Satisfactory Academic Progress
The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, mandates institutions of higher education establish a standard of satisfactory academic progress for students who receive Title IV funds. Please read below for additional information specific to CMC.
This standard applies to the student’s entire academic history, whether Title IV aid was received or not. In order to remain eligible to receive aid at Colorado Mountain College, students must meet the standards specified for acceptable academic performance and for Satisfactory Academic Progress toward the completion of their program of study.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Deadlines
Summer 2025 - July 11, 2025
Fall 2025 - October 17, 2025
Spring 2026 - March 6, 2026
Submit your appeal on time! Questions?
SAP Components
A student must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above.
Students enrolled in a program longer than 2 academic years in length must earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (“C” average) or “P” (passing) or better on all courses taken at CMC at the end of the second academic year.
Students must complete at least 67% of the credits that they attempt. This is also called the Pace of Progression.
For example if you have attempted 54 credits but only completed 30 your completion rate would be 55.55%
30/54=55.55%
Completion means that you earned a passing grade in the class.
Students must complete the academic program within 150% of the required number of credits for completion of a degree or certificate program.
What credits count towards this?
- Credits taken at CMC
- Including credits taken while you were in High school
- Credits that are transferred into CMC from another school
For example, if your Associate of Science degree requires 60 credits to graduate, you are allowed to attempt up to 90 credits and still meet this requirement. If you attempted 93 credits, you would no longer be meeting this requirement.
This is determined per degree program. CMC will use the longest program to calculate your Maximum time frame.
For example, if you are in a Certificate that requires 16 credits, and an Associate that requires 60 credits to graduate, your Maximum time frame would be calculated from your Associate degree (i.e. 90 credits).
SAP Status
You are meeting all requirements of SAP. You will see your SAP status bar in Basecamp Self Service as Green.
This status means that you have failed to meet all of the requirements of SAP in the prior semester. You are placed on Warning for the next semester. This will occur 1 time without a written appeal as long as you completed at least 1 credit.
- You are still eligible for Financial Aid for the next semester
- If you fail to meet SAP again, you would be placed on Financial Aid Termination
- You will see a Yellow SAP status bar in Basecamp Self Service. This is a warning that lets you know that you need to improve
This status means that you have failed to meet all of the requirements of SAP in the prior semester. You are placed on Termination for the next semester.
This can occur when one of the following happens:
- The student attempted 9 or more credits and received a cumulative GPA of 1.0 or less
- The student failed to comply with any of their requirements in their Academic Plan
- A First year student (completed less than 30 credits at CMC) who has a 0% completion rate for a single semester
- If you were on a Financial Aid warning in the prior semester along with one of the following
- Your cumulative GPA is less than 2.0
- Your cumulative completion rate is below 67%
- You can not complete the required credits before reaching the Maximum Time Frame for your degree
All of your Federal, State and most Institutional Aid is cancelled. You are no longer eligible for the aid that was cancelled. You will see your SAP Status bar in Basecamp Self Service as Red.
When you have attempted 75% of the Maximum Time Frame for your degree program you will be placed on Notice. You are still eligible for Financial Aid. You will see your SAP status in Basecamp Self Service as Yellow. This is letting you know that you are close to the maximum amount of credits you can attempt.
This calculation includes all attempted and completed credits from CMC and any credits transferred in from other schools.
Financial Aid Probation and Academic Plan are used when a student previously was failing to meet SAP, appealed that status and was approved for 1 additional semester of Financial Aid.
If you were on Termination you would see Financial aid Probation. If you were on Maximum Time Frame you would see Academic Plan.
A student on Probation must follow all stipulations, outlined in the SAP determination letter, including any academic plan, if applicable, to be considered for Title IV eligibility. Terms of the academic plan are defined in the approval letter.
Once placed on an academic plan:
- The student remains on probation.
- The student must fully comply with the academic plan each term. Compliance is checked at the end of each enrollment period. Failure to fully comply with all aspects of the plan will result in Termination. If terminated, the student will be notified of the steps that must be taken before there will be any future consideration for aid eligibility.
You will see your SAP status in Basecamp Self Service as Yellow.
Other SAP Items
CMC will measure students’ eligibility for financial aid at the end of EVERY semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer), and will measure for all SAP components. The updated status will be effective for the following semester.
