Promoting Academic Progress

The Academic Progress Calculator can be used by advisors to determine how quickly a student is progressing through their major or course of study based on coursework passed. This is a useful tool in determining how long it might take a student to finish their degree based on their rate of progress, to determine their CROP ratio for satisfactory academic progress, or to determine if their current course plan is yielding them a timeline that they are intending for their path.

Please access the Academic Progress Calculator and Instructions here:

• Blank Academic Progress Calculator
• Academic Progress Calculator Tutorial Video

GPA Calculators are an excellent way to empower students to project their own GPA based on their current trajectory in their term courses. Advisors can work with students to do “if this, then that” scenarios to discuss strategies for improvement as needed. Advisors can also illustrate in real time what a student might need to accomplish academically to remain in good academic standing, or to achieve the necessary grade point average to be accepted into their desired program, etc…. GPA calculators are great tools for advisors and students to utilize together.

Below are a few options for GPA Calculators:

• Cumulative and Semester GPA Calculator
• Target GPA Calculator
• UIC LAS GPA Calculator
• UIC CADA GPA Calculator

Midyear Workflow Documents

Advisors can review the progress of their students after the Fall term to see how the students are academically progressing, and determine if students can take action in the spring semester to improve the likelihood of maintaining eligibility for financial aid. Students can work with their advisor to make decisions about summer courses to recover.

Students generally fall into four groups, arranged in the order of opportunity for intervention. A flag is added in iAdvise after the end of the Fall term identifying these students:

Group 1 (Formerly known as “Blue Group”): GROUP ON WHICH TO FOCUS PRIOR TO THE 10TH DAY – Academic progress needs review, and additional credit hours for Spring term should be considered…

• Some students may be able to register for an additional course and to improve their completion ratio of earned credits versus attempted credits by the end of the academic year. These students may also need to consider their completion ratio if they want to late drop a course after the 10th day.
• Prioritized students in this group will be included in those who will have a flag in iAdvise to indicate the opportunity to review and take action with the students.
• iAdvise Flag Name – “Academic Progress: At Risk of SAP Cancelation at end of AY”
• NOTE: Due to the shifting nature of students’ registration before the tenth day, these students are not independently identified within the group that receives the iAdvise flag; however, the notes on the flag indicate if the student is at risk because of a low completion ratio (only) or a low GPA (or both). Advisors can filter for meetings using the “Promoting Academic Progress” appointment type using 12/17/23 to identify students with low GPA (only),  12/18/23 (for GPA and ratio) or 12/19/23 (ratio only).

Group 2 (Formerly known as “Purple Group”): Academic progress challenges after Fall term, and Summer recovery likely is necessary…

• These students faced challenges with completing their attempted coursework in their first term, and will need to consider how to approach summer session irrespective of their spring registration.
• Prioritized students in this group will be included in those who will have a flag in iAdvise to indicate the opportunity to review and take action with the students.
• iAdvise Flag Name – “Academic Progress: At Risk of SAP Cancelation at end of AY”

Group 3 (Formerly known as “Yellow Group”): Good academic progress, but discuss completion ratio if considering dropping a course…

• Some students may have completed their Fall term making satisfactory academic progress, but may not have completed all of their first term credits
  successfully. These students would need to have in mind their completion ratio if they were to consider reducing the number of credits they were taking during the Spring semester (e.g., late dropping a course after the 10th day), because doing so might put them in danger of a SAP cancellation or other academic progress challenges.
• While these students are not identified in iAdvise, advisors should consider these effects on completion ratio when meeting with students who are deciding whether to late drop a course.

Group 4 (Formerly known as “Green Group”): Currently Clear

• These students had a high successful completion rate during their first term, such that no advising intervention is likely needed for them.

• For Reference: Historic iAdvise Mid-Year Academic Progress Alerts and Workflows

The reference and training materials here are resources for advisors to fully understand and navigate Satisfactory Academic Progress. These materials are designed to help advisors resource “how to” information on navigating SAP in iAdivse, gaining a better overall understanding of SAP and the implications of not meeting satisfactory academic progress can have for a student, and navigating the steps students need to follow to restore financial aid eligibility.

Expert quick tip: The Advisor Quick Info SAP Map is a comprehensive tool to all reference materials 

• Advisor Quick Info SAP Map
• SAP Appeal Form Workflow
• Understanding SAP Recorded Presentation
• Understanding SAP PowerPoint
• SAP Cancellation Remedies
• SAP Basics
• SAP and iAdvise
• SAP Terms and FAQ
• Tips for working with SAP COVID remediation students

Coming Soon – Stay tuned!

Link to Units Resources for degree mapping, interventions, tools, etc….