Calculating Your SAP Thresholds

There are 2 different types of thresholds students need to keep in mind regarding Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): cumulative thresholds and semester thresholds. These thresholds are used to measure your grade point average (GPA) and your completion rate (the number of credits earned out of the number of credits attempted). Please note that transfer credits are applied to completion rate but not towards GPA calculations.

You will want to have a copy of your most recent unofficial transcript to review and calculate the various thresholds. To access your unofficial transcript, login to E-Services with your StarID and password; then go to “Academic Records” and select “Unofficial Transcripts” (you’ll want to run the transcript in “Chronological” order).

*For students completing courses that are college prep (such as ENG099 or MATH060), beginning in fall 2021 these courses will no longer be used for completion rate calculations but will still be used in GPA calculations.
*For students who received grade exceptions during spring 2020 due to COVID-19, grades denoted with “CV” on your transcript will not be used for GPA or completion rate calculations.

Semester GPA Calculation:

If the semester has not yet concluded, you can use the SMSU GPA Calculator to help you estimate your semester GPA. This can also help with calculating a new cumulative GPA.

If the semester has concluded, find the most recent semester you were enrolled on your transcript and look at this row (highlighted below). Your semester GPA is listed at the far right.

Cumulative GPA Calculation:

If the semester has not yet concluded, use the SMSU GPA Calculator to estimate your semester grades and to calculate your new cumulative GPA.

If the semester has concluded and all your grades are posted, use the last line from the semester you completed (highlighted below). Your cumulative GPA is listed at the far right.

Semester Completion Rate Calculation:

Completion rate calculations are best done at the end of the semester once all grades are posted, but it may be calculated or estimated earlier than that. Once the semester’s grades have posted, you will use this row (see below) from the most recent semester. Divide the earned credits by the attempted credits, in this case it would be 12/16 = 0.75 or 75%. Note that for completion rate we do not round up, we truncate.

Cumulative Completion Rate Calculation:

Completion rate calculations are best done at the end of the semester once all grades are posted, but it may be calculated or estimated earlier than that. Once the semester’s grades have posted, you will use this row (see below) from the most recent semester. Divide the earned credits by the attempted credits, in this case it would be 62/66 = 0.939393 or 93.93%. Note that for completion rate we do not round up, we truncate.

For more information on the specific GPA and Completion Rate requirements, please refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, sections 1 and 2.

If you would like assistance with calculating your GPA or completion rate, feel free to connect with Kaitlyn Giles, Assistant Director of Student Success, by calling (507) 537-7273 or emailing Kaitlyn.Giles@SMSU.edu. She can sit down with you and walk you through the process and answer questions you may have.