Financial Aid Status and Appeals

Students might not meet SAP for the following reasons:

• 150% timeframe has been exceeded (90 units attempted AA/AS, 60 units attempted Certificate)
• Below a 2.0 GPA
• Less than a 67% Pace of Progression
• BA/BS Degree completed. Not eligible for grants. May be eligible for loan with approved educational plan.

Appeals can be submitted if the following conditions exist:

• Disqualified student has extenuating circumstances (beyond the student’s control) that prevented him/her from meeting SAP standards (documentation substantiating statements must be submitted) prior to reaching 90 units attempted.
• Student has exceeded 90 units, but a portion of the unit total is comprised of evaluated transfer work that does not apply to current major.
• Student has reached 90 units and has a change in major program.
• NOTE: The conditions above require a Comprehensive Educational Plan. Although an education plan is not required for students on Warning or in Good standing, all students are encouraged to see a counselor and develop a Comprehensive Educational Plan within their first year at Cypress College.

Appeal Timeline:

• Students will be emailed their SAP status before each semester starts. Disqualified students will be provided instructions on how to submit an appeal.
• Appeals will be available online at cypresscollege.studentforms.com the first day of each semester (your login will be the same as myGateway).
• Appeals are reviewed within 14 business days based on the submit date.
• If an appeal is denied, a second review process may be requested by the student in writing to the Financial Aid Office. The second review will be completed by the Financial Aid Director.

Extenuating circumstances must be documented, or the appeal will not be accepted.

Extenuating circumstances are (but not limited to):

• Serious illness, injury or medical condition requiring doctor’s care including mental health and behavioral health conditions of the student or a relative or other significant person
• Death of a relative or other significant person.
• Personal tragedy beyond your control such as family and financial challenges due to loss/change of work or childcare, loss of transportation and housing, or pregnancy or birth of a child.
• Unable to obtain essential support services or accommodations in a timely manner
• Being a victim of a serious crime
• Natural disaster
• Change of major
• Extenuating circumstances that were beyond the student’s control.

A thorough and clearly written explanation, indicating the extenuating circumstance that prevented the student from meeting SAP, must be submitted along with the supporting documents. Each appeal will be reviewed by the Financial Aid Office and approved or denied based upon the provisions set forth in our Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.

Students who fail to meet all SAP standards will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. This is a warning to students and will not affect their financial aid. If, while on Financial Aid Warning, students fail to meet the SAP standards for the second time, they will be Disqualified. When disqualified, all aid will be cancelled. Students can exercise their right to submit a SAP appeal, stating the reason(s) why they did not meet SAP standards. The SAP appeal form is to be submitted to the Financial Aid office for review. If approved, the student’s financial aid will be reinstated and specific conditions for academic progress will be assigned. Students who choose not to appeal or who are denied will need to meet SAP standards without financial aid support to reestablish eligibility for financial aid at Cypress College. Please note that the SAP standards do not apply to the California College Promise Grant (CCPG) program (CCPG has its own requirements).

Students who are disqualified from receiving aid can regain their eligibility by meeting the SAP standards. To regain eligibility, students must complete the required 67% of the cumulative attempted units and raise their cumulative GPA to at least 2.0. Disqualified students whose appeals are approved are subject to meeting specific unit completion and GPA conditions as specified in their approval letter.

Federal regulations also limit Federal Student Aid funds to one additional attempt after a grade of “D” or better has been obtained. Therefore, students will be paid up to two attempts, maximum, for a particular course for which they previously earned a passing grade. The new policy states that a “W” would not count as an attempt but it will count towards students Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

1. You should meet with an academic counselor and develop an educational plan and adhere to it. Reach Online Counseling. The Counseling Center is located on the second Floor of the Student Center.
2. Do not take excessive non-degree applicable units (i.e. excessive PE courses, non-major courses). The excessive accumulation of units may negatively impact your eligibility when you transfer to higher cost colleges and universities.
3. Utilize campus resources (Writing Center, Math Learning Center, Learning Resource Center) to help you succeed in English, Math, and other remedial courses. Attempting more than 30 units of remedial or non-degree applicable units can have a negative long-term impact on your overall financial aid eligibility if your goal is to receive a bachelor’s degree.
4. If you are “waiting” for admission to one of Cypress College’s competitive programs (i.e. Health Sciences programs), do not register for classes for financial aid purposes only. The units you attempt count against your long term 90-unit maximum (120-unit maximum at most 4-year institutions). You may jeopardize your eligibility once admitted to your program if you take excessive pre-requisite courses or non-major related courses.
5. Be advised! The Cypress College Financial Aid office strongly encourages all students to visit the financial aid websites of their target transfer institutions to review their policies on satisfactory academic progress for financial aid purposes. Many CSU and UC institutions do not allow petitions for maximum timeframe and excessive units. Therefore, academic success at Cypress College is essential for maintaining your eligibility at higher cost transfer institutions you may plan on attending.