The dangers of SAP

The Georgia State Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy places a time limit on how long students may qualify for most types of need-based federal aid. Students dependent on financial aid to fund their educations must complete their undergraduate degrees before accumulating 180 attempted credit hours, including transfer credits.

The SAP policy doesn't usually pose a hurdle for in-state students maintaining HOPE, or students who stick to their major, maintain good grades and didn't transfer in with many credits outside of their degrees. Most undergraduate bachelor degrees require between 110 and 130 credits, so students who do well in their classes aren't confronted with the denial of financial aid.

For students who change majors, retake a substantial number of classes for better grades or transfer in with credits from a previous college, this policy may come as a shock. They usually aren't aware of it until they violate the time frame standard.

Imani Mandela, 20, is a 5th year senior and has earned 140 credits. The HOPE scholarship helped her until she reached the standard limit of 120 credits. She now depends on Federal Financial Aid to fund the majority of her education and is double majoring in African American Studies and English. Although she remembers skimming over the financial aid policies available on the Georgia State website, she had no recollection of the time frame standard. When asked if she was familiar with that portion of the SAP policy, she couldn't relate the policy to SAP.

"I must have read that, but I didn't know that was the policy that you were talking about. I wouldn't associate the two together," she said.

Mandela, like most students, only associates meeting standard academic progress with a good GPA and following the Code of Conduct.

Her GPA is 3.6, and while she makes good grades, she sometimes has trouble making straight As because of her workload. She will retake a course if she feels it will help her gain the average she needs to fulfill her goal of admission into Yale. This has brought her number of attempted credits to 170.

Thanks to her double major, she is afforded an extra 90 attempted credits before she loses eligibility for federal aid. She was considering dropping one of her majors due to her workload, and if she had, she would qualify for need-based federal aid for only 10 more credits to complete her remaining degree. This would have brought her dangerously close to losing her eligibility.

"GoSolar tells me if I have a hold of some kind on my account, but there are no warnings or alarms for this policy," said Mandela, "Had I been undecided about something or made the wrong move, that would have sucked."

The numbers start getting confusing, especially when students are unaware that they must factor both earned credits and attempted credits into their financial planning. Some students feel that it would be better to learn from the university as freshmen.

Ceylan Odunkessenler, 20, is a sophomore Psychology major. She read the SAP policy, but found it too confusing and too frustrating to understand. She feels the policy could be better explained verbally.

"The way stuff is written is very confusing. I think that information should be told to us in the beginning. They should tell us what limits are placed on financial aid. That should be one of the first things they tell us about," she said.

To students early on in their time at Georgia State, the prospect of accruing more debt adds strain to the difficulty of understanding the policies and procedures necessary to qualify for aid.

"I know I'm on a schedule, and I have to pay things at this time and that time, but it's all very stressful to worry about. I'm only 20 years old, but I'm already in so much debt," said Odunkessenler.

Planning for academic success is difficult in itself, and students stressed out over assignments, tests and other deadlines have to deal with the additional burden of ensuring their classes are paid for. Those who don't meet SAP time frame standard requirements find themselves abruptly disqualified for aid with a notification in the mail. The notice itself does not explain what ‘maximum time frame' means, but it does provide a checklist including all of the reasons a student can be denied aid under the policy.

Some parents provide their income information and help their students fill out the complicated income and expense reports, along with other paperwork in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid available online. The site, however, doesn't mention the federally mandated SAP policy, so parents may be unaware that students should plan to avoid violating the policy rules. Parents and students who map out an appropriate academic course towards a degree without clearly understanding SAP may fail to coordinate both the academic and financial aid requirements into their plans. The SAP time frame requirement isn't typically violated until students are closer to graduating, so they may become accustomed to filing a FAFSA annually, and receiving the aid before deadline each term before they are confronted with the maximum time frame standard.

The university is required to inform students of its financial aid procedures, deadlines, and how and when qualified students will receive any financial aid, according to the FAFSA website. This requirement is fulfilled on the Georgia State website in the Financial Aid section under ‘Maintaining Your Aid', but as to when and how students must be informed or alerted about the policy is not defined.

Gabrielle Arrington, 20, is in her 4th year and recently changed her major from Political Science to Sociology. She doesn't have to worry about the federal aid requirement because she still qualifies for HOPE, most of her credits apply to her new major, and she is well beneath the 180 credit maximum. She does, however, see the value in actively informing freshmen about all aspects of the SAP policy as part of an overall program of guidance on financial aid planning.