Satisfactory Academic Progress Coordinator

General Summary

The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Coordinator serves as the institution’s lead strategist, compliance authority, and operational manager for all SAP policies and processes.

This position provides advanced regulatory interpretation, cross-departmental leadership, and high-level professional judgment in determining students’ continued eligibility for financial aid under federal Title IV standards (34 CFR 668.34).

The SAP Coordinator oversees SAP policy development, appeal review, academic plan design, and SAP processing This role supervises or directs the workflow of staff reviewing SAP cases, mentors advisors on regulatory interpretation, and collaborates with Academic Affairs, Advising, and Registrar to ensure institutional alignment and accurate data across systems.

This position requires expert-level regulatory knowledge, exceptional analytical skill, independent decision-making, and the ability to design and manage sophisticated compliance frameworks that directly impact enrollment, equity, retention, and federal funding.

This position is responsible for leading developing, managing, overseeing, and coordinating the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeal process and related systems.

The position is the primary lead, liaison, and subject matter expert, overseeing all processes relating to these appeals, such as working with various units and committees to update forms and processes annually, staying abreast of, interpreting, applying, and incorporating regulatory changes, updating communications, and procedures.

Position functions as SAP manager, knowledge expert, and mentor that oversees delegating and assignment of weekly appeals to the Advising team, and provides advice and guidance, as needed.

These duties require the ability to understand, interpret, and apply complex regulations and the ability to exercise independent judgment.

This position also serves as an advocate and Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for unaccompanied homeless youth (UHY).

This person will serve as a strong support for any students lacking parental support while navigating bureaucratic processes determining dependency.

These responsibilities include facilitating communication among campus departments and services to provide resources and support to these students.

Additionally, this position serves in a student advising, outreach and client services capacity and involves a great deal of student interaction and is required to effectively communicate financial aid policies to students, parents, the College and community members and to uphold grace & empathy during challenging interactions.

This position will be responsible for backing up the Communications and Outreach Coordinator with all incoming email received at financialaid@ccd.edu, as well as performing routine quality assurance checks on verification.

PRIMARY DUTIES

The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Coordinator serves as the institution’s subject-matter expert and primary administrator for all SAP policies, processes, and appeals within the Financial Aid Office.

This position oversees the development, implementation, interpretation, and continual refinement of SAP standards in accordance with federal Title IV regulations, state requirements, and institutional academic policies.

The SAP Coordinator exercises a high level of independent professional judgment in determining appeal outcomes, resolving complex eligibility issues, guiding staff, and ensuring compliance with federal, state, and institutional regulations.

This role requires exceptional analytical capability, decisive decision-making, advanced communication skills, and the ability to manage sensitive student information with integrity and precision.

SAP Program Leadership, Policy Development & Compliance-

• Serves as the institution’schief experton SAP regulations, compliance standards, and appeal management.
• Leads thedesign, review, and continuous improvementof SAP policies, forms, workflows, communications, and training materials.
• Interprets and implement federal regulations, Dear Colleague Letters, volumes of the Federal Student Aid Handbook, and internal academic policies.
• Ensures SAP standards and appeal processes are fully compliant with federal audits, accreditation requirements, and institutional risk-management frameworks.
• Drafts and maintains comprehensive SAP policy documentation, including detailed procedural guides for auditors, leadership, and staff.

Advanced SAP Appeals Management & Professional Judgment-

• Oversees the full SAP appeals process —including intake, evaluation, committee review, decision rendering, and multi-term monitoring. Coordinates and delegates the review process, manages SAP workload
• Manages, oversees, and ensures efficient and compliant processing of all SAP appeals.
• Exerciseshigh-level independent judgmentwhen analyzing appeals involving medical documentation, complex academic histories, personal circumstances, or multi-term academic plans.
• Maintains institutional consistency and integrity in SAP determinations through oversight, audit checks, quality assurance reviews, and staff training.

Leadership, Supervision & Staff Development-

• Leads the Advising/Financial Aid staff responsible for SAP review by assigning cases, mentoring decision-making, and ensuring consistent application of policy.
• Trains new and continuing staff on SAP regulations, appeal evaluation, documentation standards, and communication protocols.
• Recommends staffing structures, workflow improvements, and system enhancements to support efficient and compliant SAP operations.

General Advising-

• Advise all students on the application processes, important timelines, types of aid, eligibility requirements, financing options and other resources available.
• Assist with general financial aid counseling duties.
• Exercise professional judgment when students or their families have unusual financial circumstances to determine additional eligibility and review Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals.
• Adjust awards as necessary to reflect student’s enrollment and eligibility.
• Assist with general frontline duties, such as phones, front counter, email, etc. as needed and serve as a resource to student employees.
• Continually assess customer service and proactively identify and address issues that may impede quality service.
• Provide individual and group financial aid advice to students and families, including adequate loan counseling and financial literacy information.
• Support campus colleges/departments by providing counseling services in other locations on campus.

UHY Single Point of Contact (SPOC)-

Other Duties as Assigned –

Other duties may include staffing Outreach events, customer service shifts, or professional development and training.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Any equivalent combination of education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities below.

Education: (Minimum/Required)

• Associates' degree and 2 years of relevant experience

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university

Experience:(Minimum/Required)

• At least 2 years of progressively responsible experience in a college or university Financial Aid Office.
• Final candidate must successfully pass a criminal background check and cannot be in default on a student loan either upon hire or while employed in this position.

Education: (Preferred)

• Bachelor’s degree

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:(Required)

• Proven ability to exercise independent, high-level judgment in sensitive and complex student eligibility situations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce policy documents, training materials, and decision letters.
• Superior organizational skills, with the ability to manage institutional-level workflows and multiple, time-sensitive processes.
• Experience providing customer service.
• Strong computer skills including software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other presentation software), email communication tools, and web-based applications.
• Expert Knowledge of Federal Title IV financial aid.
• Experience with Ellucian Banner or similar ERP system such as PeopleSoft.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:(Preferred)

• Experience administering Special and Unusual Circumstances process in a financial aid setting.
• Demonstrated expertise in federal Title IV regulations, SAP standards, and professional-judgment decision-making.
• Exceptional analytical skills