Federal financial aid funds are awarded with the understanding that students, after the second year of enrollment, will maintain a minimum of a 2.0 college GPA. Federal aid is also limited to one-and-a-half times the length of the program, and students are measured annually to ensure they are on pace to complete their degree within the timeframe limitations.

Policy and Annual Eligibility Review

At the end of each spring term, the academic records of all students who are receiving or applying for federal financial aid will be reviewed. Students who fail to make progress will be sent an email notifying them that they are no longer eligible to receive federal financial aid funds. The email will also indicate options for restoring eligibility.

Full Details of the UC Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Federal Aid (Title IV) Programs

• Policy Standards (and associated Notes)
  
  • Important Information on IP Grades for Graduate Students
    
• Appeal Procedures
  
• Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy Printable Flyer*

You can use the Academic Progress Self-Assessment guidelines to make an assessment of how you are meeting major components of the policy.

Individual Aid Program Limitations

In addition to the academic progress policy, Congress has changed statutory language to limit Federal Pell Grant recipients to only 6 full-time equivalent years of eligibility as of 2012-13. This lifetime maximum allocation is absolute and cannot be appealed.

Congress also has created two loan limits. Lifetime (or aggregate) limits have always been in place on federal loan eligibility. As well, new regulations as of July 1, 2013, limit subsidized loan eligibility to any new borrowers. Once a student has borrowed for a period equivalent to 150% of their program, they cannot receive subsidized (interest-free while in school) Federal Direct Loans. Any subsidized loans previously received also become unsubsidized (interest-bearing while in school) at that point.

Students who reach these limits, even if approved for federal aid eligibility in an academic progress appeal, will not be eligible to have their Pell Grant, subsidized loan, or aggregate loan eligibility extended. So a student could be approved via an academic progress appeal yet remain ineligible for aid programs. Cumulative Pell usage and student borrowing information is available through the National Student Loan Data System.

Finally, UC employees as well as their spouses, domestic partners, and dependents receiving UC tuition remission are subject to a specific tuition remission satisfactory progress policy related to their eligibility for receiving that benefit. Though the remission progress policy mirrors the federal policy, there are some slight differences and a separate appeal process. Students may be deemed eligible for federal aid but not remission and vice versa.

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REVISED POLICY: This revised policy went into full effect when students were reviewed at the conclusion of spring quarter 2012. All aid recipients for the 2011-12 academic year and applicants for 2012-13 and beyond were assessed for continued aid eligibility based on the above policy. Aid eligibility for 2011-12 and prior years was determined using the former policy.

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