must maintain a cumulative Pace of at least 67% each semester thereafter.

• • • Grades of A, B, C, D, and P count as credit hours attempted and completed.
    • Grades of F, W, I, and R count as credit hours attempted but not completed.

All attempted credit hours at Triton College will be counted towards the Pace completion rate and the maximum time frame standards. These include: College Success courses COL 102 and CSG 150, repeated courses, withdrawn courses, incomplete grades, courses that have grades forgiven and non-completed courses. Transfer and Dual Credit credits accepted towards the student’s degree will be included. Remedial and audit courses are not included in Pace completion rate and the maximum time frame standards.

3. Maximum Timeframe: Students must complete their degree or certificate program at Triton College within a time frame that is no longer than 150% of the published length of the program. The time frame includes all attempted credit course work at Triton College, as well as courses from other schools accepted for transfer at Triton College.

Federal regulations state that a student becomes ineligible for financial aid whenever it becomes mathematically impossible to complete a degree program without exceeding the maximum time-frame/hours. Students in this scenario are no longer eligible for federal aid and are placed on financial aid disqualification. For example, if your associate degree requires 60 credit hours to complete, you must be able to graduate with no more than 90 credit hours attempted. If you have attempted 45 credit hours and have 50 hours remaining to complete the program, the total hours needed to graduate are 95 which is above the 90 credit hour maximum.  You are no longer eligible for financial aid at the 45 attempted credit mark without an approved appeal.

• • • Grades of A, B, C, D, and P count as credit hours attempted and completed.
    • Grades of F, W, I, and R count as credit hours attempted but not completed.

All attempted credit hours at Triton College will be counted towards the Pace completion rate and the maximum time frame standards. These include: College Success courses COL 102 and CSG 150, repeated courses, withdrawn courses, incomplete grades, courses that have grades forgiven and non-completed courses. Transfer and Dual Credit credits accepted towards the student’s degree will be included. Remedial and audit courses are not included in Pace completion rate and the maximum time frame standards

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Status: SAP is a cumulative measure reviewed at the end of each semester. Students who do not meet SAP are notified by email from the Office of Financial Aid. Students are responsible for monitoring their SAP status via the student portal and institutional email. The following SAP statuses are indicators of a student’s SAP status.

SAP Good Standing: Students who are meeting all three Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.

SAP Warning: Students who do not meet one or more standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress will be placed on Warning Status for their next semester of attendance. Students can receive federal and state aid while on Warning Status. An appeal is not required in Warning Status. 

SAP Financial Aid Disqualification: Students who do not meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress after a semester on Warning Status will become disqualified from receiving further federal or state financial aid. Students must submit an appeal to request reinstatement of their financial aid. 

SAP Probation: Students who have successfully appealed their Disqualification Status are placed on Probation. Students on Probation are eligible to receive financial aid for one (1) semester. Students must be in Good Standing or meeting the requirements of an Academic Plan at the end of the Probation period to be eligible to receive financial aid in a future semester.

Meeting Academic Plan: Students who are meeting the terms of their Academic Plan while on Probation status will be placed under the Meeting Academic Plan status and will be eligible to continue to receive financial aid. In order to meet the terms of the Academic Plan, the student must enroll in classes only required for their program, successfully complete a minimum of 75% of attempted credits and earn a minimum GPA of 2.0 for each upcoming semester. Students will meet with an Academic Advisor to develop a Course Plan which is mapped out to graduation and classes may be taken out of sequence depending on class availability.

If the student fails to meet the terms of the Academic Plan in any subsequent semester, the student will no longer be able to appeal and becomes ineligible for financial aid until the student is able to once again meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

SAP Ineligible: Students who did not meet the terms of their Academic Plan will be moved to SAP Ineligible status and are no longer eligible to appeal. The student will remain ineligible for financial aid until the student again meets the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Appeal Process and Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility

Students who are in SAP Financial Aid Disqualification status may appeal their financial aid eligibility if the student feels that mitigating or unusual circumstances have prevented them from making satisfactory academic progress towards their program of study. A mitigating circumstance is an unforeseen event beyond a student’s control that directly impacts their academic performance. Students may appeal for multiple semesters however the same mitigating circumstance cannot be used for more than one semester.

