Meet
SAP status for students meeting all standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Warning
If you begin a semester meeting all standards but fall below the cumulative GPA and/or Pace standards at the end of the semester, you will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. Students on Warning can continue to receive financial aid. A status of Warning is only valid for one semester. At the conclusion of the semester the status will change to Meet or Not Meet.
If you begin a semester on Warning and achieve both the cumulative GPA and Pace standards by the end of the semester and you are within maximum timeframe you will return to good standing. Your SAP status will change to Meet.
Not Meet.
If you do not meet all standards of SAP at the conclusion of a semester of warning your SAP status will be “Not Meet.” Students with a status of Not Meet are not eligible for financial aid.
If you complete a semester on Warning and do not meet all standards at the end of the semester, you are ineligible for state and federal financial aid. The SAP status will change to Not Meet. A letter and email will be sent to you.
If you exceed maximum timeframe, you will have a SAP status of Not Meet. NIU notifies undergraduate and graduate students when they are approaching maximum timeframe. However, federal regulations do not provide for a warning semester. Once you exceed maximum timeframe, you are no longer financial aid eligible.
Plan
You may be eligible to submit an appeal when you are Not Meet(ing) SAP standards if your academic performance was impacted by a special circumstance. Part of the appeal and approval process includes a plan to return to Meet(ing) the standards. If the appeal is approved, you will have a SAP status of Plan. Students with a status of Plan are eligible for aid.
If you complete a semester on Plan and meet all the SAP standards at the end of the semester you will return to a status of Meet.
If you complete a semester on Plan and do not achieve all the standards of SAP, but you do meet the criteria established in the Plan, you will continue to have a status of Plan.
If you begin a semester on Plan and do not meet all the SAP standards and do not meet or exceed the criteria of the Plan, you will lose eligibility for aid and your status will change to Not Meet.