5.10 – Satisfactory Academic Progress

5.10 – Satisfactory Academic Progress

A. Purpose

To define, establish and enforce minimum standards of satisfactory academic progress (SAP), as amended and mandated, in the Higher Education Act of 1965 for students who may receive or are receiving Title IV federal student aid.

B. Policy

The college will maintain procedures to determine satisfactory academic progress in accordance with Title IV Federal Student Aid (FSA) regulations.

C. Procedures

Frequency and Timing of Evaluation

Students pursuing a Title IV aid eligible program are evaluated and assigned a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) status at the conclusion of each semester in which they were enrolled. The academic program being evaluated shall be the one which is active at the time SAP is reviewed. If a student is pursuing multiple programs, the program with the greatest required credit or clock hours will be evaluated.

Students who have not completed high school or the equivalent are not evaluated. Students whose degree is conferred in the middle of a semester will be evaluated once the registrar has identified them as candidates for graduation.

While SAP standards determine a student’s eligibility for federal student aid (Title IV aid), state, institutional, and private aid programs may require the same or separate standards to establish eligibility.

General SAP Requirements

The following metrics will be used to evaluate a student’s SAP status.

• Grade Point Average

The cumulative GPA for SAP purposes shall primarily mirror the registrar’s policy. However, Transfer, remedial, and grades excluded by the registrar under Academic Fresh Start are included in the cumulative GPA for SAP purposes. To maintain SAP, students are required to earn a minimum cumulative grade point average based on their program of study.

 

Certificate of Achievement
Hours Attempted	1-12	13-20	21+
Minimum Cumulative GPA	1.50	1.75	Minimum for completion per course catalogue
Associate Degree
Hours Attempted	1-25	26-40	41+
Minimum Cumulative GPA	1.50	1.75	Minimum for completion per course catalogue
Bachelor’s Degree
Hours Attempted	1-29	30-59	60+
Minimum Cumulative GPA	1.50	1.75	Minimum for completion per course catalogue

 

• Pace

Pace is the percentage of cumulative credit hours completed with a passing grade, divided by the total attempted credit hours. Students must successfully pass a minimum of 66.5% of all attempted credit hours to maintain their satisfactory academic progress.

Both institutional credits and those accepted by the registrar from other institutions are included in the total attempted credit hours. All courses in which the student was enrolled after the 100% refund deadline are considered attempted, including repeated courses, remedial coursework, and credit-by-exam. Grades of A, B, C & D are considered passing grades.

• Maximum Timeframe

Federal Student Aid (FSA) regulations allow a student to receive federal financial aid for attempting up to 150% of their certificate or program’s credit or clock hours.

Both institutional credits and those accepted by the registrar from other institutions are included in total attempted credit hours. All courses in which the student was enrolled after the 100% refund deadline are considered attempted, including repeated courses, remedial coursework, and credit-by-exam.

Students who have completed the requirements for their degree program are considered to have met the maximum timeframe.

• Graduated

Students who have received an associate degree or a higher credential are considered to have graduated.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Status Categories

Satisfactory Status

Students who meet the GPA, pace, and timeframe requirements, and have not received an associate degree or higher, are assigned a ‘Satisfactory’ status and are eligible to receive Title IV federal student aid. In accordance with the college’s transcript submission policy, new and transfer students are assumed to meet the GPA, pace, and timeframe requirements for their initial semester at the college.

Warning Status

Students assigned a ‘Satisfactory’ status who do not meet either the pace or GPA requirement will be placed on a financial aid ‘Warning’ status in the subsequent academic semester of enrollment. Financial aid may be received while on a ‘Warning’ status.

Suspension Status

Students who attend while on a warning status and continue to not meet the pace and/or GPA requirement will be assigned a financial aid ‘Suspension’ status. Students will also be assigned a suspension status when they are over the maximum SAP timeframe allowed for their program, have received a 2-year degree or higher, or do not follow their academic plan while on a ‘Probation’ status. Students may not receive federal financial aid on a suspension status. The suspension status will apply until they regain eligibility.

Probation Status

Students who were ineligible for federal financial aid due to SAP and successfully appealed for renewed eligibility are placed on a ‘Probation’ status for each subsequent semester until they meet SAP requirements or graduate with a 2-year degree or higher. Students may receive federal financial aid while on a probationary status.

Methods of Regaining Eligibility

Ineligible students may regain Title IV aid eligibility by either:

• Meeting all SAP requirements
• Appealing their suspension status due to extenuating circumstances which impeded their academic progress
• Making academic progress while on SAP suspension status. While on suspension, the student may successfully complete 6 or more credit hours in a single semester with a 3.0 GPA. They may appeal for renewed eligibility at the conclusion of that semester.

