Effective for New Students Beginning Fall 2026 Forward. Students who began enrollment prior to Fall 2026 will continue to be evaluated under the SAP policy at the time of their initial enrollment. Prior-year policies remain available in the RPI Catalog on the Registrar’s Office website.
Students receiving federal aid must show satisfactory progress toward completing their degree. This progress is evaluated based on three criteria: Term GPA, Cumulative GPA, and PACE (the timeframe for completing the degree). Students not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) may appeal by completing the Federal Financial Aid Probation request form and meeting with Student Success to create an academic plan.
Federal regulations require all institutions participating in federal financial aid programs (e.g., Direct Loans, Pell Grants, SEOG, and Work-Study) to assess students' progress toward graduation based on Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards. SAP requirements only affect eligibility for federal aid and do not impact Rensselaer merit-based or need-based scholarships and grants.
Scope of Policy
RPI’s Academic Standards policy can be found in the Registrar section of the RPI Catalog. This information is specific to Financial Aid SAP.
The Academic Standards policy and the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy use different terms and timelines.
Financial Aid SAP for all students is reviewed once per year, after the end of Spring Semester.
While academic and federal aid eligibility usually overlaps, they are not always identical. A student may remain eligible for RPI funding while becoming ineligible for Federal or State funding, or vice versa.
Key Terms for SAP
The student is making satisfactory progress toward completion of their degree requirements. They are meeting the term-by-term criteria shown on the chart in the Federal Aid section below.
Students who do not meet SAP requirements at the time of the annual review are placed on SAP Suspension. This status is effective immediately and impacts eligibility for the next term of enrollment.
Students who are academically dismissed or dismissed for other reasons by RPI are also placed on FASAP Suspension.
Students placed into Financial Aid Suspended status receive information to ensure they connect with academic success resources. Students are strongly encouraged to file a Probation Request which if granted allows them to keep their aid for the term they next enroll and through their Probation period.
Students on Probation have successfully completed the Probation request, met with Student Success office and developed an academic plan which allows them to keep their Aid while on Probation. Institutional, Federal and State program rules can vary; thus, a student may be eligible for reinstatement of RPI funding while remaining ineligible for Federal or State funding or vice versa.
The Probation period is intended to provide students with time and support while they work to return to Financial Aid SAP Good Standing. Students on Financial Aid Probation are reviewed after every term to ensure they are meeting the performance standards set with their academic plan and reviewed by Student Success office. If a student does not meet the performance standards outlined in their Student Success academic plan, they return to Suspended status.
Details of SAP Policy for Undergraduates
Students remain eligible for their RPI merit scholarships and grants (FAFSA required) as long as they are in good academic standing and eligible to return to RPI. This means that unless a student is dismissed from RPI they will receive their RPI awards for a maximum of 8 Semesters with 10 Semesters for Architecture majors. Receipt of RPI awards beyond the maximum timeframe may be provided on an exception-to-policy basis by the Office of Financial Aid.
Students receiving federal aid must show satisfactory progress toward completing their degree. This progress is evaluated based on three criteria: Term GPA, Cumulative GPA, and PACE (the timeframe for completing the degree). Students not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Good Standing status are placed in Suspended status. They may appeal by completing the Federal Financial Aid Probation request form and required steps. The student is required to meet with Student Success to create an academic plan outlining number of terms, GPA and courses needed to ultimately return to Good Standing and reinstatement of financial aid.
NYS Higher Education Services Corporation manages SAP requirements directly for their programs. Additional information is provided in the TAP Program information summary section of the OFA website.
Generally, a student eligible for NYS Awards must complete full time enrollment each term while also maintaining a 2.0 cumulative GPA. If they do not complete full time credits or fall below GPA expectations, their NY State award will be removed for their current or next term of enrollment.
The students must follow NY HESC instructions for requesting reinstatement when NY SAP standards are not met. There are no exceptions provided related to NY HESC maximum number of terms of eligibility rules.
Qualitative & Quantitative Measures
Students must achieve a 2.0 Cumulative GPA by the end of their 3rd semester and every term of enrollment at RPI after the 3rd term. Students must also achieve a minimum per-term GPA of 1.8 every semester. The graph below shows the specific progression of GPA required to remain in good standing.
| At the end of the student’s semester: | 1 | 2 | 3rd and each term after |
| Minimum CGPA: | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| Minimum Semester GPA: | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Completed Credits Divided by Attempted Credits must be >= to: | 67% | 67% | 67% |
Pace of progress is the completed credits divided by attempted credit hours and needs to be 67% each term and cumulatively. Students must also meet Quantitative Federal SAP measurements as monitored by the Financial Aid Office using the following guidelines:
- Students must complete at least 67% of the total number of courses they attempt each term. Below 67% for any term during enrollment may result in placement into Suspended status.
- Students must maintain the 67% Pace of Progress throughout enrollment. Students must complete all degree requirements prior to attempting 150% of the total credits needed.
- Students with Pace of Progress issues who cannot complete their degree due to the 150% timeframe requirement become ineligible for Federal financial aid, regardless of GPA.
- Students are eligible for Federal financial aid for a maximum of twelve semesters of attendance or 150% of the normal 4-year program of study.
- Course withdrawals and incomplete courses are counted in attempted hours and are counted towards the quantitative measurements.
- Transfer credits and Advance Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) course credits are always counted as both attempted and completed credits, impacting your 67% Pace of Progress. However, grades from transfer credits or AP courses are not included in your GPA or your Cumulative GPA.
- Because transfer credits and AP/IB credits are counted toward meeting your degree requirements, they may accelerate your total credit count potentially causing you to reach the required 2.0 Cumulative GPA faster.
- An Attempted Credit is any credit on the transcript for a term of enrollment that is not dropped within the established drop timeframe for the term of enrollment, even if the student withdraws before receiving a formal grade in the class.
- A Completed Credit indicates that the student attended the full term and received a grade other than “Incomplete”. A Completed Credit can be either a pass or a failing grade.
