The federal financial aid programs at UNC Charlotte are authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, to apply certain standards to all students receiving federal Title IV aid, and all students receiving any other need-based aid, including institutionally and state funded sources.

There are significant changes to the Higher Education Act (HEOA) that govern satisfactory academic progress standards.  UNC Charlotte’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy has changed effective 2011-2012 academic year.  The following standards are applied uniformly to all UNC Charlotte financial aid applicants for the term during which the students were enrolled, regardless whether the students received financial aid:

Qualitative

• Minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 for all undergraduate students.

Quantitative

• Minimum credit hour completion rate of 66.6% for both undergraduate and graduate students.
• The academic record of each aid recipient is reviewed at the end of each semester.  The review includes all semesters of attendance at UNC Charlotte, whether or not financial aid was received.
• If students fail to meet either of the above requirements, they will be placed on financial aid warning until the next review.  Students will be eligible for financial assistance while on warning status.
• If students are already on warning status, and have not met both the qualitative and quantitative requirements at the end of the warning period, they will be placed on financial aid suspension and will not be eligible for further financial assistance until such time as the cumulative minimums have been met, or a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal has been approved.

Maximum Time Frame

• Undergraduate students are expected to complete their degrees or program of study within a maximum time frame in which students receive Title IV funds.  Title IV assistance ends when students have registered 150% of the number of hours required for graduation in their programs of study, including transferred hours accepted for credit toward the degree. 

If students meet these standards, they are eligible to be considered for financial aid, provided they also meet all other financial aid requirements.  If students do not meet these standards, they are not eligible to receive financial aid, including summer terms.
Students who are academically suspended at the end of the spring semester, but are allowed to enroll in the summer term as a condition of their reinstatement, are not eligible for financial aid during the summer terms.

Students who have been re-admitted as a result of the “two year rule” or “associate rule” (see catalog) must still meet the standards of SAP in order to be eligible for financial aid.  The Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) will notify students of their failure to meet the standards of SAP by email; however, it is the students’ responsibility to monitor their SAP status, and stay informed of the University’s SAP standards.
Please review the SAP policy and appeal information in detailed using the link below.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

SAP Calendar: