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Financial Aid

Satisfactory Academic Progress For Undergraduate Students

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Requirements

Satisfactory Academic Progress has two-fold criteria with a Qualitative and a Quantitative component. To meet the Qualitative component, students must maintain a minimum of a 2.0 cumulative quality point average (QPA) or higher for specific academic programs (see charts below). To meet the Quantitative component, students must stay on pace to complete their degree within the 150% (length of program x 1.5) maximum time frame by passing the percentage of the total credits they have attempted as indicated on the charts below.

At the time of each evaluation, a student who has not achieved the required QPA, or who is not successfully completing his or her educational program at the required pace will be considered to be making unsatisfactory academic progress. The student is no longer eligible to receive assistance under the Title IV, HEA programs as well as Pace aid for future semesters.

An undergraduate student’s academic progress is reviewed 6 weeks after the end of each Spring semester. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements must be met to receive financial aid for any subsequent semesters from any of the following Federal or institutional aid programs:

Federal Aid

  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal Supplement Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
  • Federal Direct Stafford Loans (both subsidized and unsubsidized)
  • Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans

New York State Aid

  • Aid for Part Time Study (APTS)

Institutional Aid

  • Pace Grants *
  • Pace Scholarships *
  • Tuition Remission *

Note: Other New York State Scholarship and Grant programs have different academic progress requirements. See the Good Academic Standing Requirements for Full-Time Undergraduate Students Receiving New York State Aid.

* Recipients of Pace University's grants, scholarships and tuition programs must also meet the additional requirements of these programs regarding the cumulative QPA and other criteria required to maintain continued eligibility for these academic-based programs. Please refer to the Award Agreement Form that you received when you first received one of these awards or speak with a Financial Aid Counselor if you have any questions about your continued eligibility for any institutional award.

SAP Review Policies

The cumulative QPA (Quality Point Average) is the average of all quality points achieved for all courses taken during all semesters at Pace toward the current degree program and included in the current calculation of the QPA by the Registrar’s office.

The following will be considered as credits attempted and passed:

  • "A" through "D" grades
  • "P" passing with credit
  • Transfer credits accepted toward the current degree program

The following will be considered as credits attempted but not passed:

  • "F" grades
  • "W" withdrawal
  • "I-F" incomplete – stopped attending, failure due to unofficial withdrawal
  • "I" incomplete
  • "I-R" – referral (if the grade of I-R remains for more than one major semester after the semester in which the course was taken)
  • Credits from courses that have been repeated

The following will not be considered as credits attempted or passed:

  • "AUD" audit no credit
  • "K" pending

Academic Progress Appeal Process

A student who is not making satisfactory academic progress may submit an Appeal to be placed on Academic Progress Probation. Appeals are approved only in cases where the student has demonstrated that the academic progress criteria were not met due to extraordinary circumstances occurring in the student's life, generally beyond their control.

Extraordinary circumstances might include:

  • Severe and long-term illness or injury to the student making the successful completion of courses that had been started a physical impossibility or hardship.
  • Death of an immediate family member that creates serious emotional stress or, in some cases, serious financial stress or uncertainty.
  • Emotional distress.

Circumstances that, generally, do not warrant an academic progress waiver include:

  • Not liking the course or professor.
  • Being too busy at work, particularly if it is the same job the student had before the semester started and nothing out of the ordinary has occurred in the company.
  • Deciding after the semester starts to take some time off to work.

Academic Progress appeals should be carefully considered and timed. It is rare that a student would be granted more than one Academic Progress appeal during their academic program. The basis for a subsequent appeal will be reviewed carefully and will only be considered when circumstances are extraordinary and unique from a previous appeal. During the probation period, the student must make up any academic progress deficiency. If the appeal is approved, the student must meet the terms of an academic plan developed with a Financial Aid counselor by the end of the next semester and each subsequent semester.

