Cameron Students posing for a picture on Campus

Office of Financial Assistance

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Updated August 18, 2022

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is defined as proceeding toward successful completion of degree requirements. The Cameron University Office of Financial Assistance Services is required by federal regulation and state policy to determine whether a student is meeting the requirements. The official record of the CU Registrar is reviewed to determine student compliance with SAP. This policy pertains to recipients of federal, state and institutional assistance, including Oklahoma Promise, CU Scholarships, tuition waivers and/or athletic grant-in-aid. SAP standards are the same for all categories of students, including those students registered with The Office of Student Development.

If you have questions about the monitoring of satisfactory academic progress, please contact us by calling (580) 581-2293 or (580) 581-2295, or via email at financialaid@cameron.edu.

The academic year at Cameron University consists of fall, spring, and summer terms in that order. The evaluation of academic progress is made at the end of the spring term. All previous terms of enrollment will be included in the measurement of SAP, including transfer work. Terms in which the student enrolled but did not receive financial aid are included in the measurement. 

The academic year at Cameron University consists of fall, spring, and summer terms, in that order. The evaluation of academic progress is made at the end of the spring term. All previous terms of enrollment will be included in the measurement of SAP, including transfer work. Terms in which the student enrolled but did not receive financial aid are included in the measurement.

If at the end of the spring term SAP standards have not been met, the student will be considered ineligible for federal, state and institutional assistance and will be notified accordingly. Ineligible students are allowed to appeal the SAP determination and, if approved, can be placed on financial aid probation or academic plan. Please note: academic probation and suspension and financial aid probation and suspension are not the same. For more information about academic status, please consult the Student Handbook.

Grade Point Average (qualitative standard)

Students must meet a qualitative standard of academic progress measured through an overall grade point average which includes all grades on a student’s transcript.

Undergraduate students must maintain at least a 1.7 cumulative grade point average for the first 29 credit hours attempted and a 2.0 cumulative grade point average for all credit hours attempted over 29. Grades of “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, “F”, “RA”, “RB”, “RC”, “RD”, and “RF” will count in the GPA standard for measurement of SAP.

For graduate students, a 3.0 cumulative grade point average on all attempted hours is required. Grades of “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, and “F” will count in the GPA standard for measurement of SAP.

Repeat courses, remedial (zero level) courses and courses that a student obtains forgiveness for are counted in the cumulative GPA standard for measuring satisfactory academic progress; therefore, your cumulative GPA may not be the same as your retention GPA.

Pace (quantitative standard)

Students must meet a quantitative standard of academic progress measured by the percentage of hours successfully completed against the total number of hours attempted. Students must successfully complete 67% of all credit hours the student has attempted. Hours transferred to CU by the student are considered in the Pace calculation.

Repeat courses, remedial (zero level) courses and courses for which a student has received “academic forgiveness” are counted in measuring satisfactory academic progress.

Grades of “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, “S”, “P”, “RA”, “RB”, “RC” will count as successfully completed courses. Grades of “F”, “RD”, “RF”, “AW”, “U”, “NP”, “NR”, “I”, “W”, and “X” will be included in the total credit hours attempted but are not counted as successfully completed credit hours. Audited classes are not eligible for financial assistance; therefore, audited hours do not count as hours attempted.

Maximum Timeframe for Degree Completion

A student who exceeds the maximum number of hours allowed for program completion is determined to be ineligible for future financial aid consideration. Students must complete their program at CU within a total number of attempted credit hours that does not exceed 150% of the total hours required for program completion. This total includes all attempted coursework at CU and all transfer work from other schools including military credits, regardless of any change in program . All attempted credit hours are considered in the calculation even if the student did not receive federal aid for the coursework.

Undergraduate students enrolled in a 124 credit hour degree program are eligible for 186 credit hours of attempted study.

Undergraduate students pursuing a second bachelor’s degree are eligible for 231 total credit hours of attempted study and must submit a copy of their Degree Works audit or a statement from an advisor indicating the number of hours left to complete this degree for the second program to Office of Financial Assistance Services for approval.

