Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) & Good Academic Standing
Students must be making satisfactory academic progress according to the College's guidelines to be eligible for financial aid (federal, state, and institutional awards including merit scholarships).
The Center for Academic Support and Advising (CASA) and the Financial Aid Office will measure academic progress once per year at the end of the spring semester. Students who fail to meet these standards may be placed on academic contract, be academically withdrawn from the College, and/or lose their eligibility for financial aid.
How Good Academic Standing Is Measured
CASA monitors the academic progress of all students to ensure they are fulfilling degree requirements. To maintain good academic standing Division I and Division II students must fulfill the following requirements each semester:
- Students are required to register for a minimum of three (3) academic courses, equivalent to 12 credits, to be considered full-time and eligible for financial aid each semester, with the exception of the final year in Division III.
- Students must complete a minimum of three (3) courses, the equivalent of 12 credits, a semester to be considered in good academic standing.
For Division III students to maintain good academic standing:
- Progress in completing the Advanced Independent Project. Judgment of the quality and scope of the advanced independent project is the responsibility of a student’s committee.
- Completion of two (2) Advanced Educational Activities (AEAs) approved by the student’s Division III committee.
Refer to Division III policies regarding academic progress in the Student Handbook for more information.
Academic Contract to Maintain Good Academic Standing
Students who complete less than three (3) courses a semester are subject to being placed on academic contract or in some cases, academic withdrawal. Deans in CASA check academic progress each semester and will work with those students who are not in good academic standing to come up with a feasible academic plan for the following semester whenever possible.
Components of the academic contract can include:
- Completing and receiving evaluations or grades C or better in a minimum of three (3) to four (4) courses for the semester.
- Enrolling and completing the Holistic Learning Program for supportive work.
- Meeting with professors to discuss their attendance policies and how missing additional classes would impact a student earning evaluations.
- Completing 30 hours of CEL-1.
- Staying in close contact with faculty advisors.
- Meeting with advising deans bi-weekly and at the end of the semester
How Satisfactory Academic Progress is Measured
The College, in accordance with federal regulations, has instituted the following guidelines for all students for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Hampshire College does not use the traditional grade point average (GPA) as a method of evaluation, therefore the College will examine the ratio of successfully completed courses to total courses. Students also have a limit to the length of time to graduation, and must complete their degree within a maximum time frame of 150% of the published length of the program. In order to be making satisfactory progress, students must meet both quantitative and qualitative measures each year. Students who fail to meet these standards may lose their eligibility for financial aid.
- To meet the quantitative standard a student must successfully complete at least 67% of all courses attempted. Attempted courses include successfully completed courses, incomplete courses, courses in progress, courses marked as “No eval”, transfer, and courses from which the student had withdrawn.
- To meet the qualitative standard, the ratio of successfully completed courses to total courses (including courses evaluated and those marked as “no eval”; excluding incomplete, in-progress, and withdrawn courses) must be at least 1:2 or 50% (i.e. for every two courses attempted, one must be successfully completed). A Five College course is successfully completed at a C or better.
- Hampshire College has determined that a student may not take longer than 10 full-time semesters to complete the degree requirements.
Hampshire College will measure Satisfactory Academic Progress standards at the end of the spring semester each academic year. Students who are not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards described above are not eligible for financial aid, will be placed on financial aid suspension, and monitored each semester. Students who wish to appeal this decision should refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Financial Aid Appeal Policy outlined in the Student Handbook.
More information about Satisfactory Academic Progress can be found in the Student Handbook.