A waiver may be granted ONLY when the following conditions are met:

  • Detailed documentation must be provided to verify the extraordinary circumstances that warrant the waiver.
  • An explanation of how these circumstances resulted in the loss of satisfactory academic progress.
  • An explanation of how the student's situation has changed so that these circumstances are not expected to cause further problems that would prevent the student from demonstrating Satisfactory Academic Progress in the future.
  • Based on the documentation and the student's academic record, there must be a reasonable expectation that all future academic progress requirements will be met.

A student who believes he/she has grounds for an academic progress appeal should complete and submit the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Form.

After reviewing your appeal letter, you will receive an email to your Pace student email regarding the outcome of your appeal (approval or denial) and any impact on your Title IV eligibility.

Special Notes

Repeated Courses

All courses taken at Pace are counted as attempted credits even if they have been taken again. If a student fails a course and then repeats it in a subsequent semester and receives a passing grade, the credits for the first time the course was taken are counted as attempted but not passed and the credits for the second time the course was taken are counted as attempted and passed.

Course Withdrawals

All courses that a student has started at Pace are counted as attempted. Courses from which a student has withdrawn count as attempted but not passed, even though they do not figure into the calculation of the QPA, they do calculate into the completion rate.

Resuming Students

All course work toward a particular degree program at Pace University is counted when determining whether a student is making satisfactory academic progress, even if the student has taken some time off from attending the University.

Bachelor's degree candidates who previously received an Associate's degree from Pace

If the student is currently working toward a Bachelor's degree and previously received an Associate's degree from Pace, the cumulative QPA and the credits attempted and passed or not passed during the Associate's degree program are included in the determination of the student's academic progress toward the Bachelor's degree program.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Requirement Charts for Undergraduate Students

Minimum 2.0 QPA requirement for all students. Higher QPA requirements are required for specific programs such as Education and College of Health Professions. See charts below.

Undergraduate - Under 120 Credit Programs

Cumulative Credits Attempted Required Percentage Passed Minimum Cumulative QPA
1-180 67% 2.00

*A student who has attempted more than 150% times the normal program completion time will no longer qualify for financial aid.

Undergraduate - 120 Credit Programs

Cumulative Credits Attempted Required Percentage Passed Minimum Cumulative QPA
1-23 50% 2.00
24-47 55% 2.00
48-71 55% 2.00
72-95 60% 2.00
96-180 70% 2.00

*A student who has attempted more than 180 credits no longer qualifies for financial aid.

Undergraduate - 128 Credit Programs

Cumulative Credits Attempted Required Percentage Passed Minimum Cumulative QPA
1-23 50% 2.00
24-47 55% 2.00
48-71 55% 2.00
72-95 60% 2.00
96-192 70% 2.00

*A student who has attempted more than 192 credits no longer qualifies for financial aid.

Lubin - 150 Credit Public Accounting Program

Cumulative Credits Attempted Required Percentage Passed Minimum Cumulative QPA
1-23 50% 2.00
24-47 55% 2.00
48-71 55% 2.00
72-95 60% 2.00
96-225 70% 2.00

*A student who has attempted more than 225 credits no longer qualifies for financial aid.

School of Education - 120 Credit Programs

Cumulative Credits Attempted Required Percentage Passed Minimum Cumulative QPA
1-46 67% 2.50
47-94 67% 2.75
95-180 67% 3.00

*A student who has attempted more than 180 credits no longer qualifies for financial aid.

College of Health Professions - RN4 and ABS Programs

Cumulative Credits Attempted Required Percentage Passed Minimum Cumulative QPA
1-192 67% 2.75

*A student who has attempted more than 192 credits no longer qualifies for financial aid.

College of Health Professions - SLP/A Program

Cumulative Credits Attempted Required Percentage Passed Minimum Cumulative QPA
1-192 67% 2.70

*A student who has attempted more than 192 credits no longer qualifies for financial aid.

College of Health Professions - RN to BS Online Program

Cumulative Credits Attempted Required Percentage Passed Minimum Cumulative QPA
1-180 67% 2.50

*A student who has attempted more than 180 credits no longer qualifies for financial aid.