Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Policy

Federal regulations, which govern the administration of Title IV Student Aid Programs, require that a student maintain satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of an academic goal in order to maintain eligibility for student financial aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (SAP)

To receive Title IV student aid at Lemoore College, a student must:

• Be enrolled in an eligible program for the purpose of completing an AA/AS Degree, a Certificate Program or transfer requirements.
• Meet the qualitative standard: Maintain a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.0.
• Meet the quantitative standard: Complete at least 67% of your overall units attempted.

Academic Progress calculations will be performed at the end of each term for students who have applied for financial aid. All students who receive financial aid at Lemoore College will be subject to these standards.

Credit and clock hours completed at other institutions and included in Lemoore College's academic records will be counted as hours attempted and completed in the student’s SAP calculation.

Repeated credit hours will be counted in both attempted and completed hours of the student’s SAP calculation. Incomplete hours will be counted as attempted hours but not as completed hours in the student’s SAP calculation.

Maximum Time Frame

Completion of an undergraduate program of study must be no longer than 150% of the published length of the educational program. For example, an Associate Degree Program at WHC is achieved at sixty (60) semester units; therefore, 150% is ninety (90) units. Students who have exceeded 150% of the published length of their educational program will be considered to have reached the Maximum Time Frame and will be placed on Maximum Time Frame status and denied from receiving financial aid.

Students who decide to change majors or return for purposes of retraining may file a Financial Aid Appeal; consideration will be made on a case-by-case basis.

A student will also be placed on Maximum Time Frame and denied from receiving financial aid once he/she has received a Bachelor’s degree. However, the student has the option to file a Financial Aid Appeal. Federal Regulations do not allow students with a Bachelor’s degree to be considered Pell Eligible and will therefore only be able to request loans, if eligible.

Consequences of Failing to Meet SAP Standards

If satisfactory academic progress standards were not met, the student will be placed on a Financial Aid Warning status. Those in a Financial Aid Warning status who fail to meet satisfactory academic progress (SAP) standards during that term will be denied financial aid for the subsequent term.

The Appeal Process

Students who have been placed on Financial Aid Denial or Maximum Time Frame status may file a SAP Appeal in the Financial Aid Forms system. Appeals will be reviewed by the SAP Committee in the order they are received.

The deadline to submit a SAP Appeal is the end of the 12th week of Fall and Spring. The last day to submit an appeal during summer is June 30. Students who submit an appeal after the deadline will only be considered for the following semester.

Max Time Appeals

Students who have been placed on Maximum Time Frame (Max Time) status may file a SAP Appeal form and attach a current Student Educational Plan. Documentation is not necessary for Max Time Appeals unless the student is on Max Time Frame Denial, which means the student is also not making SAP.

SAP Appeals

Students who have been placed on Financial Aid Denial because of failure to meet academic progress may file a SAP Appeal only if there were extenuating circumstances beyond the student's reasonable control that explain their lack of progress. Additionally, students must demonstrate that those circumstances have now been resolved; students may not submit multiple appeals for the same unique circumstance. The following is a non-exhaustive list of qualifying circumstances:

Qualifying Circumstances an unanticipated serious personal medical or psychological issue death relative or other significant person injury or illness (including behavioral health conditions) of the student, relative, or other significant person pregnancy or birth of a child homelessness loss of childcare loss or change in employment loss of access to personal or public transportation being a victim of a serious crime, even if the crime was not reported or did not result in criminal prosecution or civil liability natural disaster

NOT Qualifying Circumstances difficulty adjusting to college the difficulty of a course; dropping a course to avoid a bad grade the teaching method or dislike of an instructor not receiving financial aid or getting a later disbursement than you expected

Requirements for submitting a Financial Aid SAP Appeal:

1. Complete the SAP appeal form
2. Complete and attach a counselor-approved Student Educational Plan
3. Attach documentation that supports the extenuating circumstances explained in your appeal

All SAP Appeals for Financial Aid Denial or Max Time Frame Denial must be accompanied by documentation to support the extenuating circumstances specified by the student.  If documentation cannot be reasonably obtained by the student, the student must attach a detailed explanation of why they are unable to obtain documentation. The SAP Committee reserves the right to request documentation depending on the student's circumstances.

If an appeal is approved, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation for the subsequent semester and must still meet SAP standards.

If the student chooses not to file an appeal, or the appeal is denied, he/she also has the option of successfully completing a semester without federal financial aid. Students who attempt at least six (6) semester units and finish the semester demonstrating significant academic progress (grade point average of 2.5 and complete 75% of attempted units) will be placed on Financial Aid Probation for the subsequent semester.

Requesting a Second Review

Students whose SAP appeal has been denied by the SAP Committee may request a second review of their appeal by the Director of Financial Aid. The decision of the Director is final and cannot be appealed.

Appeal Decision Terminology

Probation:  Financial Aid Probation means the student has submitted a Financial Aid Appeal; the appeal was approved.  The student must meet the standards for SAP while on probation or the student will be placed on Financial Aid Denial the subsequent term.

Extended: Extended means the student has submitted a Max Time Appeal; the appeal was continuously approved through the last term listed on their Student Educational Plan. The student must continue to meet the standards for SAP while on Extended or the student will be placed on Financial Aid Ineligible status the subsequent term.