SOWELA

Federal Regulation requires the Financial Aid Office to monitor the academic progress of all students toward completion of a degree of certificate. This process is called Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and is required of all financial aid applicants at Sowela Technical Community College (STCC). All recipients of Federal (Title IV, VA, National Guard, etc.), State or Institutional funding must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress toward their degree/diploma objective to be eligible and remain eligible for financial assistance.

SOWELA Technical Community College (STCC) uses a qualitative (quality of work) standard and a quantitative (amount of work) standard to measure satisfactory academic progress.

Minimum Standards
Grade point average (GPA) - - Maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.
Percentage of attempted courses completed - - Complete and pass a minimum of 67% of the cumulative courses attempted at Sowela Technical Community College.
Maximum credit hours needed in which to complete a degree or certificate - - Complete all degree or certificate requirements within 150% of the minimum number of credits required to graduate.

Any student not maintaining the satisfactory academic progress policies will lose Financial Aid eligibility.

The qualitative standard is a cumulative (overall) grade point average of not less than 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 point scale.

The quantitative standard is a cumulative completion rate of not less than 67%. In calculating the quantitative measure, ALL hours attempted will be considered. These include, but are not limited to, courses passed, courses from which the student withdrew, repeated courses, transfer courses, and non-credit Transitional/remedial coursework.

Special Grading Considerations:
The following grading options do not count toward grade point average (GPA), but will be considered in hours attempted and the maximum allowable timeframe for Financial Aid purposes.

Withdrawals (W) & Non-credit (U) count as credits attempted but not earned.
Pass (P) & Satisfactory (S) count as credits attempted and earned.
Repeated courses will count as credits attempted and earned but the grade of the first course will have no impact on GPA. The credits attempted for the first course are calculated in to the 150% maximum allowable timeframe.
Incompletes (I) count as credits attempted and earned until final grade is established
MAXIMUM HOURS ALLOWED

In addition to the 67% completion rate, a student must complete an eligible program of study within 150% of the published length (# of credit hours) of that program as defined by STCC. All hours attempted, regardless of degree/diploma objective changes, and transfer credit will be counted toward the 150% completion time.

Example: If the degree/ certificate program requires 60 hours to complete the program, multiply 60 hours X 1.50 = 90. The maximum allowable attempted hours for the degree program in this example = 90 hours.

Students exceeding 150 percent attempted credit hours will not be eligible for further Title IV funding unless an appeal has been granted. (See below for terms of appeal)

Please note the following when calculating your maximum hours allowed:

Hours attempted includes ALL hours pursued, earned, dropped, and failed. All of these hours are counted as attempted even if the student did not receive aid.
Change of program or study/major - - A student may change from one program of study/major to another during his attendance at STCC. Students who change from one program of study/major to another are still expected to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress and complete the course work within the maximum hours allowed for that program even if the student did not receive aid.
Pursuit of a second degree or certificate- Students may receive aid while pursuing a second degree. The qualitative and quantitative SAP standards will be evaluated. All attempted hours for previous courses will be considered in the 150% maximum timeframe for a 2nd degree.

Transitional (remedial) Classes

A student may receive financial aid for up to 24 semester hours of developmental classes provided he/she is enrolled in an eligible program. All remedial courses attempted will be counted in determining the remaining maximum hours allowed for a degree or certificate and for assessing the student's overall GPA and completion rate.

Frequency of Monitoring

The academic year is defined as a fall and a subsequent spring semester. The Satisfactory Academic progress is evaluated once each academic year, after spring semester grades are posted. However, if a student withdraws from the institution, does not earn any of the attempted hours (all F's), or attends the summer semester then Satisfactory Academic Progress will be measured again at the end of that term. In addition, if a student sits out a semester the next semester enrolled before receiving financial aid satisfactory academic progress will be evaluated. If satisfactory academic progress is not being made, the student will be notified in writing by the Financial Aid office that they are no longer eligible for financial aid.

Financial Aid Appeal

Students who do not meet SAP and lose their Financial Aid eligibility may appeal. If a student feels there are mitigating circumstances that caused him/her to not meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress, the student may appeal to reestablish eligibility. Mitigating circumstances may include illness, death of a family member, financial difficulties, unusual circumstances that have been disruptive to the student's academic performance or personal injury. Students should include appropriate documentation such as doctor's note, hospital records, etc. to their appeal letter before submitting.

All appeals must be typed and submitted along with the appeals form. Any appeal letter that does not address the following information will be rejected and returned to the student without review.

1. Must explain why you have to appeal (for example did not make 2.0 or did not have at least 67% completion rate)
2. Must give the extenuating circumstances that occurred that caused you to not meet satisfactory academic progress (ex. Illness, death, divorce, etc.)
3. Must attach documentation that will assist the appeals committee with evaluating the extenuating circumstances (ex. Doctors' note, hospital records, death certificate, divorce papers, restraining order, etc.)
4. Must explain in your letter your plan of action to ensure that you will meet satisfactory academic progress for all future semesters.

Students appealing for an extension to the maximum hours allowed must include a detailed explanation for not completing the degree/diploma in the allotted time frame and an anticipated date of completion for the degree/diploma. Or if appealing to receive aid for completion of a second degree or certificate the student must include total number of credit hours required for the second degree and the anticipated date of completion for the second degree or certificate.

Students will not meet directly with anyone to state/plead mitigating circumstances concerning the appeal. All appeals must be in writing and the Financial Aid Appeals ruling will be final.

Reinstatement of Financial Aid

If the student's appeal is approved, and the student can reestablish SAP in one semester the student will be placed on Satisfactory Academic Progress Probation (this type of probation is for financial aid purposes only and is separate from academic probation policies for academic standing with the university).
SAP Probation – A status assigned to a student who fails to satisfy SAP requirements, who has successfully appealed and had eligibility for aid reinstated. Reinstatement of aid during this probationary period may be no longer than one term.
Academic Plan – Students may be placed on an academic plan upon submission of a granted appeal. If it is mathematically impossible for a student to resolve all deficiencies during one term of attendance and the student's reason for appeal is appropriate according to federal regulations, the student may be placed on an academic plan with the end goal being to resolve all deficiencies. An academic plan varies in length and is determined by the Financial Aid Office. Students granted aid eligibility through an academic plan will be reviewed after each semester to ensure progression with Academic Plan stipulations. If student does not maintain Academic Plan stipulations then Financial Aid eligibility will be canceled immediately.
If the student's appeal is denied, he/she may not receive federal financial aid until he/she has earned the deficient number of hours and/or a 2.0 cumulative GPA at the students own expense.