Academic Plans and SAP Appeals

Students who require advisor approval on any academic/graduation plan (SAP Appeals, Co-op Rotations, ROTC academic plans)* should follow the steps outlined below. For SAP appeals that are submitted via DocuSign you should follow these steps before officially submitting the forms.

  1. Obtain the appropriate documentation form.
    • Satisfactory Academic Progress forms can be found on the Financial Aid website.
    • All other forms should be obtained from the requesting office or agency.
  2. Download or print out a copy of the academic pathway for your major.
  3. Access your Degree Audit.
  4. Review your Degree Audit and cross off all course requirements on the academic pathway that have been met.
    • Course requirements can be met through transfer, AP, or courses taken at UMBC.
    • Remember, only “C” or better grades will count in the major or GEP sections, and you must satisfy the grade requirement for gateway classes to meet that requirement. 
  5. All remaining classes (including GEPs, minors, certificates, and elective credits to reach 120) MUST be accounted for on your academic plan.
    • The SAP Academic Plan is a Docusign form that should be completed online, downloaded, and sent to your advisor before submission. Do NOT submit it until you have gotten approval from your advisor.
  6. Follow the academic plan as closely as possible to plan each semester’s courses with the remaining classes in your academic pathway.
    • Pay attention to prerequisites, the semesters in which courses are offered (limited offerings in summer, VERY limited offerings in winter)
    • Total number of credits per semester (should not exceed 19 credits in a regular semester, 16 credits in the summer, and 4 credits in Winter; ROTC courses count towards these totals).
    • Remember to include any prerequisite classes you need in order to meet the UMBC requirement (examples include MATH 150 or SPAN 101/102).
  7. Total the credits you have completed and plan to confirm that you have at least 120 total credits and 45 upper-level credits.
  8. Review your pathway for a second time, confirming that all requirements have been met and that you have not exceeded the requirements for any section.
    • For example, there should be no more than three social sciences in your plan + completed courses unless you are a Computer Science major and use those additional courses as free electives.
  9. Once you have completed and double-checked your academic plan, email a copy to an advisor.
  10. Schedule an appointment with that advisor for at least a day after you have sent them your plan.
  11.  Once you have met with your advisor and made any necessary changes, they will sign off on the form electronically.

* Merit Scholarship discontinuation appeals require an electronic form that does not require an advisor’s signature.

TIPS:
  • You do not need to decide on specific electives at this time. For example:
    • If you need a Social Science course, you can simply put on your Pathway 1XX Social Science 3 credits
    • If you need a 400-level CMSC elective, you can put CMSC 4XX Computer Science elective 3 credits
  • You can check the course prerequisite in the course catalog.
  • If you are unsure if a course is traditionally offered in a particular semester, you can change the semester in the schedule of classes and search for the course.
    • If the course was offered in the Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter previously, you can plan for it in the same term in the future.
  • If you are filling out an ROTC academic plan, you may need to list both “Hours” and “Credits.”
    • For any student taking ROTC courses through JHU or College Park, the ROTC courses count as “Hours” but not as “Credits.”
    • Your Hours should not exceed 19 in a regular semester, but only Credits count toward the 120 needed for graduation.
  • You may want to consider writing the academic plan in pencil or coming in with an electronic version so any changes can be made easily.