Graduate students enrolled in a 33 credit hour degree program are eligible for 50 credit hours of attempted study. MSBS tracks requiring 48 credit hours are eligible for 72 credit hours of attempted study. MSBS tracks requiring 60 credit hours are eligible for 90 hours of attempted study.

Graduate students pursuing a second master’s degree are eligible for 100 total credit hours of attempted study; 48 credit hour tracks are eligible for 122 credit hours of attempted study. All graduate student’s pursuing a 2nd master’s degree must submit a copy of their Degree Works audit or a statement from an advisor indicating the number of hours left to complete this degree for the second program to Office of Financial Assistance Services for approval.

Transfer students are initially considered to be eligible for financial assistance. They are evaluated at the end of each term.

Returning students who were not meeting SAP standards when they left must submit an appeal. Those who have had a previous appeal approved are held to the terms of that appeal when they return. A review of the student’s probation conditions, academic plan (if applicable), and degree plan will be completed prior to awarding aid.

Appealing Financial Aid Ineligibility

A student whose financial aid is suspended based on the SAP Policy can submit a typed Financial Assistance Appeal Form up to a maximum of three times throughout their academic career. The appeal should be based on mitigating circumstances that have had a direct effect on the student’s ability to make progress. While not totally inclusive, the appeal form provides examples of mitigating circumstances. Mitigating circumstances are those which are unexpected and beyond the control of the student.

The appeal must explain in detail why the student failed to meet the minimum academic standards, what exactly caused the failure, and what has changed or improved that will allow the student to demonstrate SAP at the next evaluation. Documentation supporting the appeal must be submitted with the appeal, not separately. Appeals without proper documentation will not be reviewed by the committee.

Students who have exceeded the maximum number of hours to complete an academic program are eligible to appeal. In this case the student must submit an appeal form with a copy of their Degree Works audit or a statement from the student's advisor indicating the number of hours remaining to complete the degree.

If the financial aid appeals committee approves an appeal for a student who has an insufficient cumulative GPA or pace deficiency and determines that the student can meet the SAP standards by the end of the next term, the student will be placed on financial aid probation. All federal, state and/or institutional aid will be reinstated for one term. The student will be reviewed at the end of the term to determine if continued eligibility is warranted.

If the financial aid appeals committee approves an appeal and determines that the student cannot meet the SAP standards within the next term, the student will be placed on a financial aid academic plan. The student must adhere to specific terms and conditions as determined by the committee. Aid will be reinstated for one term and the student‘s progress will be reviewed at the end of the term. At that point, the student must meet the requirements of the individual academic plan.

Undergraduate Academic Plan Requirements:

  • You must achieve a GPA of at least 2.0 each term of enrollment until all SAP requirements are met.
  • You must successfully complete all attempted hours (no W’s, F’s, or I’s) each term of enrollment until all SAP requirements are met.
  • You must only enroll in classes pertaining to your degree.

Graduate Academic Plan Requirements:

  • You must achieve a GPA of at least 3.0 each term of enrollment until all SAP requirements are met.
  • You must successfully complete all attempted hours (no W’s, F’s, or I’s) each term of enrollment until all SAP requirements are met.
  • You must only enroll in classes pertaining to your degree.

Students who do not meet the requirements of the academic plan will become ineligible for federal, state and/or institutional student aid, and not be allowed to appeal for the semester immediately following the failure of the academic plan. Students who are ineligible for federal student aid by not meeting the requirements of the plan may regain eligibility by meeting the minimum standards of SAP.

Students who receive Incomplete grades or Administrative Withdrawals will fail their requirements of their academic plan and be suspended. In the case of extenuating circumstances, Incompletes and Administrative Withdrawals will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

The Office of Financial Assistance Services will notify the student via their Cameron University email of the Financial Aid Appeals Committee’s decision. If approved, the student must respond to the email to acknowledge and accept the terms of the appeal. The Financial Aid Appeals Committee’s decision is final.

Students who are not meeting the Cameron University Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy also have the option of attending Cameron at their own expense or possibly through the use of alternative (private) educational loan financing until which time they meet the conditions of the SAP policy.