SAP Policies

1. Financial Aid Good Standing (GS) - Students who are meeting all aspects of the satisfactory academic progress policy or successfully following a designated academic progress plan.
2. Financial Aid Warning Probation (WP) - Students who fail to meet satisfactory academic progress during their initial term of enrollment will be placed in a Warning Status (WS) for one term and are expected to meet SAP requirements by the end of that term. (Students with less than a 1.0 grade point average will not be eligible for a warning period and will go directly to suspension.) Students who fail to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements at the end of the warning status term will be placed on financial aid suspension. However, with a successful SAP appeal, those students will be placed on financial aid probation and will retain financial aid eligibility.
3. Financial Aid Suspension Status (SS) - Students who do not meet the credit progression schedule and/or the cumulative grade point average standard, or who fail to meet the requirements of their pre-approved academic plan, will be placed in Suspension Status (SS). Students in Suspension Status (SS) are not eligible to receive financial aid.
4. Academic Suspension - Academic requirements for avoiding warning status and staying in school differ from financial aid requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress. Academic status will be noted on registration records; financial aid status will be noted on financial aid screens.

1. Completion Rate (67% Rule): Students must, at a minimum, receive satisfactory grades in 67% of cumulative credits attempted. This calculation is performed by dividing the cumulative total number of successfully completed credits earned at CVCC by the cumulative total number of credits attempted at CVCC. All credits attempted at CVCC are included, and this evaluation will be made at the end of each academic term a student is enrolled at CVCC. Credits with satisfactory grades are those for which a grade of A, B, C, D, S, or P is earned.
2. Maximum Hours (150% Rule): In order to continue receiving financial aid, a student must complete his/her program of study before attempting 150% of the credits required for that program. Developmental/ESL course work is excluded in the calculation. Attempted credits from all enrollment periods at CVCC plus all applicable transfer credits are counted; whether or not the student received financial aid for those terms is of no consequence.
   1. Transfer Students: In order to properly calculate satisfactory academic progress, CVCC requires financial aid students transferring into CVCC to request official transcripts from all other colleges attended. Credits officially accepted in transfer and specifically applied toward a student’s certificate or degree program will be counted in determining the maximum number of allowable semester credits hours for financial aid eligibility.
   2. Second Degree Students: Credits earned from a first degree or certificate must be counted if the student changes programs or attempts a second degree or certificate.
3. ESL/Developmental Studies: Students may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 semester hours of Developmental Studies courses, if SAP requirements continue to be met and if developmental courses are required as a result of placement testing. There is no specific limit on the number of ESL credits eligible for financial aid if other SAP requirements continue to be met.

• Withdrawals (W grades) that are recorded on the student’s permanent academic transcript will be included as credits attempted and will have an adverse effect on the student’s ability to meet the requirements of the completion rate for financial aid.
• Incomplete Grades: Courses that are assigned an incomplete grade are included in cumulative credits attempted. These cannot be used as credits earned in the progress standard until a successful grade is assigned.
• Repeated courses enable the student to achieve a higher cumulative grade point average. Repeating courses adversely affects the student’s ability to meeting completion rate requirements. Financial aid can be considered for successfully completed classes that are repeated to achieve a higher grade but for only one additional attempt.

Cumulative GPA Requirements (GPA Rule): In order to remain eligible for financial aid consideration, students must meet minimum cumulative grade point average requirements based on a progressive scale. Only courses with grades of A, B, C, D, and F are included in this calculation. In order to graduate, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 is required.

Total Number of Credits Attempted	GPA Requirement
1-15	1.5
16-30	1.75
31+	2.0

 

Students who do not meet the credit progression requirement (Quantitative) and/or cumulative grade point average requirements (Qualitative) will be immediately ineligible for financial aid. Removal from financial aid does not prevent students from enrolling without financial aid if they are otherwise eligible to continue their enrollment.

Unless extenuating circumstances exist and an appeal is granted, a student in financial aid suspension should expect to continue classes at his or her own expense until satisfactory academic progress requirements are again met.

Under certain circumstances, students who fail to meet SAP standards and lose eligibility for financial aid can appeal the financial aid suspension. Students must clearly state what caused the suspension and must also clearly indicate what has changed that will now allow the student to succeed. Appeals are encouraged if:

• Extenuating circumstances exist (e.g., student’s serious illness or accident; death, accident or serious illness in the immediate family; other mitigating circumstances).

Only complete appeal submissions, with documentation, will be evaluated by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee. The decision of the committee is final. Depending on the circumstances, the student could be required to complete additional requirements (e.g., see a career counselor or another type of counselor, meet with an advisor to develop an academic plan for completion, limit enrollment, etc.) before an appeal is granted. The goal is to help the student get back on track for graduation. The reasonableness of the student’s ability for improvement to again meet SAP standards and complete the student’s program of study will be carefully considered. Appeals will be approved or denied. Students who have appeals approved will be in probationary status for the coming term. During probationary status, all attempted credits must be successfully completed with at least C grades, or the student will return to suspension. If an academic plan has been pre-approved by financial aid, continuing to meet the requirements of that plan will put the student back into good standing.

Students who fail to meet these Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards and who choose to enroll without benefit of student financial aid may request a review of their academic records after any term in which they are enrolled without the receipt of financial aid to determine whether they have again met satisfactory academic progress standards. If the standards are met, eligibility is regained for subsequent terms of enrollment in the academic year. Students should consult their campus financial aid advisors for assistance in appealing any element of this policy or
to determine how to regain eligibility for financial aid.