FINANCIAL AID OFFICE
Updated 03/09, Rewritten 8/11
Summary
Federal regulations
concerning Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) changed as of July 1,
2011. KVCC’s SAP Policy has been
adjusted to meet the new federal requirements.
In order for students to
maintain SAP, they must
· Maintain the required GPA as shown in item 13, below
· Complete with a passing grade a minimum of 66% of the
credit hours attempted (all credit hours, including transfer credits, are
counted).
· Progress at a rate where the students can complete
their degree/certificate programs within 150% of the published length of their
specific program as measured in credit hours (for example the AA Liberal
Studies is a 62-credit degree x 150% = 93 credit hours in which students must
complete that program).
The first time a student
fails to meet SAP, the student may have one additional semester of aid while on
Financial Aid Warning status. It is
possible for a student to be on Academic Probation and Financial Aid Warning in
the same semester. At the end of the warning semester, if a student still has not met SAP
standards, that student’s federal aid is terminated and is not reinstated
unless the student subsequently meets the required SAP standards, or
successfully appeals his/her termination. The appeal must not only include the circumstances
that caused the student to fail to meet the standards; it must also include
information on what has changed to enable the student to meet standards in the
upcoming semester.
Extenuating circumstances
considered for appeals include documented personal illness or accident, serious
illness or death within an immediate family, or other circumstances beyond the
reasonable control of the student. After a student appeals, the student may
receive a semester of probation or their aid could be cancelled, restricted or
suspended
If the student files an
appeal which is approved (See #18 below, Appeals Procedure) the student’s status
can be changed to Financial Aid
Probation. During that semester of
probation, a student will be placed the following academic plan: the student
must earn at least a 2.0 semester average, passing all semester courses with at
least a C and no grades of W, I, or N. If a student meets the requirements
in that semester but has not yet attained the required SAP standards, the
student may have one additional semester of probation/academic plan status (with the same academic plan
requirements), and at the end of that semester, must meet SAP standards. If it is mathematically impossible for the
student to meet SAP requirements within that time frame or within 150% of
normal time, then the student aid is terminated at the
moment it becomes mathematically impossible.
Updated 03/09, Rewritten 8/11
Federal law requires that students meet standards
for "measurable satisfactory academic progress" if they are receiving
Federal Title IV student financial aid.
Title IV aid includes Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental
Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Stafford Student Loans
(Subsidized and Unsubsidized), Federal PLUS, and Federal Work Study. The following policy defines "measurable
satisfactory academic progress” for financial aid recipients attending
1. ELIGIBILITY
FOR FINANCIAL AID
It is the policy of KVCC to provide financial aid
awards to students who remain in good academic standing and make satisfactory
progress toward their certificates, diplomas or degrees while receiving
financial aid.
Financial aid awards and evaluations of academic
standing are based on the students’ enrollment statuses of:
FULL-TIME: 12 or
more credit hours of course registration
THREE-FOURTHS-TIME: 9 ‑-
11 credit hours of course registration
HALF-TIME: 6 ‑- 8 credit hours of course
registration
LESS-THAN-HALF-TIME: 1 ‑-
5 credit hours of course registration
2. LIMITS FOR TERMS ON FINANCIAL AID
Students receiving financial
aid are allowed 150% of "normal" time to complete academic
certificates, diplomas or degrees.
"Normal" time is one year for certificate and diploma programs
and two years for associate degree programs, as outlined in the school catalog. KVCC figures the 150% by computing one and
a half times the number of credits needed for the degree or certificate. For example, if a student is pursuing an
Associate of Arts in Liberal Studies degree, which requires 62 credits to
complete, he/she can accrue 93 credits before running out of aid. The amount of credits is computed on the
first degree program attempted, so switching degree/certificate programs will
not increase the number of credits a student has before running out of
financial aid. If a student graduates from one degree/certificate program and
enrolls in another, KVCC will compute the number of credits from the first
program that will transfer into the second, and allow financial aid for only
those courses needed for the second program from that point on. Since a student has 150% of the remaining
credits in the second program, there is a small amount of room to allow for withdrawals
and failures. If a student is unable to
complete the program within the 150%, he/she has the right to appeal See Item
18 for more information on the appeal process.
