North Idaho College Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy Summary Effective December 18, 2009
Federal regulations require North Idaho College (NIC) to establish satisfactory academic progress standards (SAP) for student financial aid recipients. The SAP standards measure a student’s performance in all terms of enrollment, including terms in which the student did not receive financial aid.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards
Cumulative Completion Rate Standard A student must successfully complete NIC credits equal to at least 66.67% of the total cumulative NIC credits attempted to be making satisfactory academic progress. Except as provided in the Zero Completion Standard, a student that earns less than 66.67% will be placed on SAP Unsatisfactory status and be ineligible for aid, unless the student had been in Satisfactory status the prior term. The student qualifies for one probationary period (Probation 1) and is eligible to receive financial aid for the following term. At the conclusion of the probationary period, if the student has not achieved the minimum cumulative completion rate of 66.67%, and the student is enrolled in a degree program, the student may qualify for a second probationary period (Probation 2) To qualify the student must have attained a term completion rate of 66.67% and a term GPA of 2.0.
A student may appeal a SAP Unsatisfactory status. See the Appeal Process below.
Zero Term Completion Standard
A financial aid recipient that: withdraws, i.e., receives grades of “W” or “IW” or stops attending, i.e., receives grades of “F” and/or earns grades of “F” and/or “U” in all courses in a term will automatically be placed on SAP Unsatisfactory status for next term and until the student achieves at least a 66.67% completion rate. A student may appeal the SAP status. See the Appeal Process below.
Maximum Time Frame Standard
A program of study must be completed within 150% of the number of credit hours required for degree graduation or certificate completion to maintain aid eligibility. The 150% is measured on the basis of NIC and transfer attempted credits. For instance, if an associate degree program requires 64 credits for graduation, it must be completed within 96 credits. Because programs’ credit hour requirements vary, check the Academic Catalog for the precise number of credits required for a program, then multiply the figure by 1.5.
If the number of attempted credits equals or exceeds 150% of the student’s active program’s requirement for graduation/completions, the student will be placed on SAP Maximum Time Frame. If the student is pursuing a degree program, the maximum time frame calculation will be performed excluding remedial credits, and if the status remains Maximum Time Frame the student may appeal based on pursuit of a second degree or a change in major/program/certificate. See the Appeal Process below.
Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) Standard
A student is required to maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average, which is calculated by dividing total number of grade points earned by the total credits attempted for courses with grades of A, B, C, D, or F (pluses and minuses).
A student that earns less than a cumulative 2.0 GPA will be placed on SAP Unsatisfactory status and be ineligible for aid, unless the student had been in Satisfactory status the prior term. The student qualifies for one probationary period (Probation 1) and is eligible to receive financial aid for the following term. At the conclusion of the probationary period, if the student has not achieved the minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA and the student is enrolled in a degree program, the student may qualify for a second probationary period (Probation 2) To qualify the student must have attained a term GPA of 2.0 and a term completion rate of 66.67%..
A student may appeal a SAP Unsatisfactory status. See the Appeal Process below.
Academic Renewal
Federal regulations make no provision for academic amnesty. If a student’s prior coursework was given special treatment under NIC’s provisions for Academic Renewal, the student’s cumulative GPA must be calculated based on the inclusion of all courses attempted at NIC. If the student does not have/maintain a 2.0 GPA, the student must appeal to the Financial Aid Office for special consideration. See the Appeal Process below.
A student may appeal the suspension of financial aid eligibility. An Appeal Form is available from the Financial Aid Office and online. If you wish to appeal, submit the appeal form, any accompanying documentation, and an Educational Plan signed by an NIC Advisor directly to the Financial Aid Office. Please note that students who appeal should be prepared to meet their own educational expenses. Appeals should be made in a timely manner, but no later than the appeal deadline announced by the Financial Aid Office for each term.
