Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements
Regulation 668.16 (e); 668.34
Federal regulations require that all students make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in a program of study to maintain eligibility for financial aid. LCCC has established policies to monitor the academic progress of students who apply for and/or receive federal financial aid. These standards are designed to ensure that students are making progress toward completion of their program of study and apply to the following financial aid programs: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), Federal Direct Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), and Federal Direct Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).
Satisfactory Academic Progress assessment at LCCC occurs at the end of each payment period (summer, fall, and spring) after the qualitative and quantitative measures have been reviewed. Failure to meet SAP standards after each term enrolled may result in loss of financial aid eligibility. Students applying for financial aid must be making satisfactory progress as outlined in this policy. It is the student’s responsibility to understand and adhere to these standards to continue receiving federal financial aid at LCCC.
The three standards for SAP at LCCC are cumulative grade point average (GPA), completion rate, and maximum timeframe. You can read more about each of these in the sections below.
Remedial coursework offered through Academic Foundations are included in qualitative and quantitative components of SAP. Please see “Developmental Education Coursework.”
LCCC only counts transfer credit hours that go towards a student’s current academic program of study in SAP calculations. GPA earned at another institution does not transfer to LCCC.
Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) – Qualitative Component of SAP
Students must maintain the minimum cumulative GPA for the number of semester hours attempted based on the information below:
0-29 credit hours attempted: 1.60 minimum cumulative GPA
30-44 credit hours attempted: 1.75 minimum cumulative GPA
45 or more credit hours attempted: 2.00 minimum cumulative GPA
- LCCC does not round up (ie. 1.99 does not meet the 2.00 requirement).
- Students who have lost financial aid eligibility due to failure to meet the GPA requirement may regain eligibility by completing courses (paid out of pocket or with non-financial aid resources) and increasing their GPA to meet the minimum required GPA for the next semester. Please see “Requirements to Regain Eligibility” and “Appeal Process” below.
- Please be aware of the GPA requirements for graduation, based on program type.
- Please be aware of the Academic Standards for programs, which may have different requirements than those for TIV federal financial aid purposes.
Minimum Completion Rate for Attempted Credit Hours (Pace) – Quantitative Component of SAP
All students must progress at a pace that allows the student to complete their program within the maximum allotted timeframe. The completion rate, or pace, is calculated by dividing the number of successfully completed (see below for examples) credits by the number of attempted credits. Students must meet the requirement minimum completion rate for the number of semester hours attempted based on the table below:
0-29 semester hours attempted: 50% minimum completion rate
30-44 semester hours attempted: 60% minimum completion rate
45 or more semester hours attempted: 70% minimum completion rate
- LCCC does not round up (ie. 69.9% does not meet the 70% requirement).
- The following are NOT considered “successful completion” for purposes of financial aid Standards of Academic progress: W (withdrawal), I (incomplete), NR (not recorded), U (unsatisfactory), F (failure), and FAW (Failure Administrative Withdrawal).
- Students may repeat a course in which less than a D grade was earned. For SAP purposes, grades for repeated courses will be counted in the same manner as reflected in LCCC’s Course Repeat Policy.
- The repeated courses will count toward the attempted hours in the completion rate analysis, however hours are not earned with the following grades from repeated courses: F, FAW, I, U, NR or W. Please see “Repeating a Course” in the College Catalog for more information.
- Students who have lost eligibility due to not meeting the minimum required completion rate may regain eligibility by completing, at the student’s expense, the required number of credit hours needed to meet the minimum required completion rate for the next semester. Please see “Requirements to Regain Eligibility” and “Appeal Process” below.
- This satisfactory progress requirement includes all academic terms a student has attended LCCC.
Maximum Timeframe (Degree Completion within 150% of the average length of the Program) – Quantitative Component of SAP
Students must complete their program within 150% of the published credit hour length of the program.
Examples:
Program Requirement 60 credit hours | 150% of Program Requirement 90 credit hours |
Program Requirement 30 credit hours | 150% of Program Requirement 45 credit hours |
- Students may be eligible to complete more than one associate degree and/or certificate program at LCCC pending approval through the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Form, with review by the SAP Appeal Committee. Please see “Appeal Process” below.
- Students cannot use financial aid to pay for courses that are not part of the degree/certificate program in which they are declared (“Off Plan”). These courses are, however, counted in the SAP calculation. Taking courses that are not applicable to the program of study will cause students to reach this maximum timeframe faster.
- This satisfactory progress requirement includes all academic terms a student has attended LCCC.
- There are no limits to the number of times a student can change academic programs, as this is evaluated through the appeal process on a case-by-case basis.
Consequences of Not Meeting GPA or Completion Rate (Warning, Suspension)
Official Satisfactory Academic Progress assessment at LCCC occurs at the end of each payment period. Failure to meet SAP requirements after each term enrolled may result in loss of financial aid eligibility.
- The first time students fail to meet GPA and completion rate at the end of a term, they are placed in a SAP Warning Status, notified of this warning status via their LCCC email address, and will remain eligible for financial aid.
- Students who fail to meet GPA and completion rate while on Warning Status will be placed in a SAP Suspension Status (ie. not meeting SAP requirements) and will be ineligible for financial aid. They will be notified of this Suspension Status as well as the requirements to regain eligibility/appeal process via their LCCC email address.
