The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock) is committed to ensuring students’ academic success. The Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended requires UA Little Rock to establish a policy that will enforce academic progress standards to ensure students receiving federal financial aid are making timely progress to complete their intended program of study.
2025-2026 Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Effective Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026
Student Requirements
- Academic records for all students will be reviewed annually, following the conclusion of the spring semester, to confirm that students are making Satisfactory Academic Progress, also referred to as SAP.
- To meet the conditions for SAP, a student must meet the minimum requirements for all three academic progress standards (pace of progression, maximum time frame, and cumulative grade point average) at the time of evaluation.
- Federal financial aid recipients will be notified if any of the three academic progress standards are not met.
Students must meet ALL THREE of the following requirements:
Requirement 1: Pace of Progression (PoP) – Hours completed versus attempted
Students must complete 67% of overall attempted credit hours at UA Little Rock (including accepted transfer hours) to stay on pace to complete their degree. Decimal places of 0.5 or greater will be rounded up. Please refer to the Important Notes section for more information about credit hours. The following formula is used to monitor PoP:
Divide the total number of earned credit hours (including all UA Little Rock earned hours and accepted transfer hours) by the total number of attempted credit hours at UA Little Rock plus accepted transfer hours.
Requirement 2: Maximum Time Frame
Maximum time frame defines the total number of attempted/earned credit hours the cancel federal financial aid eligibility.
| Classification | Maximum Number of Credit Hours Attempted or Earned |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate | 180 |
| Post-Baccalaureate | 70 |
| Graduate/Doctoral/EDS | 135 |
| Law | 120 |
Requirement 3: Grade Point Average (GPA)
| Classification | Required Cumulative UA Little Rock GPA |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate | 2.00 |
| Graduate and Doctoral | 3.00 |
| Law | 2.30 |
IMPORTANT NOTES
- ALL UA Little Rock coursework, including any coursework for which the student received Academic Clemency, is included when calculating whether the student meets minimum SAP standards.
- Incomplete grades, withdrawals, no credits, and missing grades count the same as an “F” grade earned in a class when evaluating hour completion.
- Courses taken for audit do not count as financial aid enrollment hours but are included in the total number of attempted credit hours.
- Developmental courses will count in attempted and earned credit hours, but will not calculate into the GPA.
- Under UA Little Rock’s repeated course policy for all undergraduates, all attempted credit hours will be considered in calculating the attempted and earned hours.
- Repeated coursework may not be eligible for federal aid funds.
- Transfer credit hours accepted by UA Little Rock will be included in calculating both cumulative attempted credit hours and cumulative earned credit hours
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP) FAILURE
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Cancellation:
- If a student fails to meet SAP standards, all future federal financial aid will be canceled.
- No warning status will be given.
- SAP Cancellation affects all federal financial aid, including federal grants, loans, and work-study. A failure to meet minimum SAP standards may also impact scholarship eligibility. Scholarship recipients should review their scholarship award notice(s) for further information regarding their eligibility for scholarship renewal.
Situations Requiring Satisfactory Academic Progress Review at the End of Any Term
As indicated previously, academic records for all students who were enrolled at any time during the aid year will be reviewed annually, following the conclusion of the spring semester.
However, there are specific situations in which student records will be reviewed at the end of each term:
- Students who were assigned a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) status of Warning before fall 2021. Before the fall 2021 semester, UA Little Rock evaluated SAP status at the end of each term. In some cases, students were assigned the SAP status of “Warning”. Although a student with a warning status remains eligible for federal student aid, eligibility continues only for one additional semester of enrollment. The student’s SAP status must be evaluated again at the end of the Warning semester. This means that a student who received a Warning status did not attend UA Little Rock for a subsequent semester or semesters, and then chooses to re-enroll, must have their SAP status reviewed and evaluated again at the end of their next semester of enrollment. The requirement to review SAP at the end of the semester applies to any enrolled student with a current status of SAP warning.
Example: Warren is assigned the SAP Warning status at the end of spring 2021. He decides to focus on his family and does not enroll again at UA Little Rock until fall 2024. Warren is eligible to receive federal aid because SAP Warning is an aid-eligible status. However, Warren’s academic record must be evaluated again at the end of fall 2024. If he does not meet the minimum SAP standards at that time, his aid eligibility will be terminated.
