Failure to Maintain SAP
Automatic Warning Semester
Law students not meeting the minimum SAP requirements are placed on financial aid warning and will receive a written warning indicating they have not met SAP standards. Financial aid warning lasts for one academic term. During the financial aid warning period, financial aid will be awarded and the student will be given one term to improve his/her academic standing. No action is required of the student who is placed on warning status and no appeal of the decision to place a student on financial aid warning is permitted.
If the student’s subsequent SAP evaluation determines the student is still not meeting SAP standards, the student will be notified in writing that he/she is ineligible for future financial aid. Students should be aware this includes all federal, institutional and many alternative loan programs. If a student is ineligible for financial aid due to failure to make SAP after the warning term, he/she may request reconsideration by submitting an appeal to the Office of Student Financial Services for a probationary semester.
Appeal for a Probationary Semester
Students who fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements at the end of the warning semester may appeal in writing to the Office of Student Financial Services if extenuating circumstances exist which negatively impacted the student’s ability to make SAP.
SAP appeal applications may be found on our forms page.
Examples of situations where appeals will be considered include serious illness, hospitalization, or death of a family member. A student’s appeal must address why the student failed to make SAP and what has changed that will now allow the student to satisfy academic progress requirements at the end of the next academic term. Appeals must also include supporting documentation (i.e. hospital records, doctor’s note, etc.). Students who submit an appeal will be notified in writing of the outcome. In evaluating an SAP appeal, the Office of Student Financial Services considers both the extenuating circumstances that led to the failure to make SAP and whether the student will be able to meet SAP standards by (i) the end of the following academic term or (ii) a specific later date by adhering to an academic plan.
The Office of Student Financial Services will respond to all written appeals by mailing a letter of decision to the student’s permanent address on file with Suffolk University. All appeal decisions will be made by the Financial Aid SAP Appeals Committee, which includes representatives from the Dean of Students, Academic Services and the Dean’s Office. These decisions are final. If an SAP appeal is granted, the student will be placed on financial aid probation. Conditions may be imposed on the student’s continued eligibility through an academic plan, which is developed in conjunction with the Academic Deans Office in the Law School. At the end of the first financial aid probation term, the student must either be making SAP or successfully completing the conditions of the academic plan in order to be eligible for further financial aid.