A student who fails to establish good academic status or to make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) becomes ineligible for financial aid. A student is provided a warning at the end of the first term that the SAP standards are not being met. This warning alerts the student of the potential loss of financial aid if, in the next consecutive term of enrollment, cumulatively all the SAP standards are not met. The second consecutive term where a student does not meet all the measures or has reached the program maximum timeframe loses financial aid eligibility. Financial aid may be reinstated through the Financial Aid Appeal Process or a student may have financial aid reinstated by improving his or her academic progress through meeting the SAP Policy Standards. 

If the student has mitigating circumstances beyond his/her control that affected his/her ability to meet SAP standards, the student may appeal the loss of his/her eligibility. To appeal the loss of eligibility, a student must complete a Financial Aid Appeal form and submit it with appropriate documentation to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee. 

• Academic Plan: As part of the appeal a student is required to develop an Academic Improvement Program (UAC form) with their Academic Advisor. The academic plan must only contain coursework that applies to the student’s program of study. If it is determined that coursework is not part of the program of study, aid will not be applied or will be removed for the coursework outside of the program. 
• Supporting Documentation: In addition to the appeal, the student must submit supporting documentation. The documentation must be directly related to the events that affected the student’s ability to meet SAP standards. 
• Processing Timeframe: The normal processing timeframe is 5-7 business days from receipt of the appeal form; during peak periods, the processing timeframe may be longer.  
• Appeals Review: The appeal will be reviewed by using a Checklist that contains all federal required items to increase consistency with the appeal review.   
• Appeal Decision: The student will be notified of the appeal decision Georgia State University student email, and a student may check the status of the appeal by logging into their PAWS account. 
  • If the appeal is approved, to continue to retain eligibility a student must follow each semester’s plan. At the end of each semester a student's academic progress will be evaluated to determine if the academic plan was followed. 
  • If the student follows the academic plan developed, the student will maintain financial aid eligibility for the next semester of the academic plan.  
  • If a student does NOT follow the academic plan, the student may lose his/her financial aid eligibility for the following semester. A student must be prepared to pay for his/her next semester of enrollment. 
• Appeal Form: The financial aid appeal form may be obtained online at  http://sfs.gsu.edu/the-financial-aid-process/financial-resources/forms/.  

If you are  suspended academically or choose not to attend because of not meeting the SAP standards, you will not automatically become eligible for financial aid upon your return. You must meet both qualitative and quantitative (pace) standards of SAP. If below standards, you must appeal or use means other than financial aid for educational expenses. Absence does not restore eligibility for financial aid. It remains the responsibility of the student to be knowledgeable of their SAP standard when returning to school after dismissal or choosing not to return because of not meeting the SAP standards.

*The exceptions would be private education loans offered through certain lenders that do not require Satisfactory Academic Progress.