3. TRANSFER CREDIT
Transfer
credit may be awarded for course work completed at accredited colleges only if
grades of "C" or higher have been achieved in courses that are
comparable to those offered in the KVCC programs.
Transfer
credits do not count in the calculation of the GPA, but they are included in
the calculation of both attempted and earned hours (see Item 11), and transfer credits are included in the calculation
of 150% of “normal” time (see Item 2).
4. AUDITS,
CHALLENGE EXAMS, C.L.E.P.S.’s, WORK EXPERIENCE
Financial aid is not awarded for AUDITS, CHALLENGE
EXAMS, C.L.E.P.’s or WORK EXPERIENCE that may be granted toward certificates,
diplomas or degrees. Credit for this
work is not used to determine enrollment status (full‑time or part‑time),
nor is it counted toward the minimum credit requirements students must earn for
terms on aid. Credit granted from exams
and work, like college transfer credit, will reduce the financial aid
eligibility period. (See example on Page 1.)
Students are responsible for notifying the Financial Aid Office when registering for courses in these special categories. Financial aid monies disbursed to students in error must be repaid immediately. Students who are overpaid are ineligible for additional financial aid awards until the overpayment is repaid in full.
5. REMEDIAL COURSES
All
incoming students are tested before their entering term and, if test results
warrant, may be required to complete basic courses or work with assigned
tutors. Remedial courses are designed to provide students with opportunities to
improve abilities in areas of reading, mathematics, and study skills. These courses are pass fail, and are subject
to the qualitative and quantitative evaluations of Satisfactory Academic
Progress. A “pass” meets the SAP
qualitative standard and counts in the quantitative standard as credits
earned. A failing grade is figured in
the semester GPA for the qualitative standard and is counted as credits
attempted but not earned for the quantitative standard. In assessing the “150% of normal time,” the
credit hours for the remedial courses are added to the credit hours required
for the degree. For example, if an
Associate degree is 62 credits and a student takes 6 credits of remedial work,
the measurement would be 150% of 68 credits.
6. COURSE GRADES OF INCOMPLETE
Students
receiving grades of "Incomplete" for courses required for
certificates, diplomas or degrees must make arrangements with faculty to
complete course requirements. After
instructors assign final letter grades, student grade point averages (GPA’s)
will be recalculated to include the appropriate quality points, and their
quantitative measurement will be adjusted to include the credits as “credits
completed.” If cumulative GPA’s remain within the published guidelines and the
quantitative measurement falls within published guidelines (see Item 13 and Item 11) students retain eligibility for financial
aid.
7. FAILING COURSE GRADES
Students
who fail courses may continue receiving financial aid as long as their
cumulative GPA’s and their credits/attempted to credits completed measurement remain
within the published guidelines (see Item 13 and Item 11). Financial aid may be awarded once for repeat
enrollment for failed courses.
8. REPETITIONS
Students
repeating failed courses will receive financial aid to cover the first repetition
as long as overall progress is within required “quality” and “quantity”
guidelines. Financial aid will not be awarded for repeat of a course attempted
unsuccessfully twice. This means that students cannot be paid more than twice
for credit hours that have not been successfully completed (grades of
"W" "I,”
“F” or “AF”).
Due
to a change in federal guidelines, students may now retake a course they did
not fail one time to get a better grade.
9.
ADDING AND DROPPING COURSES
Please
see the KVCC add/drop policy on the KVCC website. The KVCC census date for each
semester is the day after the add/drop period (the 6th business
day). Financial aid will not be adjusted after the add/drop
period unless the student totally withdraws (see below), or has a loan and
drops below half time before it is disbursed.
For students withdrawing after the census date, grades
of "W" (Withdraw) will be entered on student records, but the
students’ aid will not be reduced, as long as the student remains enrolled in
at least one course.
