Students who receive federal student aid must be in good standing and maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward obtaining their degree or certificate.

Under Federal Title IV law, JHU’s SAP requirements must meet specific minimum criteria and adhere to the University’s standards for Good Academic Standing. JHU grant and scholarship funding are also contingent upon maintaining SAP.

As measured by the standards below, the JHU School of Arts and Sciences & Engineering undergraduate students must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress toward their academic objectives.

NOTE: Due to the University’s response to COVID-19, we are currently using an alternative qualitative measure. Full-time undergraduate students must earn satisfactory grades in at least 12 attempted credits per term to maintain good academic standing and meet the qualitative standard for satisfactory academic progress. Students approved to take less than 12 credits in a term must earn satisfactory grades in all attempted credits per term to remain in good academic standing and meet the qualitative standard for satisfactory academic progress.

Minimum Cumulative Grade-Point Average

Undergraduate students must maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale. Grades from all coursework attempted at the JHU School of Arts, and Sciences & Engineering are included in the GPA calculation. For fall and spring semesters, students must also earn a 2.0 GPA.

Minimum Cumulative Completion Rate

Financial aid recipients must maintain a cumulative completion rate of earned credits equal to or exceeding 67% of the credits attempted. In other words, if you have attempted 100 credits, you must have successfully earned at least 67. The completion percentage will be rounded to the nearest whole percentage using standard rounding rules (e.g. 66.5% will be rounded to 67%. Students must also earn 12 credits each fall and spring semester.

Maximum Time Frame to Completion of Degree or Certificate

Students must complete the required coursework within 150% of the published program length (e.g., 180 credits attempted for a 120-credit program).

Additional Information

Additional Information

Financial Aid Suspension – Losing Title IV Eligibility

Students on Financial Aid Warning who fail to maintain the minimum standards for pace and/or maintain the minimum cumulative and semester GPA requirement will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension status for subsequent semesters. No financial aid will be disbursed during subsequent semesters until the student regains financial aid eligibility. Students who do not complete their program within the maximum time frame also lose eligibility for financial aid and are placed on Financial Aid Suspension status.

Appeal Process

Students who wish to appeal must submit a completed SAP Appeal Packet at least two weeks before the start of the next semester.

The committee will review the appeal and notify students of the decision within fourteen working days after the Appeals Committee meets and makes its determination. The SAP Appeal Packet requires the following pieces of information.

  • Personal Statement: Indicate what went wrong during the preceding semester enrolled at Hopkins, what you did (and why) during time away from JHU (if applicable), and what you will do differently at Hopkins to ensure success in the upcoming semester. Mitigating or special circumstances include, but are not limited to, serious illness or injury to student or immediate family member, death of an immediate family member, and significant trauma in a student’s life that impaired their emotional and/or physical health.
  • Documentation and supporting statements: Provide documentation for your circumstances, including evidence of a changed major if applicable. Supporting statements from third parties should be on professional letterhead and signed.
  • Academic Plan: Work with your academic advisor and outline a semester-by-semester plan for completing your degree requirements. The purpose of an academic plan is to support the student in bringing them self back into compliance with the financial aid SAP standards by a specific time to ensure that the student can successfully complete the degree or certificate program. The academic plan will be tailored specifically to the student and may include milestones and requirements such as a reduced course load, specific courses, or tutoring. Students on an academic plan are still responsible for meeting the SAP requirements in the subsequent semester, will lose eligibility if the SAP standards are not met, and must go through the appeal process to regain eligibility. The student’s progress in the academic plan will be considered in any subsequent appeal process for financial aid eligibility.
  • Certification Statement: Signed confirmation that you have read the requirements for completing the appeal process and certify that all of the information that you have provided is true and complete to the best of your knowledge. If necessary, you agree to provide further proof of the information that you have submitted.

