Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Eligibility

Policy 5.22 · Adopted 2011 · Last revised 2024 · Responsible office: Office of Financial Aid · Next review 2029

1. Purpose and scope. Federal regulations require a student receiving federal student aid to make satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate. This policy applies to every student who receives or applies for federal or state aid. It is applied to all coursework attempted at the College, including terms in which the student received no aid. These standards are distinct from academic standing under the catalog; a student may be in good academic standing and not meet these standards.

2. Standards. Progress is evaluated at the end of every term (fall, spring, and summer), after grades are final. A student must meet all three standards.

3. Attempted credit hours. Attempted credit hours include all courses in which the student is enrolled after the end of the add period, including courses with a grade of W, I, or F; repeated courses; and developmental courses, which carry no credit toward an award but are included in this calculation and in the attempted-hours limit, as stated in the catalog. Transfer credit accepted toward the program is counted as both attempted and earned for pace and maximum timeframe and is not included in the grade point average. Audited courses are not counted. An incomplete grade is counted as attempted and not earned until a final grade is recorded, at which point progress may be re-evaluated on request.

4. Repeated courses. Aid may pay for a repeated course that the student previously failed. Aid may pay for one repetition of a course the student previously passed. Every attempt counts toward pace and maximum timeframe.

5. Maximum timeframe by program length.

Credit hours required for each program are stated on the program’s page and in the catalog. A student who changes program is evaluated against the new program; attempted credit hours that apply to the new program count toward its maximum timeframe. Credit hours that do not apply are excluded from the new program’s timeframe but remain in the pace and grade point average calculations.

6. Status.

Students are notified of a warning or suspension by DroverMail within ten business days of the end of the term.

7. Appeal. A student on Financial Aid Suspension may appeal in writing to the Office of Financial Aid within 30 days of the notice. An appeal must be based on the death of a relative, an injury or illness of the student, or another special circumstance, and must state why the student did not meet the standards and what has changed that will allow the student to meet them at the next evaluation. Supporting documentation is required. Appeals are decided by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee, and the student is notified of the decision in writing within 15 business days of a complete appeal. The committee’s decision is final.

8. Academic plan. Where a student cannot meet the standards in one term, an appeal may be approved with an academic plan developed with an academic advisor and approved by the Office of Financial Aid. The plan states the courses, grades, and completion required in each term. A student on an academic plan is evaluated against the plan at the end of each term and remains eligible while the plan is met.

9. Regaining eligibility without appeal. A student on Financial Aid Suspension who does not appeal, or whose appeal is denied, regains eligibility by enrolling without federal or state aid and meeting all three standards at a later evaluation. Paying for coursework or sitting out a term does not by itself restore eligibility.

10. Relationship to other policies. Withdrawal from a term may require a return of federal funds under the Refund Policy (Policy 5.20), independent of this policy. Foundation scholarships also require satisfactory academic progress; see Scholarships.