For students totally withdrawing, the federal “Return
to Title IV” refunds calculation policy applies. Letter grades will be reported
for all courses carried after the last day to withdraw from classes each
semester. If at the end of a semester, a student receives all failing grades (F
or AF) and it is determined that the student failed because he/she stopped
attending, a “Return to Title IV” refund calculation must be performed and it
is possible that some financial aid could have to be returned to the Dept. of
Education, in which case a student could owe money to KVCC. (See Item 10.)
10. WITHDRAWING
The federal “Return to Title IV” refunds policy will
be used to calculate the percentage of financial aid students may retain when
they completely WITHDRAW (officially or unofficially) from KVCC after the drop/add period (but before completing 60% of
the semester). Students withdrawing officially
or unofficially before completing 60% of the term may be required to return
“unearned” financial aid received from the Federal Title IV student financial
aid programs, including Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational
Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Stafford Student Loans (Subsidized and
Unsubsidized), Federal PLUS, but NOT Federal Work Study.
11. QUANTITATIVE MEASURE OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS
A
quantitative component is also required to accurately assess a student’s
advancement toward successful completion of his or her program of study, since
successful maintenance of a high GPA does not necessarily mean progress toward
completion of a degree. For example, a
student who withdraws from half of his/her courses and gets “A’s” in the rest
may have a high GPA but he/she is not advancing toward graduation within a
reasonable period of time. KVCC assesses
advancement toward completion by using a percentage of credits attempted to
credits earned. Credits attempted are
those for which the student has enrolled, as of the end of the
add/drop period. Credits earned
are those which the student successfully completed by earning a passing grade.
(Some programs have a policy that if a student does not pass certain courses
with a “C” or better, he/she is dismissed or placed on probation. If a student is dismissed in this
circumstance, then his/her financial aid is cancelled, and if the student is
placed on academic probation, then the student is placed on financial aid warning
or probation.) Courses in which the student receives grades of “W (withdraw),
“I” (incomplete), “F” or “AF” are not considered successfully completed.
In
order to maintain satisfactory progress, a student must earn a cumulative total
of 66% of credits attempted. Students who earn less than 66% of credits
attempted will automatically be placed on warning if it is their first failure
to meet SAP. If the student fails to
meet the requirements for SAP after one semester of warning, his/her financial
aid is canceled and the student must appeal to have it reinstated. If the student’s appeal is granted the
student has one semester of probation, in which the student must meet the
following academic plan: the student
must pass all courses for which he/she is registered in that semester with a C
or better (which means at least a 2.0 semester average). The student may not withdraw or receive a
grade of W, Incomplete or a grade of N (for “no show). If the student successfully meets the terms
of the academic plan for that semester, but has not yet reached the required
GPA and 66% ratio for SAP, the student may have one additional semester of
probation on the same academic plan to meet SAP requirements, provided it is
mathematically possible to attain SAP by the end of that additional semester.
12. MITIGATING (EXCUSABLE) CIRCUMSTANCES
Matriculated students who are forced to withdraw or
take leaves of absence because of ill health, personal problems, or hardships
may be entitled to portions of their financial aid awards. The amounts of financial aid students receive
will vary depending on individual circumstances, periods of attendance,
academic standing, and the institutional refund policy. (See
Financial Aid Refund/Repayment Policy.) The
Academic Dean and student academic advisors will evaluate individual requests
for leaves of absence and provide written decisions to the students, Financial
Aid Office, and Finance Office. Revised
award letters will be issued to students if adjustments to financial aid awards
are appropriate.
13. QUALITATIVE MEASURE OF SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC
PROGRESS (SAP)
In
keeping with KVCC’s academic policy, the following grade point averages must be
achieved to maintain SAP:
At
least 1.51 for 6-11 attempted credit hours;
At
least 1.75 for 12-23 attempted credit hours;
At
least 1.91 for 24 to 35 attempted credit hours;
At least 2.0 for 36 or more attempted credit hours.
