Financial Aid Reference Guide for Academic Advisors
Nearly 70% of students at Wichita State receive some form of financial aid to pay
at least a portion of their educational costs. A student's academic performance and
decisions have a direct impact on their aid eligibility; therefore, it is important
academic advisors and success coaches have a familiarity with financial aid rules
and know when to refer a student to the Office of Financial Aid.
Financial Aid Pro Tips
- Make a referral. We are happy to assist all students through the aid process. The
following populations are encouraged to visit our office to discuss their situation:
- Students who are on financial aid suspension.
- Students receiving financial aid or scholarships who are considering dropping or withdrawing.
- Students who have not completed their FAFSA.
- Remind students to check their Shocker email account and their Financial Aid Dashboard.
Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
About SAP
At the end of each term, the Office of Financial Aid is required to review all federal
financial aid recipients to determine if they are meeting at least the minimum requirements
for financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Students must be meeting SAP in order to continue receiving financial aid
for subsequent semesters.
To maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, students must:
- Successfully complete at least 67% of all attempted credit hours.
- Maintain at least the minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA).
- Complete their degree program within the maximum time frame of no more than 150% of
their program’s length.
SAP Links & Appeal Deadlines
- SAP Appeal Form: wichita.edu/sapappeal
- SAP Policy: wichita.edu/sappolicy
- Deadline for SAP Appeals for Spring 2024: January 29, 2024
- Deadline for SAP Appeals for Summer 2024: June 14, 2024
- Deadline for SAP Appeals for Fall 2024: August 30, 2024
- Deadline for SAP Appeals for Spring 2025: February 3, 2025
What is the Advisor's Role in SAP?
The advisor's role is to assist the student in identifying needs and in strategizing
specific steps to help them return to good standing.
Additionally, if a student has extenuating circumstances that prevented them from
meeting the SAP requirements, as part of their SAP appeal to the Office of Financial
Aid, the student will need to discuss and develop a SAP-Academic Plan in coordination
with their advisor. The plan will need to be signed by both the student and the advisor.
If the appeal is approved, the student will be required to meet the requirements of
the academic plan for each term until their are back in good standing or until they
graduate, whichever comes first.
Advisors can recommend students complete SAP-academic plans that encompass multiple
terms or one term at a time, especially in cases where a student's academic performance
may require regular review and re-evaluation.
What if the Student's Appeal is Denied?
If a student's appeal is denied - or they choose not to appeal - the student will
need to make their own payment arrangements for their tuition outside of federal/state
financial aid.
Options include:
- WSU Payment Plan - Wichita State offers a payment plan option for student convenience which allows them
to make multiple payments throughout the semester rather than one lump sum.
- Alternative/Private Loan - not all private lenders require students to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Students will need to do their own research to find, apply for, and be approved for
such a loan.
Resources for Reviewing SAP Data: For Advisors
In Banner, advisors can review Financial Aid SAP data on the SWIGSTU (General Student
Information) form under the Misc tab.
SWIGSTU: Misc tab
Select the Misc tab on SWIGSTU to review the following data:
- Reviewed: date of last SAP review – usually aligns with the end of term review, but may include
a data in between terms depending on the date a new FAFSA is received for an upcoming
year.
- SAP Status: description of SAP status, including whether they were evaluated as UGs or GRs and
the type(s) of SAP standards they are not meeting, such as GPA, Pace, or Maximum Timeframe.
- Good – student is meeting all three SAP standards.
- Warning – student is currently in their single “warning” semester for their financial aid
(while they are technically below the minimum SAP requirements, they are eligible
to receive aid for this semester in hopes that they can resolve their pace or GPA
issue before we review their financial aid SAP status again at the end of the following
semester).
- Suspension – student is not eligible for financial aid, effective immediately. They will either
need to appeal their SAP standing (if they had extenuating circumstances) or make
alternative payment arrangements.
- Appeal – student successfully appealed their SAP status and is approved for financial aid
on a term-by-term basis.
- Term Effective: the effective term in which the SAP status begins to take effect.
- SAP Stu Lvl: the student level for which the SAP status was reviewed – UG or GR.
- SAP Hrs Pass: the cumulative sum of the student’s hours passed for SAP purposes.
- Attp WD Hrs: the cumulative sum of the student’s hours attempted and withdrawn for SAP purposes.
- Pace Pct: the student’s passed hours divided by the attempted and withdrawn hours.
- Pace Hrs Needed: the hours the student needs to complete successfully to meet the minimum 67% Pace
standard; only calculated for students who are not meeting Pace.
- SAP Cum GPA: the student’s cumulative GPA at the time of SAP review. UG students must earn a
2.0 or above; GR students must earn a 3.0 or above.
SWIGSTU: Sample SAP Approved Appeal Status
This student successfully appealed and has an official SAP status of "Appealed, On
Probation." This student will need to follow their academic plan until they meet
the requirements for GPA (2.0) and Pace (67% - needs 27 hours).
![Screenclip of Banner SWIGSTU Screen for SAP Appeal](/administration/financial_aid/images/SWIGSTUAppeal.jpg)
SWIGSTU: Sample SAP Suspension Status
This student has an official SAP status of "Suspension - UG, Pace." This means the
student was evaluated as an undergraduate student and is suspended from receiving
financial aid, beginning with the effective term of Spring 2022 (202220). As shown
in the "Pace Hrs Needed" column, the student will need 37 hours in order to meet the
67% SAP Pace threshold. The student will be on suspension until they appeal and are
approved for financial aid on a probationary basis (if they had verifiable circumstances
beyond their control) or until they meet the required 67% Pace threshold by paying
for - and successfully completing - their future courses.
![Screenclip of Banner SWIGSTU screen for SAP suspension](/administration/financial_aid/images/SWIGSTUSuspension.jpg)
Resources for Reviewing SAP Data: Students
As part of Banner Self Service, students can view their financial aid offers, any
missing requirements, and now the components that make up their SAP status within
their Financial Aid Dashboard.
Student Instructions
Log into myWSU, select the myFinances tab, select the Financial Aid Dashboard, and select the Satisfactory Academic Progress tab/header.
![Financial Aid Dashboard SAP tab](/administration/financial_aid/images/DashboardSAP.jpg)
The top section describes the student’s SAP status and reason for suspension. To
see their individual SAP components, the student can expand the section.
![Financial Aid Dashboard - SAP Expanded](/administration/financial_aid/images/DashboardSAPExpanded.jpg)
Mobile Access
The Financial Aid Dashboard and the SAP tab are also built for mobile viewability. This provides students the opportunity to bring up their SAP information
actively during an academic advising session and provide necessary information to
their advisor.
![Financial Aid Dashboard - SAP on Mobile View](/administration/financial_aid/images/DashboardSAPMobile.jpg)
Note: While end-of-term reviews are conducted (usually Thursday through Monday), the Financial
Aid Dashboard’s SAP tab will be unavailable from student view. The temporary outage
allows financial aid staff time to manually review and update any students who are
continuing for an additional appeal semester and update statuses for students who
may be transitioning to graduate school.