Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress
On behalf of the College, the Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to review and cancel an award at any time because of changes in financial or academic status, change of academic program, or failure to meet the satisfactory academic progress standards.
The satisfactory progress standards require that students receiving financial aid maintain a sufficient grade point average while successfully completing a specified number of semester hours each year.
Financial aid is defined as: Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, College scholarships and grants, College Scholarship Assistance Program Grants, Federal Work-study employment, Federal Perkins Loans, Stafford Loans, and Federal PLUS Loans.
Below are the minimum standards for meeting satisfactory academic progress.
Standards for All Students
Less than 30 Earned Credit Hours
- GPA: 1.75
- Semester hours completed: 67% of hours attempted
Between 30–59.5 Earned Credit Hours
- GPA: 1.85
- Semester hours completed: 67% of hours attempted
Greater than 60 Earned Credit Hours
- GPA: 2.0
- Semester hours completed: 67% of hours attempted
Additional Information
- Students requiring financial assistance beyond ten semesters must be reviewed by the Financial Aid Committee to assess progress towards meeting specified graduation requirements.
- For the purpose of assessing satisfactory progress, semester hours completed in remedial classes are counted as hours attempted and completed.
- Students attending on less than a full-time basis will have their eligibility measured on an equivalency basis.
- When the standards listed above have not been met, financial aid will be withdrawn until the minimums are met. Semester hours completed in summer sessions at the College and courses taken at other institutions that have been pre-approved by the Registrar can be used to make up deficiencies.
Request an Appeal
A student may request that the Financial Aid Appeals Committee grant an exception to the minimum standards by completing the following appeal form.
Financial Aid can be reinstated when a student has removed a deficiency. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the Office of Financial Aid when deficiencies have been removed.
The student’s progress will be monitored at the end of each academic year and a determination about the student’s eligibility for further aid will be made in June for the fall semester, allowing the student to make up semester hours during a summer session if necessary. Students entering for the first time or re-entering the College in the spring semester will have grades checked upon completion of that semester.
Students failing to meet satisfactory academic requirements will not be considered as having met the College’s financial aid priority date. Therefore, if reinstated, access to need-based financial aid as detailed above will be awarded subject to fund availability.