Consequences of Exceeding the Maximum Timeframe (Suspension)
Students may exceed the maximum timeframe for their program by changing programs, enrolling in additional programs, and/or taking courses that do not apply to their current program. Students who exceed the maximum timeframe for their program will be placed in a SAP Suspension Status - MTF (maximum timeframe) and will be ineligible for financial aid. Since all coursework over the lifetime of a student’s career at LCCC is counted for SAP purposes, the only way a student exceeding the maximum timeframe SAP requirement can regain financial aid eligibility is through the SAP Appeal Process. Please see “Appeal Process” below.
Requirements to Regain Eligibility
Students who fail to maintain the quantitative and/or qualitative components of SAP will lose eligibility for federal financial aid. Students who have lost financial aid eligibility due to:
- Failure to meet the GPA requirement may regain eligibility by completing courses, at the student’s expense, and increasing their GPA to meet the minimum required GPA for the next semester or an approved SAP Appeal
- Failure to meet the minimum completion rate may regain eligibility by completing, at the student’s expense, the required number of credit hours needed to meet the minimum required completion rate for the next semester or an approved SAP Appeal
- Exceeding the maximum timeframe, students are unable to take any action to rehabilitate their timeframe violation. They will continue to exceed the maximum timeframe and will be required to submit a SAP Appeal in order to regain TIV financial aid eligibility
Aside from the appeal process, students who are exceeding the maximum timeframe are unable to take any action to rehabilitate their timeframe violation.
Appeal Process
Students in a SAP Suspension Status may submit an appeal to petition to regain their financial aid eligibility. The appeal must be submitted by the posted deadline for SAP appeals.
Students may submit the online SAP Appeal Form for the following reasons:
- Injury or illness to the student
- Death of an immediate relative
- Other unforeseen circumstances (beyond the control of the student)
The appeal form requires the following:
- Name, LCCC Student ID, LCCC Email Address, and the Semester of Appeal.
- Statement detailing the unusual or extenuating circumstances that prevented the student from meeting the required SAP standards including: what specifically happened that prevented the student from meeting the required SAP standard and when did the occurrence happen (month and year).
- Statement describing what has changed (or what will change) that will ensure your success during your next semester at LCCC.
- It is highly encouraged to provide documentation or evidence of the circumstances.
A SAP appeal must be submitted before the end of the semester in which it was issued. Reinstatement of aid eligibility is not retroactive and will only affect current or future enrollment periods. For loans-only students, the loan cannot be awarded retroactively to a term that isn’t already part of the loan payment period (i.e. if the student’s loan period is fall/spring, the student cannot complete a SAP appeal and receive a loan for the summer).
Appeal Decision
Student Financial Aid will review submitted SAP Appeal forms.
Approved SAP appeals:
- The student is placed on Probation Status (APPR or ACD), will be eligible to receive TIV financial aid for a period of one semester, and will be required to submit an academic contract, outlining the conditions the student is required to meet for that semester and until the minimum GPA and completion rate is met cumulatively. The student will receive notification of the SAP approval via their LCCC email address once the contract (signed and dated by the student) is submitted and processed by Student Financial Aid. Federal regulations allow Student Financial Aid to require students to fulfill specific semesters and conditions. Under Probation Status, students will be allowed to receive aid for ONE SEMESTER. Eligibility for future semesters is reviewed after grades for the semester under probation status are reported.
Denied SAP appeals and/or appeal forms not submitted:
- If the appeal is denied, the student can take the following actions to rehabilitate without using federal financial aid. Students who have lost financial aid eligibility due to:
- Failure to meet the GPA requirement may regain eligibility by completing courses (paid out of pocket or with non-financial aid resources) and increasing their GPA to meet the minimum required GPA for the next semester.
- Not meeting the minimum required completion rate may regain eligibility by completing the required number of credit hours needed to meet the minimum required completion rate for the next semester (paid out of pocket or with non-financial aid resources).
- Maximum timeframe will need to pay for additional coursework out of pocket or with non-financial aid resources.
- SAP Appeals must be received within the semester in the semester in which the SAP notification was issued.
High School Option Courses (CCP)
All courses taken at LCCC while attending high school are included in the total number of credits completed and attempted and in the GPA. A student could possibly transition to a regular degree-seeking student upon graduating from high school and immediately be on suspension status. A student who is on suspension status in his first semester due to CCP coursework will be placed on a probation status and have one semester to work his way back to an eligible status. If the student does not meet the SAP requirements for GPA and/or completion or exceeds maximum timeframe at the end of the first semester as a regular student, he will go to suspension status and could submit the SAP Appeal/MTF Appeal as normal procedures require.
Developmental Education Coursework
A student enrolled in an eligible program for federal financial aid is permitted to attempt a maximum of 30 Academic Foundations credit hours during their enrollment at LCCC for payment under federal financial aid. The Academic Foundations courses will be counted in the grade point average calculation (except those using a pass/fail grading system), completion rate and towards the maximum timeframe.
Academic Foundations courses are provided for students who need to refresh or strengthen academic skills. Courses are available in mathematics, English/writing, reading and study skills.