Financial Aid Warning, Probation
or Dismissal Status will be conferred as shown by the following academic
probation and dismissal policies. Please note that it is possible for a student
to be on Academic Probation and Financial Aid Warning at the same time. (For an explanation of “warning,” see the
summary on page 1 or Item 14.)
Academic Probation
Academic Probation is a means
of alerting students who are in academic jeopardy that they must show academic
improvement in order to remain matriculated in their current program of study.
Students on academic probation for two (2) consecutive semesters may be
dismissed. Dismissed students may appeal to the Vice President/Academic Dean.
Probationary status is removed once students earn grades of good standing.
Students are placed on academic probation if their cumulative grade point
average falls into one of the following ranges:
Cumulative
grade point average: No probationary status assigned for 1-5 credit hours;
GPA of .50 to 1.50 for 6 to 11 attempted credit hours;
GPA of 1.51 to 1.74 for 12 to 23 attempted credit
hours;
GPA of 1.75 to 1.90 for 24 to 35 attempted credit
hours; or
GPA of 1.91 to 1.99 for 36 or more
attempted credit hours.
Students placed on probation
will receive written notification of their probationary status. In addition,
the student’s permanent record will carry the words “Academic Probation”.
Matriculated students will be
dismissed for failure to earn the minimum acceptable cumulative grade point
averages and the student permanent records will carry the words “Academic
Dismissal”:
Cumulative
grade point average: GPA
of .5 or less for 6 to 11 attempted credit hours;
GPA of 1.50 or less for 12 to 23 attempted credit
hours;
GPA of 1.74 or less for 24 to 35 attempted credit
hours;
GPA of 1.90 or less for 36 to 47 attempted credit
hours; and
GPA of 1.99 or less for 48 attempted credit hours to
end of program.
Dismissed students will
receive written notification of their dismissal. Students may appeal the
dismissal decision, in writing, to the Vice President/Academic Dean. The appeal
will be presented to the Academic Standards Committee. If the appeal is
granted, the student will be placed on “Academic Probation” for the next semester,
and may face mandatory credit limits. If
the appeal is not granted, the student may repeat failed courses as a
non-matriculated student, but non-matriculated students are not eligible for
financial aid.
Students must submit a separate appeal to the Financial
Aid Office to appeal the cancellation of their financial aid (see Item
18).
Academically
dismissed students are not eligible for financial aid for periods following
their termination, unless eligibility is reestablished
through the process described in Section
18 of this document, but may retain the awards received while in good
academic standing, prior to the dismissals.
14. EVALUATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS
A financial aid recipient’s satisfactory
academic progress is evaluated after the fall, spring and summer semesters of
the academic year. At that time, a
student will either be in good standing, be placed on financial aid warning,
financial aid probation, or denied financial assistance for future enrollment
periods. The student must meet all three
progress requirements (completion rate as described in section 11, GPA as
described in section 13, and 150% limit as described in section 2) to remain in good
standing.
·
If a student does not meet the standards for SAP:
-- And this is his/her first time applying for
aid, he/she may not be awarded financial aid. The student may take courses paying by some other means and re-apply when he/she
meet the standards above.--And the student is returning
after having been academically dismissed for failure to meet SAP, he/she must
appeal both to the Academic Dean
and the Financial Aid office. If
reinstated academically, the student’s financial aid appeal will be considered, and he/she could be
placed on warning, probation, or aid could be suspended or restricted.
-- And the student has received aid in the
previous semester when he/she was meeting SAP standards,
he/she will be placed on financial aid warning. If at the end of the next semester the
student is still not making SAP, the student’s aid
is terminated. If the student
successfully appeals, he/she could be placed on another semester of probation
with an academic plan as
described in the summary on page 1 or in Item 11, or aid could be suspended or
restricted. If the student meets the standards for the
academic plan, but still has not attained SAP, the student may have one more semester of probation on the same academic
plan to meet SAP standards. A student cannot have more than two consecutive semesters on probation/academic
plan.
