Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Financial aid can help you reach your educational goal. To remain eligible for financial aid, you must make Satisfactory Academic Progress, commonly called SAP, toward completing your degree, certificate, or transfer program.

SAP is based on your cumulative academic record, not just your most recent semester.

Porterville College measures SAP in three areas:

1. GPA

Maintain at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA.

2. PACE

Successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative attempted units.

3. MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME

Complete your program within 150% of its published length.

1. GPA: Maintain a 2.00 Cumulative GPA

You must maintain at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA to meet the qualitative SAP standard.

Your cumulative GPA reflects your academic performance over time. A strong semester can help improve your cumulative GPA, but SAP is not determined using only one semester.

2. Pace: Complete at Least 67% of Attempted Units

To meet the quantitative SAP standard, you must successfully complete at least 67% of your cumulative attempted units.

How Is My Pace Calculated?

PACE FORMULA

Successfully Completed Units ÷ Attempted Units = Completion Rate

Example: If you attempted 30 units and successfully completed 24 units, 24 ÷ 30 = 80%. Your completion rate would be 80%, which meets the 67% pace requirement.

Porterville College rounds unit progression up to the nearest tenth when evaluating the completion rate.

Which Units Count?

SAP includes all units attempted within the Kern Community College District (KCCD), including Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso Community College, and Porterville College. Units from other institutions that KCCD accepts for credit are also used in the SAP calculation. Failed or incomplete coursework from institutions outside KCCD may also affect SAP status.

What Happens When I Withdraw, Fail, or Do Not Complete a Course?

A course can count as attempted even when it is not successfully completed. That can lower your completion rate.

The following grades count as attempted units but not completed units for SAP:

F - Fail
W - Withdrawal
EW - Excused Withdrawal
I - Incomplete
IP - In Progress
NC - No Credit
NP - No Pass
RD - Report Delayed

Audit units and zero-unit courses are not included in attempted or completed units for financial aid SAP purposes.

Before You Withdraw

Consider speaking with both Counseling and Financial Aid before withdrawing from a course so you understand how the decision may affect your educational plan and financial aid eligibility.

3. Maximum Timeframe: Complete Your Program Within 150%

Federal financial aid rules require you to complete your academic program within 150% of the standard timeframe for your program.

Example: If your degree requires 60 units, 60 × 150% = 90 attempted units. You would generally need to complete the program within 90 attempted units.

The maximum timeframe is based on the length of your individual program. A program requiring a different number of units will have a different maximum timeframe.

Attempted units include KCCD coursework and other transferable coursework completed. Changing your major does not automatically reset your maximum timeframe.

Program of Study, Repeated Courses, and Remedial Coursework

Financial aid is intended to fund coursework that applies to your program of study, including eligible preparatory coursework. Funding is not available for classes that are not needed to complete your program.

Changing majors repeatedly may increase the likelihood that you reach the 150% maximum timeframe before completing your program.

Federal financial aid may fund up to 30 units of eligible non-degree/remedial coursework.

A previously passed course may generally be funded for one additional repeat. Courses that were not passed may be repeated subject to applicable financial aid and academic rules.

When Is SAP Reviewed?

KCCD reviews academic progress when determining financial aid eligibility and after each payment period.

Progress is measured against the following standards:

2.00 cumulative GPA standard;
67% cumulative completion standard; and
150% maximum timeframe standard.

Understanding Your SAP Status

Satisfactory

You are meeting the applicable SAP standards and may continue receiving financial aid if you meet all other eligibility requirements.

Financial Aid Warning

If you do not meet the GPA and/or pace standard after a semester, you will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. You may continue receiving eligible financial aid during the warning period.

Use the warning semester to improve your cumulative GPA, cumulative completion rate, or both so that you meet SAP standards at the next evaluation.

Financial Aid Suspension

If you are on Financial Aid Warning and do not bring your cumulative GPA and/or completion rate back to the required standard at the next evaluation, you will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. Reaching the maximum timeframe may also result in suspension of financial aid eligibility.

How Can I Regain Financial Aid Eligibility?

