Exhibit 31 (a)

CERTIFICATION



Rule 13a-14(a) / 15d-14(a) Certifications



I, Daniel J. Schrider, Chief Executive Officer of Sandy Spring
Bancorp, Inc. (“Bancorp”), certify that:



1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K/A of Sandy
Spring Bancorp, Inc.



2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
under which such statements  were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;



3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations
and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;



4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible
for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d--15(e))
and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and
have:



a)
Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under
our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made
known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;



b)
Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed
under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;



c)
Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report based upon
such evaluation; and



d)
Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
control over financial reporting; and



5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee
of the registrant's board of  directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):



a)
All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which
are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information;
and



b)
Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
internal control over financial reporting.





|Date: March 15, 2016 | /s/Daniel J. Schrider  
|-------------------- | -----------------------
|                     | Daniel J. Schrider     
|                     | Chief Executive Officer