Satisfactory Academic Progress

Wayne County Community College District is required to ensure that students complete their academic programs within the maximum time frame and that pace is measured at each evaluation. This requirement is called Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and will be monitored by the District Financial Aid Office (DFAO).

In accordance with federal regulations, the District Financial Aid Office’s policy is to check Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each Spring semester for all programs longer than one year and at the end of each semester for all programs one year or less. We then determine the status for the upcoming academic year for the students in programs longer than one year and the status beginning with the next semester for the students in programs of one year or less.

The DFAO reviews SAP based on the qualitative and quantitative requirements as established by the U.S. Department of Education.  A student’s progress, including enrollment periods during which no Federal Student Aid was received, is measured quantitatively and qualitatively at each evaluation.

Qualitative Measure - Cumulative GPA Requirement

Students must meet the GPA requirement of 1.8 if they attempt 30 credits or less or 2.0 if they attempt more than 30 credits.

• WCCCD uses a graduated GPA standard
• Transfer credits do not impact a student’s GPA.  Credits may be transferred from another college. However, no grades are associated with the transferred credits.  Transfer credits are included in the maximum time frame calculation as credits attempted as well as credits earned.
• The consequences of not meeting the qualitative standards are that the student will be denied financial aid.  The student must submit an appeal along with supporting documentation indicating the reason for poor performance and outlining how the student will improve his/her performance in the future.
• Students who are not meeting SAP are notified via Web Gate.

Quantitative Measure

The quantitative measure of SAP includes two parts. The first part sets a maximum time frame, measured by attempted credit hours, by which a student must complete an academic program. The second part includes determining whether a student is on pace to complete the academic program within that set maximum time frame. As soon as it becomes apparent a student will be unable to complete their academic program within the maximum time frame, either by falling below the pace standard or when it becomes mathematically impossible to complete their program within the maximum time frame, the student is ineligible for Title IV aid.

Maximum Time Frame

WCCCD students must complete an undergraduate program of study within 150% of the published length of the educational program. The pace at which a student completes his or her program is calculated by dividing the cumulative hours the student completed by the cumulative hours attempted. 

Examples: Maximum time frame is 90 credit hours for a 60 credit hour program. If a student completes 67% of all classes attempted, the student should complete the program within the maximum time frame. 

For a financial aid eligible certificate program that requires 44 credit hours for completion, the maximum time frame would be 66 credits.  Completing 67% of all attempted classes would allow the student to complete within the allowable time frame.

The nursing program requires 72 credit hours for successful completion of the program.  For the student to finish within the 150% timeframe, they could attempt no more than 108 credit hours.  Again, the student would need to earn at least 67% of the credits attempted.

Part-time attendance counts in the maximum time frame calculation. Attempted hours are counted for all terms, including transfer credits and hours for which the student did not receive financial aid.

Withdrawals and Incompletes are also included in the attempted credits to calculate the maximum time frame.

A student who is unable to complete the program requirements within the maximum time frame will be denied Title IV aid.

A student who exceeds the maximum time frame is ineligible for Title IV aid (although a student may appeal the maximum time frame and may be placed on probation or an academic plan if the appeal is approved).

• Each academic program is given a maximum time frame based on the number of credit hours required to complete it.

Students who are determined to have reached or exceeded the number of credit hours for the maximum time frame would submit an appeal along with an academic plan.  These appeals will be reviewed and evaluated individually to ensure that the student can complete his/her academic program within an acceptable number of credit hours.

Pace of Progression

WCCCD students must earn at least 67% of the credit hours attempted.  If a student earns 67% of all credit hours attempted, the student should complete the program within the maximum time frame.  The pace at which a student completes his or her program is calculated by dividing the cumulative hours the student successfully completed by the cumulative hours attempted.

Federal student aid can fund up to 30 credits of combined developmental and ESL courses.
Repeated and developmental courses are added to attempted credits and used to calculate attempted credits versus completed credits.

Withdrawals and Incompletes are also included in the attempted credits for the calculation of pace.

Transfer hours from another school are counted toward a student’s program as both hours attempted and hours completed.

• The consequences of not meeting the quantitative standards are that the student will be denied financial aid.  The student must submit an appeal along with supporting documentation indicating the reason for poor performance and outlining how the student will improve his/her performance in the future.

• Students who are not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress are notified via Web Gate.

Financial Aid Disqualification

• Students who are not making Satisfactory Academic Progress will be placed on financial aid disqualification and will be notified of their financial aid status on Web Gate.
• Students who are placed on financial aid disqualification will be ineligible to receive federal financial aid for the next semester of enrollment unless they have an approved SAP Appeal.
• Student may appeal the disqualification of their financial ad by documenting any extenuating and/or mitigating circumstances that may have led to their inability to maintain satisfactory academic progress. Examples of extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to, 1) the death of a student’s close relative, 2) injury or illness of the student 3) personal tragedy or event.  Students who submit a SAP Appeal are not automatically reinstated for financial aid.

Appeals
Students who are identified in the SAP evaluation as not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress may file an appeal and request consideration for all SAP standards, both qualitative and quantitative.

