Maintaining Your Aid

To be eligible for financial aid at the UW, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress standards based on federal, state and institutional requirements. Satisfactory Academic Progress, or SAP, is a federal regulation requiring the UW Tacoma Office of Financial Aid to monitor the progress of each student who is receiving financial aid as they move toward completing their degree.

There are separate policies for undergraduate and graduate students. Please review the policies linked below. You are responsible for knowing these policies.

If you need to drop a class, take an Incomplete or withdraw from school, your financial aid may be canceled. Furthermore, if you drop below full-time enrollment, any financial aid payment toward your tuition may be canceled. Please check with the Office of Student Financial Aid before taking any of these actions.

Students who fall behind in their coursework, fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average, or fail to complete classes in a maximum time frame may lose eligibility for all types of federal, university, and state aid administered by our office.

Undergraduates and Graduates must meet ALL of their SAP requirements in order to maintain their eligibility for financial aid funds.
 

Undergraduate SAP Policy
 
Graduate SAP Policy

COVID-19: Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

We understand many students are dealing with the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and may experience difficulties in completing credits in the winter and spring quarters of 2020. Students will not be required to complete the quarterly and annual minimum credit requirements, as described below.  This is a one-time suspension to the policy for 2019-20 only.  Starting in Summer 2020, the satisfactory academic progress policy will be monitored for the full requirements listed below.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal

If you did not meet the progress requirements because you had special circumstances, you may file an appeal with our office. You will need to demonstrate unusual circumstances beyond your control that are not likely to recur in the immediate future. You will need to explain what has changed in your situation so that you will now be able to make academic progress. If approved, you will need to meet the requirements of an individual academic plan to continue to receive financial aid.

After reviewing the full policy, students should contact a financial aid counselor if unsure if the credits required for maintaining or reinstating eligibility.

Please note that medical, dental, pharmacy, and law students’ academic progress for financial aid is monitored by their colleges directly and may have more stringent requirements than described in this policy.