If the student is placed on Financial Aid Warning, Financial Aid Termination, Financial Aid Notice of Maximum Time Frame or Exceeds Maximum Time Frame the student will be notified of this status. If the student submits an appeal, the student will be notified of the results of the appeal whether it is approved or denied. If the appeal is approved, the notification will also include the requirements of the academic plan.
Notifications are sent to students via CMC issued email address.
An Incomplete grade (I) is given when no credit is earned. This counts as an attempted class that has not been completed and affects the Pace of Progression component of SAP. Therefore, an (I) grade may cause a student to be placed on Financial Aid Warning or Termination. The next SAP calculation will reflect the final grade assigned.
Students withdrawing from some, but not all, classes after the funds have been disbursed, may not have their current aid adjusted. A Withdrawal (W) or Administrative Withdrawal (AW) does not count as a completed credit, and failure to complete the credit hours upon which your award was based may impact future SAP calculations and future financial aid eligibility. However, a W or AW does count as an attempted credit(s) in calculating the maximum number of credit hours for the Maximum Time Frame and Pace of Progression calculations.
Students may repeat a previously passed course one time using financial aid funds. A failed course may be repeated until it is passed using financial aid as long as the student remains in an eligible SAP status. Total attempted credits will be included toward the Maximum Time Frame.
Remedial courses are included in both the Pace of Progression and Maximum Time Frame calculations.
If a student chooses to audit a course, it will not count toward the student’s enrollment status for financial aid purposes and cannot be paid with financial aid.
Appealing Ineligible SAP
You only need to appeal if your SAP status is ineligible.
You will know you are ineligible if your SAP status is one of the following
- Financial Aid Termination
- Exceeds Maximum Time Frame
You will also know that your SAP status is ineligible if your SAP status bar in Basecamp Self Service is Red.
You can request an appeal in 2 ways:
- Contact Financial Aid and request a SAP appeal form, we will send you one through DocuSign
- Navigate to your Satisfactory Academic Progress page in Basecamp self service
- On the right side of the page you will see the "Request SAP/EMTF Appeal HERE"
- Fill out this form and we will send you the SAP appeal form
Please know that if you are on Academic Suspension, you will need to work with your Academic Advisor/Counselor first. Your SAP appeal will not be reviewed until you are either on Academic Probation or Good Standing.
You will need to complete the SAP appeal form in it's entirety. We will not review an appeal that is incomplete or blank.
The student will need to provide the following:
- An explanation for each semester you failed SAP
- A plan that you create with your Academic Advisor/Counselor on how you will succeed in the future
- Supporting documentation that helps to back up what happened during the semester your failed SAP (Optional)
- A Degree Evaluation for each degree program that you are enrolled in
Each semester there is a deadline about 8 weeks into the semester. If you submit your appeal after this deadline, your appeal will not be reviewed until after the semester is over.
Summer 2025 July 11, 2025
Fall 2025 October 17, 2025
Spring 2026 March 6, 2026
- Once you sign your SAP Appeal, it will be sent to your Academic Advisor/Counselor.
- After they complete their section the form will be sent to Financial Aid.
- Your appeal is then reviewed by the SAP Committee.
- The Committee will either reach out to you for additional information or review your appeal for a decision.
- A decision is then made and sent to you within 10 business days of receiving the completed appeal.
- The decision will be sent to your CMC issued student email.
If your appeal is approved, we will reinstate your Financial Aid for the next semester if you submitted your appeal after the semester deadline. If you submitted your appeal before the semester deadline then we will reinstate your Financial Aid for the current semester.
You will not be eligible for Financial Aid for the next semester. You will be required to pay for any tuition/fees out of pocket. You will need to work with Student Accounts to make payment arrangements and pay in full to not be dropped from your classes.
Please know that a denied decision cannot be appealed. The decision is final.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The Academic Standards of CMC are different from the SAP standards. Each have different rules and consequences if you don't meet them. Please see the Catalog for your Student Rights and Responsibilities.
You can not appeal your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) if you are on Academic Suspension. You would first need to appeal your Academic Suspension and be put on Academic Probation before you can appeal your SAP. Please see the Catalog for your Student Rights and Responsibilities.