All appeals must be prepared in writing and must include documentation supporting the student’s reason for failure to meet SAP.  An academic plan signed by an advisor that encompasses the remainder of the student’s program must be included. The appeal must incorporate an explanation of why the student failed to meet the SAP requirements and what has changed in their situation that will allow the student to meet the requirements for the next evaluation. Students must provide substantive evidence of their extenuating circumstances as supporting documentation with their appeals. No written statements explaining circumstances will be accepted.

The SAP Appeal Form is available through Web Gate on Student Requirements for students who are eligible to submit an appeal.

Students are advised to include all pertinent information with their initial appeal; however, if their appeal is denied and they feel they have additional information that could influence a positive outcome, they are permitted to resubmit the appeal.

All SAP appeals will be reviewed by the WCCCD Financial Aid Office. All decisions are final.  Notification of the appeal decision will be updated on Web Gate.

Appeal Decisions

• Probation — One-semester eligibility. Students must be able to meet SAP standards within the given semester of eligibility. 
• Academic Plan — Academic Year eligibility. Students must adhere to the academic plan approved during the appeal process. Failure to do so may result in termination of financial aid eligibility. Students must submit an appeal if they want to change their academic plan.
• Termination — Financial aid eligibility is terminated for students who do not meet the SAP standards or have acceptable extenuating circumstances. Under certain circumstances, students may be eligible to appeal this termination decision during the following semester.

Failure to meet the conditions of probation or academic plan may result in the termination of the student’s financial aid eligibility.

If a student is approved for any Academic Plan, Probation or is enrolled in a certificate program of 1 year or less, Satisfactory Academic Progress will be monitored after grades are posted every semester. In some cases, financial aid eligibility may be terminated due to failure to meet the guidelines for SAP after a book voucher or award has been posted for the upcoming semester. If students fail to meet SAP standards for the upcoming semester, they will be responsible for any charges incurred, such as tuition and fees for the upcoming semester and use of the book voucher.

Reinstatement of financial aid is dependent upon professional judgment and other factors.  The following “special circumstances” will be considered when processing an appeal:

• documentation of a significant medical illness or injury;
• documentation of a death of a close relative;
• documentation of another significant event or personal tragedy;
• documentation of a change in academic program. In accordance with federal regulations, change of academic program will be allowed no more than twice.

Regaining Eligibility

Other than when an appeal is granted, a student can regain eligibility only by taking action that brings him/her into compliance with the qualitative and quantitative components of WCCCD’s academic progress standard. A student may take classes at his/her own expense and achieve grades and completion rates that bring him/her back into compliance with SAP requirements.  When the SAP evaluation is performed, if that student is once again meeting SAP standards his/her financial aid will be reinstated for future semesters. Previously terminated students are given the opportunity to appeal on a case-by-case basis.

Students who lose their financial aid eligibility because they fail to meet satisfactory academic progress will regain eligibility when it is determined that they are again meeting both the qualitative and quantitative standards. They are responsible for the payment of tuition and fees until financial aid eligibility is regained. When satisfactory academic progress standards are met, eligibility is regained for subsequent terms of enrollment. Students are notified of their eligibility via Web Gate.

Treatment of Repeated Courses, Audited Courses, Withdrawals, Incompletes &Grade Changes

• Financial aid funds may not be used to cover the cost of non-credit courses,
  therefore they are not counted as credit hours attempted.
• Withdrawal grades (W, XW and unearned E) and incomplete grades (I) will be counted as credit hours attempted.
• Repeated and developmental courses are added into credits attempted and are used in the calculation of attempted credits versus completed credits.
• Up to 30 credits of combined developmental and ESL courses can be funded
  with Federal Student Aid.
• Upon notification of an official grade change by the student or other school official, the DFAO will re-assess the student’s SAP status as needed.
• College policy requires all students who earn an incomplete “I” grade to complete that course by the end of two consecutive terms after the term in which the “I” grade was given.  Failure to complete the course requirements within the two-consecutive-term time limit shall result in a grade of “E” replacing the “I” grade.
• Audit courses are not eligible for financial aid. Therefore, they are not included in attempted or credits.

Treatment of Consortium, Change of Major, Second Degree, & Second Major Courses

WCCCD does participate in consortium agreements.  The Financial Aid Office agrees to forward the student’s grades to the home school that the student is attending.  The Financial Aid Office also agrees that the home school will award and disburse the financial aid earned by the student.  The student must then compensate WCCCD for any courses taken here.

Students seeking a second Associate’s Degree or certificate who are not meeting the quantitative standard of 150% would need to submit an appeal (please refer to the Appeal Process) to have reinstatement of eligibility considered. Successfully completed credits that apply to the second degree will be considered in the appeal review.

WCCCD does not authorize financial aid eligibility for students who have earned at least 2 degrees and/or 4 or more certificates.

Completion of Degree Requirements

A student who completes the academic requirements for a program but does not yet have the degree or certificate is not eligible for additional FSA funds for that program.