NASFAA has released an updated edition of Satisfactory Academic Progress: A Balancing Act (Monograph 14).
Satisfactory Academic Progress is a guide for evaluating and establishing written satisfactory academic progress (SAP) policies and procedures that assures compliance and meets the needs of students, while taking into consideration the goals of the institution as a whole.
As the monograph notes, satisfactory academic progress is perhaps one of the least prescribed areas of Title IV program administration. Providing only a broad set of standards with which to work, the Department of Education leaves the establishment of SAP policies, and the procedures for administering
them, to participating institutions. This is no easy task, but Satisfactory Academic Progress helps financial aid administrators distinguish between the federal requirements and institutional decisions, allowing a school to design SAP policies and procedures that are in compliance and meet the needs of its students.
Well publicized and disseminated SAP policies and procedures help lessen confusion and misunderstanding on the part of students, help establish higher student retention rates, and help ensure the equitable treatment of all students. They are an important tool by which the financial aid administrator may be guided in making difficult administrative decisions that affect students. They
also assist in the proper custodianship of public funds, thus preserving the integrity of the institution.
NASFAA strongly urges each institution to review its SAP policies and procedures annually, not only to ensure that they comply with the student eligibility, administrative capability, and student consumer information requirements, but also to make certain that they address the changing needs of its students.
The Satisfactory Academic Progress monograph includes:
- sample policies and examples of how to apply them;
- a checklist to assist with developing and evaluating your current policy;
- excerpts of the regulatory citations applicable to SAP;
- a list of best practices; and
- a list of additional resources.
This publication is a valuable tool that evaluates current standards and administrative procedures for SAP, and establishes written SAP policies and procedures that ensure compliance and meet the needs of students and institutions. It is available in PDF format and may be downloaded from http://www.nasfaa.org/AnnualPubs/monograph.asp.
Satisfactory Academic Progress: A Balancing Act is a benefit of NASFAA Membership and requires a Web site ID to access.
By the NASFAA 2002-03 Training Committee
Posted July 2, 2003 on www.NASFAA.org, Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Copyright 2003. Redistribution to nonmember institutions is prohibited
Please submit Web Site questions or comments to web@NASFAA.org