Financial Aid Probation and Reinstatement of Aid

Reinstatement of financial aid after a student is placed in Financial Aid Suspension status is achieved in one of the following ways. Students who are beyond the maximum time frame to completion may regain financial aid eligibility on a semester-by-semester basis through the appeal process:

  1. The student submits an appeal (see procedures below), and the Appeals Committee grants the appeal. The student is then placed on Financial Aid Probation for the next semester and is eligible for aid during the Financial Aid Probation semester. If the appeal is approved, but the Committee has determined that the student will not be able to meet the SAP standards within one semester, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation with an Academic Plan to ensure the student can meet SAP by a specific point in time.
  2. The student registers for coursework while on Financial Aid Suspension status, pays for tuition and fees without the help of student financial aid, and does well enough in the coursework to satisfy SAP at the end of the subsequent semester(s).

Financial Aid Warning Status

Students who fail to meet the minimum cumulative and semester grade-point average standard (2.0) or meet the minimum standards for pace will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for the subsequent semester. Students are still eligible for financial aid during the Warning semester. Students receiving financial aid for the first time will be placed on Financial Aid Warning as applicable if they did not meet the minimum grade point average or course completion standards as noted in this policy prior to applying for financial aid.

Treatment of W, I, AU, F, S, P and X Grades, No Grade Reported, Repeated Coursework

Course withdrawals (W) are not included in the GPA calculation but are considered a non-completion of attempted coursework. Incomplete courses (I) are included in the GPA calculation as no credit earned (0 quality points earned towards the GPA). They are considered a non-completion of attempted coursework until the coursework is graded with a permanent grade. Audited courses (AU) and other noncredit coursework are not considered attempted coursework or included within the GPA calculation, nor is the coursework considered for financial aid eligibility. A satisfactory (S) or passing (P) grade is treated as attempted credits that are earned but are not included in calculating GPA. F grades are treated as attempted credits that were not earned and are included in the calculation of GPA and minimum completion rate. The coursework is not included in the GPA calculation if no grade is reported or a grade of X. Still, it is considered a non-completion of attempted coursework until the coursework is completed and graded with a permanent grade. The most recent grade earned in a course that is repeated will count in the GPA computation, but every repeated attempt will be included in the completion rate determinations.

Common Questions

What is the SAP policy if a student enrolls in summer classes at JHU?

An undergraduate student who enrolls in summer classes at JHU is considered to be in good standing for financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress if they maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above, maintain completion rate of at least 67%, and have not exceeded the maximum timeframe to complete their degree.

How do classes at another institution and transferred to JHU affect a strudent’s SAP?

All credits accepted for transfer to JHU are taken into consideration under the quantitative measurement component of SAP as both attempted and earned credits. Grades earned at other institutions are not counted when computing the student’s GPA.

What if I study abroad for one or more semesters?

Hopkins does not require students to meet the semester measures for GPA and pace during periods of authorized study abroad. In order to be eligible to study abroad, students must already have a GPA of at least a 3.0 and exceed the minimum SAP cumulative measures of a 2.0 GPA and 67% completion rate. All coursework attempted and earned during semesters abroad will count towards the cumulative completion rate measure once JHU evaluates transcripts and transfers credit towards the degree.

How does a change of major impact a student’s SAP evaluation?

For students who change majors within their degree program, only those credits attempted which apply to their new major are included in evaluation of pace for SAP status. All coursework is included in the calculation of GPA as required under federal law.

How does remedial and ESL coursework impact a student’s SAP evaluation?

Grades earned for remedial coursework and ESL coursework is included in the calculation of the GPA as required by federal law but is not included in the determination of the student’s completion rate.

How often is a student’s SAP reviewed and how are students notified?

Financial aid recipients are reviewed for SAP at the end of each traditional semester of enrollment (fall, spring, summer). Student Financial Services will contact students who do not meet the SAP standards and are placed either in a warning status or lose eligibility.

Is financial aid probation the same as academic probation?

No. Financial aid recipients must meet the financial aid satisfactory academic progress standards, which is at least as strict as JHU’s academic policy standards, in accordance with federal Title IV law. Students should consult the Standards for Good Academic Standing for more information on that standard. Students on academic probation may also be on Financial Aid Suspension or Financial Aid Probation status, or they may not be.