To appeal, the student must submit an appeal online at triton.studentsforms.com. The appeal should include all of the items below. Additional documentation may be requested in the review process.

a.  Narrative Statement- The student must address the mitigating circumstances that prevented the student from meeting satisfactory academic progress in the past and what has changed since that will allow them to achieve future academic success.

b.  Supporting Documentation- Provide documentation that supports the circumstances impacting their academic progress, when the circumstances occurred, the duration of the circumstances, and how the circumstances affected the student’s ability to make academic progress. The same mitigating circumstance cannot be used for more than one semester. Examples of acceptable circumstances and their supporting documentation: 

 

c.  Academic Plan- Students must complete an Academic Plan which includes uploading a Course Plan. To meet the criteria of an Academic Plan, a student must enroll in classes only required for their program, successfully complete a minimum of 75% of attempted credits and earn a minimum GPA of 2.0 for each upcoming semester. Students will meet with an Academic Advisor to develop a Course Plan which is mapped out to graduation and classes may be taken out of sequence depending on class availability.

d.  The SAP committee will make all appeal decisions within 10 business days upon receiving the appeal and all required documentation.

e.  Students whose appeal have been denied are not eligible to receive financial aid for that semester. A notification will be sent to the student’s Triton email informing them of the denial. For future semesters, students will have to meet all three satisfactory academic progress standards or have an appeal approved to receive financial aid.

f.  Students whose appeal was denied may email additional documentation to finaid@triton.edu up to 21 calendar days from the initial denial date for review. Students who do not submit this additional documentation within this timeframe will have their appeals stand as denied. Documentation submitted after 21 calendar days will not be reviewed and the appeal will remain denied.

g.  If the student has met the required terms of the Academic Plan, the student may remain financial aid eligible based on meeting the Academic Plan and continue to receive financial aid the following semester. In order to meet the terms of the Academic Plan, the student must enroll in classes only required for their program, successfully complete a minimum of 75% of attempted credits and receive a minimum GPA of 2.0 for each upcoming semester. If the student fails to meet the terms of the academic plan in any subsequent semester, the student will become ineligible to participate in all federal and state financial aid programs until the student is able to once again meet the minimum requirements for satisfactory academic progress.

h.  A student may appeal for a one time reset if they had a program change which has caused them to exceed maximum time frame. The reset can only be done once and only courses from the prior program that apply to the current program will be included in SAP calculations. Your appeal should explain why you are requesting additional credit hours to complete the new program. SAP resets are always available to students that complete a degree or certificate and start a new credit program.

Deadlines

Students must submit their appeal at triton.studentforms.com each semester by the following deadlines below:

• Fall semester appeals must be submitted by October 28, 2026
• Spring semester appeals must be submitted by March 31, 2027
• Summer semester appeals must be submitted by August 2, 2027

Appeals submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed and student will remain on Financial Aid Disqualification status.

If denied, students may submit additional supporting documentation within 21 calendar days from the initial denial date. Any documents received after the 21 calendar days will not be reviewed.

Incomplete Grades

Students receiving an Incomplete (“I”) grade or late grade that places them on Financial Aid Warning or Disqualified Status must complete the course in accordance with the 'Incomplete Grades' policy as outlined in the Triton College catalog. Incomplete grades are included in the rate of completion (PACE) and maximum timeframe calculations as credit hours attempted but not completed. When an incomplete grade is finalized, it will be factored into the student’s SAP calculation the following semester.

Fraud

The SAP Appeal Committee will follow the procedures below when actual or suspected fraud or abuse is identified.

a.  Students who willfully submit fraudulent information will be investigated to the fullest extent possible. All documented cases of fraud and abuse will be reported to the proper authorities.

b.  If it is in the judgment of a member of the SAP Appeal Committee that there has been intentional misrepresentation, false statements, or alteration of documents, which have resulted or could result in the awarding or disbursement of funds for which the student is not eligible, all information must be forwarded to the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education. If the decision is made by the Financial Aid Office to pursue the possibility of denying or canceling financial aid, the Financial Aid Office will send an email to request an appointment with the student. If the student does not make an appointment or if after meeting with the student the Office of Financial Aid determines fraud was committed, the Office of Financial Aid may not process or award financial aid until the situation is resolved and financial aid will not be processed for future years.