- Students who graduate at the end of the term. A student must be enrolled in an aid-eligible program and pursuing an aid-eligible degree to qualify for federal student aid. Once a student has completed their program, aid eligibility ends. Students who complete one aid-eligible program and enroll in a new aid-eligible program may continue to receive federal aid provided all other requirements are met. A manual review of the student’s record may be needed to confirm eligibility for the new program. Students who are graduating but plan to enroll in a new program at UA Little Rock are encouraged to contact a Financial Aid Advisor for more information regarding their federal student aid eligibility for the new program.
- Students who have reached the maximum time frame for their academic level. Once a student reaches the maximum number of attempted and/or earned hours (see Requirement 2), they are no longer eligible for federal student aid. Therefore, a student’s total attempted and earned hours will be evaluated each semester and aid eligibility will be terminated at the end of the semester in which the student reaches the maximum number of hours.
Regaining Eligibility for Federal Financial Aid
To regain federal financial aid eligibility after SAP cancelation, a student must meet all of the following criteria:
- Not exceed the maximum time frame;
- Complete at least 67% of the attempted cumulative hours as calculated; and
- Achieve the required UA Little Rock cumulative GPA.
SAP statuses will be evaluated at the end of the spring semester for all students with any enrollment in the aid year. It is possible for a student to regain eligibility at the end of a term before the spring semester. However, if the student regains eligibility at the end of a term other than the spring semester, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office to request an evaluation of their SAP status. Note that SAP statuses can only be evaluated and potentially updated at the end of a semester after final grades have been posted by the Office of Records and Registration.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeals
A student with extenuating circumstances may appeal the cancellation of federal financial aid eligibility. The appeal must be submitted online using the Financial Aid Academic Progress Appeal Form and must include appropriate documentation to explain and verify:
- The exceptional circumstances that caused the failure to meet SAP standards;
- What has changed that will allow SAP standards to be met in the next semester of enrollment; and
- How the student will complete academic studies by submitting a copy of the student’s current degree plan signed by their academic adviser.
If the failure to make satisfactory progress was due to a medical issue (impacting the student’s physical or mental health), the documentation must include a release letter signed by their physician, psychiatrist, or counselor. The letter must indicate that the medical issue will no longer impede their academic progress and that they are ready to return to school.
The appeal will be reviewed by the UA Little Rock Financial Aid Appeals Committee. The committee will decide to either approve or deny the appeal. If the appeal is approved, it will be approved with either probation or an academic plan. The committee’s decision is final and may not be appealed a second time.
Students wishing to appeal the cancelation of federal financial aid eligibility should contact a Financial Aid Advisor. The Advisor will add the Academic Progress Appeal Form to the student’s record. The student will use their Workday Account to both access the form and submit the completed form and any supporting documentation to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Academic Progress Appeals may only be submitted using the online form.
Academic appeal approved with a status of PROBATION
- The student will be able to meet SAP standards by the end of the next semester.
- The student will receive one additional semester of federal financial aid eligibility.
- Failure to meet SAP standards at the end of the probation semester will result in the cancelation of federal financial aid.
Academic appeal approved with a status of ACADEMIC PLAN
- The student will be given an academic plan with the requirement to meet SAP standards by a specific point in time.
- The Financial Aid Appeals Committee will create the academic plan in complement with the student’s degree plan.
- The academic plan will be customized for each student. The plan will include performance standards for the successful completion of the student’s course of study.
- Adherence to the academic plan will be monitored at the end of each semester.
- Students who successfully complete the academic plan requirements each term will continue to be eligible for federal aid until they reach the minimum SAP standards.
- Failure to meet the academic plan requirements will result in the cancellation of federal financial aid.
Policy in effect beginning Fall 2021
- Academic records for all students will be reviewed annually, following the conclusion of the spring semester, to confirm that students are making satisfactory academic progress, also referred to as SAP.
- Records will be reviewed for any student with enrollment during the review period.
- In order to meet the conditions for SAP, a student must meet the minimum requirements for all three academic progress standards (pace of progression, maximum time frame and cumulative grade point average/GPA) at the time of evaluation.
- If a student fails to meet the minimum SAP standards, all future federal financial aid will be canceled. No warning status will be given.
- Federal financial aid recipients will be notified if academic progress standards are not met.