If
a student left KVCC in a status that was not meeting SAP standards, and is
returning to KVCC more than a year after the end of the last semester he/she
completed, the Financial Aid Office will not automatically place the student on
probation. The FA Office will require
that the student take courses on his/her own until the student has once again
met SAP standards. At that point, the student
would again be eligible for federal aid.
The student has the right to appeal this denial or aid. (See Item 18.)
15. WARNING/PROBATION STATUS
Warning/Probation
status will not prevent the student from receiving financial aid. Probationary periods are meant to inform the
student of potential academic and completion problems and provide time for
corrective action. The first time a
student fails to meet standards, he/she may have a semester of warning. If the student fails to make SAP at the end of
the warning semester, his/her aid is terminated. Denial status will prevent the
student from receiving any Title IV financial assistance for future enrollment
until such time as the student meets all satisfactory academic progress
standards. However, a student may appeal. If the student successfully appeals,
the student may have one semester of probation/academic plan. During that semester of probation, a student will be
placed on the following academic plan: the student must earn at least a 2.0
semester average, passing all semester courses with at least a C and no grades
of W, I, or N. If a student meets the
requirements in that semester but has not yet attained the required SAP
standards, the student may have one additional semester of probation on the same Academic Plan, and at the end of that
semester, must meet SAP standards. If it
is mathematically impossible for the student to meet SAP requirements within
that time frame or within 150% of normal time, then the student aid is terminated
at the moment it becomes mathematically impossible.
16. REESTABLISHING ELIGIBILITY
If
a student is denied aid because of failure to meet academic or quantitative
progress, students may reestablish eligibility by taking courses paid by
themselves or by non-Title IV aid during subsequent terms. If there are extraordinary circumstances
affecting a student’s ability to maintain satisfactory academic progress (such
as a documented disability, illness, or death in the family) students may
appeal their denial, reduction, or suspension of financial aid (see “Appeals
Procedure,” below). When a student’s GPA and credits attempted/credits earned
ratio are once again within the published standards, the student will be
eligible for Title IV aid.
17. DISCIPLINARY PROBATION
Students
may be placed on disciplinary probation by decision of the Disciplinary
Committee when a flagrant disregard for school regulations occurs. If the
conditions of this probationary period are not met, or when there are
additional disciplinary problems, more restrictions or dismissal from school
can result. A current and complete copy
of the Disciplinary Code for Student Conduct is on file and available for
review in the Office of the Dean of Students.
Students
who are dismissed for disciplinary problems may receive prorated amounts of
their financial aid awards, based on their termination dates and academic
standing. (See Financial Aid Refund/Repayment Policy.)
18. APPEALS PROCEDURE
Students
who receive notification of denials, reductions, or suspension of previously
awarded financial aid are entitled to explanations for the action. Letters of financial aid suspension and
probation are mailed to all applicants explaining the reasons for the action.
For
appeals of failure to meet satisfactory academic progress, students with
mitigating circumstances may submit WRITTEN appeals describing (in detail)
their personal, medical or other unusual circumstances that warrant
reconsideration of actions taken by the Financial Aid Department. Federal
regulations specify death of a relative, a student injury or illness as
reasonable grounds for appeal, though they do allow for “other special
circumstances.” Examples of special circumstances could include divorce, loss
of benefits or job, a documented disability or
other circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the student.
The
appeal must include the following information:
--What
went wrong that caused the failure
--What
has changed to prevent a recurrence
The
student can write a letter to the Financial Aid Department as per the
requirements above or may submit an appeal form (available in the FA Office). Appeals must be filed with the Financial Aid
Department, within ten (10) days of receiving the notification of reduced or suspended
aid. Appropriate documentation must be
attached to the appeal.
Students
who have been academically dismissed and have appealed to the Office of
Academic Affairs for reinstatement must also submit a separate appeal to
the Financial Aid Office for reinstatement of their financial aid. It is possible that a student’s appeal may be
granted by the Academic Dean but denied by the Financial Aid Committee.