Suspension Appeal Process

An appeal may be submitted for any significant and unforeseen circumstance(s) beyond the student’s control which impeded their academic progress, such as the death of a family member, illness or injury, or other extenuating circumstances. Students who have received a prior degree may appeal if they are seeking additional credentials for gainful employment or professional advancement. While there is no limit to the number of times a student may appeal their SAP status, extenuating circumstances present at the time of, or relating to a previous successful appeal, may not be presented for consideration.

The deadline to appeal for the upcoming semester will be provided on the college’s website. The college will make the appeal document available to students electronically, and a paper version will be provided upon request.

An appeal must address how the student became ineligible and how the student will be academically successful in the future. A degree audit plan is required to help students understand the overall courses required for their academic program of study but is not the student’s ‘Academic Plan’ per se as required by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

The college reserves the right to request documentation of the extenuating circumstances which prevented the student from meeting SAP or academic plan requirements, documentation of the changes which have occurred to reasonably ensure the student’s academic success, or both.

The process to appeal the loss of Title IV federal student aid will be maintained by the financial aid office, employ professional judgement, and be communicated to students. Completed appeals shall be reviewed by the college director of financial aid or their designee(s) (the “committee”) and are considered in the order they are received. The decision of the review committee is final, and students will be notified when their appeal has been approved or denied.

Appeal Approved

Students who successfully appeal for future federal aid eligibility are placed on a ‘Probation’ status. They become eligible for federal aid for the next semester of enrollment and must follow their academic plan to continue their federal aid eligibility into each subsequent semester. They may return to a ‘Satisfactory’ status if they meet SAP requirements.

Appeal Denied

If a student’s SAP appeal is denied they will remain on a ‘Suspension’ status until either successfully appealing their status, or by meeting SAP requirements. While on a suspension status, they remain ineligible for Title IV aid.

Academic Plan:

To meet the conditions of their academic plan, a student on a ‘Probation’ status must:

• Achieve a GPA of at least 2.0 for the most recently completed semester.
• Obtain their student success team member’s approval prior to deviating from their degree audit plan.
• Not withdraw from all courses in a semester.
• Not change their program of study except in extenuating circumstances approved by a student success team member.

Failed Probation

Students on a probation status who do not fulfill their academic plan will return to a ‘Suspension’ status. They remain ineligible for Title IV aid until they successfully appeal their status or meet SAP requirements.

D. Definitions

Academic Fresh Start is the college’s name for academic amnesty, a process offered by some institutions which allows students to have credits attempted and grades earned in previous terms excluded from the calculation of the student’s grade point average (GPA).

Federal Student Aid (FSA) is the office within the U.S. Department of Education with administrative oversight for Title IV aid.

Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended is the authorizing legislation for most of the federal student financial assistance programs. Established in 1965 by Congress, Title IV of the HEA authorizes the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG), Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), Federal Perkins Loan, and Federal Direct Student Loan (Direct Loan). Collectively, these programs are known as Title IV programs and are administered by ED.

Remedial coursework is coursework that prepares a student to complete academic work at the postsecondary level.

Repeated coursework is any coursework which a student has completed and is enrolling in again either due to failure, program requirements, or to obtain a better grade.

Title IV refers to the section of the HEA pertaining to administration of the federal student financial assistance programs.

Title IV Aid Eligible Programs are degrees or certificates offered by the College for which a student may receive federal financial aid. In general, A.A., A.S, A.A.B., A.A.S., A.I.S., A.I.T.S., and Certificate of Achievement are eligible programs. A Certificate of Specialization is not an eligible program. Programs intended as a primary or dual-enrollment track for high school completion are not considered eligible programs for SAP purposes.

Transfer hours are credit or clock hours taken at another accredited institution and accepted by the college toward the student’s program.

E. Authority

This policy is maintained under the authority of the executive vice chancellor for institutional and student success.

F. Related Policies

2.70 Grading System

2.74 Multiple Degrees

5.31 Academic Fresh Start

G. Implementation

1.    Purpose, procedures, responsibilities, and definitions approved and adopted by the Cabinet on 10/22/19. Revisions approved by the Cabinet 04/21/2020, 12/08/2022, 5/13/2025.

2.    Policy approved and adopted by the Board of Trustees on 1/12/98. Revisions approved on 10/22/19. Revisions approved on 05/11/2020.

Set for review 2027-2028.