If you are suspended for not meeting SAP, you may regain eligibility by meeting the applicable SAP standards during a semester or semesters without financial aid, or you may submit a SAP appeal if unusual or extenuating circumstances affected your academic progress.

IMPORTANT

Submitting an appeal does not guarantee approval or reinstatement of financial aid.

SAP Appeals

You may appeal a financial aid suspension when unusual or extenuating circumstances affected your ability to make satisfactory academic progress.

Examples may include:

Death of a relative or other significant person
Injury or illness, including behavioral health conditions, affecting you or a relative or other significant person
Pregnancy or birth of a child
Homelessness
Loss of childcare
Loss or change in employment
Loss of access to personal or public transportation
Being the victim of a serious crime, including domestic abuse
Natural disaster
Change of major
Change of occupation

Each appeal is reviewed based on the circumstances and information submitted.

What Must My Appeal Explain?

What happened and the circumstances that prevented you from meeting SAP standards.
How those circumstances affected your academic progress.
What has changed or what steps you have taken that will allow you to meet SAP standards in the future.

What Do I Need to Submit?

To appeal, complete the required SAP counseling session and submit a complete appeal packet.

Complete The Key Components to the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Financial Aid Appeal Process session with a passing grade.
Complete and submit the SAP Appeal Form available after successful completion of the counseling session.
Provide a typewritten statement explaining the circumstances that prevented you from meeting SAP standards and the steps you have taken to meet SAP standards in the future.
Provide supporting documentation related to the circumstances described in your appeal.
Provide a signed Student Education Plan completed by an Academic Counselor/Educational Advisor.

Incomplete appeal materials may delay review.

SAP Appeal Deadlines

SAP appeal deadlines by term
Term	Deadline
Fall	November 1
Spring	April 1
Summer	July 1

You must be enrolled in the semester for which you are requesting the appeal.

How Do I Submit My Appeal?

Submit your completed SAP appeal materials to the Porterville College Office of Financial Aid using the approved electronic process. If a paper form is required, it may be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid.

Porterville College, ATTN: Office of Financial Aid
100 East College Avenue
Porterville, CA 93257

What Happens After I Submit My Appeal?

The Financial Aid Office will review your appeal and supporting documentation. Submission of an appeal does not guarantee reinstatement of financial aid.

If your appeal is approved, you will be placed on Financial Aid Appeal Probation and your approval notice will state the conditions you must meet for continued eligibility or reinstatement.

Student Success Plan and Approved Appeal Conditions

Students granted an exception must meet the conditions of the Student Success Plan determined through the appeal process.

Failure to meet the conditions of an approved appeal may result in suspension in the next term and may affect future appeals.

For maximum timeframe appeals, a counselor-approved Comprehensive Student Educational Plan may be required to document the coursework remaining to complete your educational goal.

Planning Your Classes? Talk With Counseling

Your academic decisions can affect your financial aid eligibility. A counselor or educational advisor can help you:

Identify the courses required for your degree, certificate, or transfer goal;
Develop or update your Student Education Plan;
Review the academic impact of changing your major;
Plan the courses you still need to complete your program.

DIFFERENT ROLES, ONE STUDENT GOAL

Counseling helps you develop your academic plan. The Financial Aid Office determines your financial aid SAP status and financial aid eligibility.

Need Help Accessing the SAP Appeal Process?

If you need assistance accessing or completing the electronic SAP appeal process, contact the Porterville College Office of Financial Aid. When required, paper forms may be submitted to the Financial Aid Office.

Using an alternate submission method does not change the SAP standards or appeal requirements.

Phone: 559-791-2301
Email: pc_faid@portervillecollege.edu
Location: AC-103

Remember the Three SAP Standards

Summary of the three SAP standards
GPA	Maintain at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA.
PACE	Successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative attempted units.
MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME	Complete your program within 150% of its published length.

Questions?

Contact the Porterville College Office of Financial Aid if you have questions about your SAP status, completion rate, maximum timeframe, appeal requirements, or approved appeal conditions.

Porterville College Office of Financial Aid
100 E. College Avenue
Porterville, CA 93257