Policies & Procedures

Policy: 8402

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress denotes a student’s successful completion of coursework toward a degree. The Higher Education Amendment Act of 1965, as amended, mandates institutions of higher education to establish a minimum standard of “Satisfactory Academic Progress” for students receiving federal financial aid. The Satisfactory Academic Progress applies to all terms regardless of whether financial aid was received. Satisfactory Academic Progress at Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) will be evaluated for all students (full or part-time) at the end of each semester.

Purpose:

To ensure that students receiving federal financial aid are making satisfactory academic progress toward their educational goals.

Policy:

In accordance with federal regulations and guidelines provided in the Federal Student Aid Handbook, the institution will evaluate students' academic progress at the end of each semester. Academic progress is measured against the students active Program Version and maximum timeframe towards a student’s academic program.

Standards:

• Qualitative Measure:

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 (or equivalent) at the end of each term.

• Quantitative Measure:

Students must successfully complete at least 67% of the coursework attempted each term. If the number of completed hours drops below 67%, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid. Completed hours include all hours completed at RCSJ as a matriculated or non-matriculated student as well as transfer hours, whether the student earns a grade or receives credit. Successful completion of a course means the student received a grade of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, PA, PB, PC, or PP.

• Maximum Timeframe:

Students must complete their educational program within 150% of the published length of the program. If the published number of hours required for graduation is 60, an RCSJ student may not complete more than 90 credit hours (60 x 1.50= 90) and continue to receive financial aid.

Evaluation:

Academic progress will be evaluated at the end of each semester to determine eligibility for continued financial aid. Academic progress evaluation will be made against the student’s active program versions.

Financial Aid Warning:

RCSJ utilizes the Financial Aid Warning as a part of the review of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Warning status lasts for one term, during which the student may continue to receive federal student aid funds, without an appeal, even though the results of the Satisfactory Academic Progress evaluation indicate that the student is not meeting one or more of the standards.

Students who fail to make satisfactory academic progress after the warning period lose their aid eligibility unless they successfully appeal and are placed on continued probation.

It is possible that a student could receive more than one financial aid warning period during the student’s enrollment at RCSJ. For example, the student may be placed on a financial aid warning for the spring term, following the review of the fall term, because the student is not meeting one or more of the Satisfactory Academic Progress evaluations. The student could meet the requirements after spring and then fail to make Satisfactory Academic Progress during the subsequent fall term. The student could again be placed on financial aid warning. The only stipulation is that a student cannot have successive periods in financial aid warning status.

Change of Major:

A student may change from one degree to another during attendance at RCSJ. Students who change majors or change programs are still held to the 150% maximum time frame rule. All applicable credits attempted from each major/program will count as attempted hours for the new major/program. The 150% maximum limit will be measured based on the number of credits required for the new major/program.

Dual Degree/Double Major:

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress. All courses must count towards a student’s program of study. All courses attempted will be evaluated for Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each semester.

Second Degree:

RCSJ will process financial aid for eligible Title IV recipients attempting a second degree. Degree credits from the first degree that are applied to second degree will be counted towards the 150% measure in the second degree. Students must meet with their Academic Advisor to complete a degree audit prior to their financial aid eligibility being determined.

3+1 Program:

Students participating in the 3+1 program will be evaluated in the same manner as Second Degree evaluations. Students must meet with their Academic Advisor to complete a degree audit prior to their financial aid eligibility being determined.

Audited Courses:

Audited grades are not counted in the Quantitative or Qualitative calculations.

Remedial Coursework:

Remedial coursework will be counted towards determination of a student’s Quantitative percentage. A student may receive federal aid for up to one academic year’s worth of remedial coursework. For the purpose of this limit, that is 30 semester hours.

Transfer Credits:

Transfer credits, accepted by RCSJ, will be added to the attempted/earned credit hours in order to determine the number of credits a student should attempt and earn towards their RCSJ program. Transfer Credits will be included in Satisfactory Academic Progress standards calculations.

Amnesty Grades:

Academic Amnesty does not override, overturn, or overrule the Office of Financial Aid academic progress calculation. The credits that were included in the Academic Amnesty will still be used in determining the students’ academic progress.

Amnesty grades are included in the financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress calculation. Federal regulations do not allow for Academic Amnesty; therefore, expunged grades cannot be excluded from evaluation.

Repeated Courses:

Federal Regulations specify that students may receive federal financial aid funding for one repetition of a previously passed course. A passed course is defined as one in which a grade of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, PA, PB, PC, or PP. is received. All repeated courses are included in the total attempted hours for Satisfactory Academic Progress evaluation. Repeating courses to get a higher passing grade will negatively affect your completion rate.

Appeals:

Students not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress may appeal for consideration of financial aid. To appeal for the reinstatement of financial aid eligibility, students should complete and submit the Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal to the Office of Financial Aid indicating the extenuating circumstance(s) (i.e. personal illness, injury, medical problems, undue hardship, death of parent or immediate family member, or other special circumstances) that may have prevented the student from performing at their academic best.

The appeal form must be accompanied by supporting documents. Appeals without documentation will be denied. Verbal appeals will not be considered.

Appeal Deadlines:

• Appeals for the Fall semester must be submitted by October 1st.
• Appeals for the Spring semester must be submitted by February 15th.
• Appeals for the Summer semester must be submitted by June 1st.

Probation:

Students whose appeals are approved will be placed on financial aid probation and must meet specific conditions to continue receiving aid. All students on Probation must complete a Satisfactory Academic Progress Plan, indicating the course to be taken in the probationary term. All courses listed on a Satisfactory Academic Progress Plan must apply to the student program, be successfully completed, and a term GPA of 2.0 must be achieved.

Reinstatement:

Financial Aid Eligibility can be reinstated if:

• A student enrolls in courses and successfully completes enough credits to regain Satisfactory Academic Progress; and
• Retakes failed course to raise a GPA to the cumulative 2.0 requirement (GPA’s do not transfer from other schools).

Satisfactory Academic Progress Suspension:

If the student fails to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards or the requirements set forth in the Satisfactory Academic Progress Academic Plan, the student will be placed on Satisfactory Academic Progress suspension. The student is ineligible for financial aid with this status. A student with Satisfactory Academic Progress suspension status will remain ineligible for financial aid until the student meets the minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy requirements of a 2.0 cumulative GPA and a cumulative 67% completion rate.

Federal Regulations:

This policy complies with the requirements set forth in 34 CFR 668.34 .

Federal Student Aid Handbook:

Guidelines for Satisfactory Academic Progress are detailed in the Federal Student Aid Handbook, Volume 1, Chapter 1, and Volume 2, Chapter 3 .

References:

[1]

[2]

Rowan College of South Jersey Board of Trustees Policy Manual and Administrative

Procedure, 8401 Financial Aid