Academic Standards
A copy of this Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress policy is readily available at the Financial Aid Office and listed below.
Federal Regulations require that all students, both full and part-time, who receive financial aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress and work toward an eligible degree or certificate. Stated simply, if you register for classes, you are expected to complete those classes with passing grades. Passing grades include: A, B, C, D, and P (Pass). The following grades are not passing: F, NP (no pass), IN (incomplete), W (withdraw), Y (no basis for grade), WP (work in progress) and AU (audit).
All students receiving Financial Aid are evaluated for Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each academic term during which they received aid. Students also receive an initial evaluation prior to receiving aid each academic year to determine overall aid eligibility status.
Definition of Satisfactory Academic Progress: You must complete a minimum of 70% of all cumulative credit hours attempted and maintain a cumulative GPA or 2.00 or greater.
Probation:
You will be placed in Probation 1 (P1) status the first term any of the following conditions apply:
* If your completion rate falls below 70% during the first 15 credits of your program.
* If your cumulative completion rate falls below 70% but not below 50% between 16 credits and half of your total program credits.
* If your cumulative GPA falls below 2.00 but not lower than 1.50 during the first half of your program.
The second substandard term will result in a Probation 2 (P2) status. No loss of aid eligibility occurs in P1 or P2 status. However, the third substandard term will result in loss of your aid eligibility including grants, scholarships, work study employment and all federal student loans.
You may receive Probation statuses 1 and 2 only once. Thereafter any substandard term will result in immediate loss of aid eligibility.
Loss of Aid Eligibility:
The following may result in loss of aid eligibility:
* Completing less than 70% of the cumulative credit hours attempted after exhausting both of your probation options, or completing less than 50% of attempted credits between 16 credits and half of your total program credits, or if your cumulative credit completion rate drops below 70% during the second half of your program, or
* Cumulative GPA falls below a 1.50 within the first half of your program, or cumulative GPA falls below 2.00 during the second half of your program (the minimum cumulative GPA requirement is raised to a 2.00 in the second half of your program, i.e. generally, after attempting 45 or more credits in a two-year program), or
* Failing to complete at least 1 credit hour in a term, or
* Academic or disciplinary suspension, or
* Ineligible major, ineligible academic program, (i.e. ineligible degree or certificate program), or
* Undecided major after completing 30 or more credits, or
* Exceeding 150% of your published program length measured in attempted credit hours (see section entitled Maximum Credit Hour Limit), or being awarded a degree or certificate, (ie. completion of your program ) whichever comes first.
* Pass/No Pass Option: "P" credits in excess of 16 credit hours not including those classes with no other grading option than the P/NP grade, or
* Developmental reading, writing, math, and study skill credits in excess of 45 credit hours.
Other Conditions that May Affect Your Aid Eligibility:
* Repeating classes unless you are replacing grades indicative of unsatisfactory completion, i.e. D, F, and NP, your academic advisor recommends repeating courses or you are required by your department to repeat courses to complete program requirements.
* Challenge exams, audited classes, non-credit personal enrichment classes, continuing education, Adult Basic Education and GED classes do not count in determining either your enrollment level for aid eligibility or satisfactory academic progress status.
Petitions and Appeals:
You may petition your loss of aid by submitting a Suspension Petition. Forms are available in the Financial Aid office. A Financial Aid Advisor will review your petition and notify you in writing of his/her decision. A petition must be received and approved during or prior to a term for which you are requesting aid. Aid is not awarded retroactively for a prior term in which your SAP status was 'denied' or during which you did not make satisfactory progress.
Appropriate documentation of the circumstances that prevented you from making satisfactory progress must accompany your petition. Examples of appropriate documentation include notes from health care providers, counselors and social workers. Police reports, death notices and court reports may also document your circumstances. Notes from family members and friends generally do not constitute adequate documentation.
Should your petition be denied, you may appeal to the Academic and Financial Aid Suspension Appeals Committee. The committee's decisions are the last step in the appeal process, and they are final. You can submit appeals prior to 5:00 p.m. Thursday of the 2nd week of each term. Appeals for the current term will not be accepted after the 2nd week of the term. Check with the Financial Aid Office for specific dates and times. Exception: Appeals to extend aid eligibility beyond the maximum time frame may be accepted past the 2nd week due to the lengthy process of obtaining a credit evaluation. If you need to file an extension request, you are encouraged to carefully review the timeline stated in the petition and status update letter. Appeal forms are available in the Financial Aid Office.
Reinstatement:
Reinstatement means that you have resolved your disqualification and you will be considered for financial aid for another term.
* You will be reinstated after you raise your cumulative GPA and/or your percent of cumulative credits completed to the minimum standards. Coursework must be completed at LBCC and must apply toward your degree or certificate program. Submit your petition after you complete the coursework.
* You will be reinstated if a grade change raises your cumulative GPA and/or percent of cumulative credits completed to the minimum standards. Submit your petition with a copy of the grade change form or indicate in the petition the term, class and grade that was changed.
* You may be reinstated if the circumstances affecting your academic progress were not within your control and are not recurring. Submit a petition and attach information to document the circumstances.
Examples of circumstances usually approved:
* Medical/psychological problems that, because of the illness or injury, prevented the completion of the coursework.
* Serious illness or death in the immediate family that required extensive absence from school.
* Other family emergencies that prevent the completion of coursework.
Examples of circumstances that may be denied:
* Incarceration, poor choice of classes, poor progress due to employment obligations.
* Personal problems involving moving, child care, relationship issues, loss of roommate, transportation difficulties and other similar problems.
Maximum Attempted Credit Hour Limit:
Federal regulations require that a school must define a maximum timeframe in which a student must complete his or her program.
The maximum timeframe cannot exceed 150% of the published program length measured in credit hours. At LBCC, a student is expected to complete a one-year certificate requiring 45 credits within 68 attempted credits or a two-year degree requiring 90 credits within 135 attempted credits. Programs requiring more or fewer credits for completion than the examples previously mentioned will be adjusted by a factor of 1.50.
All attempted credits at LBCC and any credits transferred from other colleges that apply to your current program will be used in the calculation.
Extension Request:
You have the right to request an extension of your aid eligibility should you exceed, or expect to exceed, 150% of maximum attempted credits, or if you have previously graduated. The Financial Aid office may extend your eligibility beyond the limit for extenuating circumstances only.
Extenuating circumstances may include, but are not limited to, required remedial/developmental courses, first petitionable change in program by student (usually just once), change in program requirements, gap(s) in attendance of two (2) or more years, college-initiated changes to program requirements and documented ADA disability that generally requires 'more time' as an appropriate accommodation.
Please contact the Financial Aid office located on the first floor of Takena Hall if you need clarification or additional information regarding the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.
Call (541) 917-4850 or Fax (541)917-4864.