Probation
A probationary period is one term assuming a student enrolls full-time. A student placed on probation that enrolls for less than full-time and does not meet the cumulative minimum requirements at the end of the term, may be extended one additional probationary period, if a student achieves a minimum term GPA of 2.0 and a completion rate of at least 66.67%. To be placed on probation and retain aid eligibility a student must mathematically be able to complete the program of study within the maximum time frame
A student that is making unsatisfactory progress and has had financial aid suspended due to a low completion rate or GPA may enroll in subsequent semesters at his/her own cost. Financial Aid eligibility may be reinstated once all satisfactory academic progress minimum standards are met. A student’s eligibility will be automatically calculated at the end of each term.
Treatment of Credits and Grades
The following items describe the treatment of academic programs, coursework, and grades in the measurement of the SAP standards.
- All NIC attempted coursework is included in the measurements whether or not the student received financial aid.
- Course credits are treated as attempted credits if a student is enrolled in the credits on the census date of the course’s term.
- Grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-,D+ D, D-, S, and P will be treated as attempted and earned credits that are successfully completed.
- Failures (grade of “F”), official student withdrawal (grade of “W”), unsatisfactory work (grade of U), institutional withdrawal (grade of “IW”), no credit earned (grade of “NG”), and Incompletes (grade of “I”) are considered credits attempted but not earned.
- Credits from coursework that earns an A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-,D+ D, D-, and F will be included in the calculation of cumulative grade point average (GPA).
- Repeated courses and courses for which the student has been granted academic renewal are included in the calculation of both attempted and an earned credits. NOTE: The Financial Aid SAP policy abides by the College’s academic policies regarding the treatment of repeated courses in the determination of the cumulative GPA.
- Audit courses, and a grade of “AU”, are not considered credits attempted or earned.
- Transfer credits are not counted in the calculation of the Cumulative GPA standard or Completion Rate, but are counted in Maximum Time Frame.
- Remedial and English as a Second Language credits will be included in all measurements initially, but may be excluded in the determination of Maximum Time Frame without a student appeal.
- Credits earned by examination or testing are not counted in any measurement.
- If a student changes program(s) or certificate(s), the credits from the previous program(s)/certificate(s) will be counted in the attempted and earned credits. However, if the student does not meet the minimum standard requirements, the student may appeal on the basis of a change in program/certificate.
- During an evaluation review, if it is determined that a student cannot mathematically complete the program of study within the maximum time frame, the student automatically becomes ineligible for aid. This Unsatisfactory status may be appealed.
Examples of SAP Policy Enforcement
Example 1
Nancy enrolled at North Idaho College and completed Fall and Spring semesters. She registered for 12 credit hours (i.e., four courses) in the Fall semester and earned a B, C, D, and F. In the Spring semester, she enrolled for 15 credit hours (i.e., 5 courses), but dropped from one course (3 credits) before the census date and withdrew from another course (3 credits) mid-term. She earned three Cs in the remaining courses.
At the end of the Fall semester Nancy would be placed on SAP Probation 1 status because her cumulative GPA is 1.5, although her completion rate is 75%. Spring semester she would be placed on SAP Probation 2 status because her cumulative GPA was below 2.0, but her Spring term GPA was 2.0 and the completion rate was 75%. Note: Nancy earned a cumulative GPA of 1.7, i.e., the GPA calculation only counts the credits that earned a grade of B, C, D, and F (not W). Her cumulative completion rate was 75%. That is, dividing the number of earned credit hours by the number of attempted credits (dropped courses are not attempted, but a W counts), the student attempted 24 credits and successfully completed 18 credits (courses in which she received B, C, and D) for a completion rate of 75%, which exceeded the minimum requirement of 66.67%. The student has not exceeded the maximum time frame for the program (150% of 60 credits for the degree program or 90 credits).
While on Probation 1 and 2, the student is eligible to receive financial aid. She must meet the minimum cumulative GPA and Completion Rate requirements the following term to achieve Satisfactory status. Otherwise, she will move to Unsatisfactory status.
Example 2
Paul started Fall semester enrolled in 12 credits. He stopped attending before the end of the term. He received grades of “F” in all courses. Based on the Zero Term Completion Standard, Paul would be placed on SAP Unsatisfactory status and will not qualify for financial aid until he achieves a 2.0 GPA and a 66.67% completion rate.