SATISFACTORY PROGRESS

At Grayson County College there are three standards for satisfactory progress:

1.Cumulative Grade Point average (GPA) ;
2. Successful Completion of Courses;
3. Time frame.

All the standards must be met for satisfactory progress to be maintained.

If a student is applying for federal assistance Satisfactory Progress will be analyzed and determined even for periods of enrollment that federal assistance was not received.



GRADE POINT AVERAGE: : Students enrolled in college-level course work must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0. Grades of A, B, C, D, and F contribute toward the cumulative GPA. Grades of P, S, and I do not. Developmental courses do not produce a GPA. Students who are enrolled solely in developmental classes will not receive Title IV assistance. Federal regulations allow students to enroll in classes in their degree plan with a limited amount of developmental course-work. However, students cannot receive Title IV assistance for more than 30 semester hours of developmental classes. Students who do not have a Grayson County College academic history (first time college enrollment or incoming transfer students) will be assumed to be making satisfactory progress at the time of first enrollment at Grayson County College. Students who have 60 credit hours or more, which includes transfer hours and hours earned at Grayson County College, must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or will be considered on automatic suspension.

COMPLETION OF COURSES: : Students enrolled full-time (12 hours or more) must complete a minimum of 9 hours for the semester/18 hours for the nine-month school year. Students enrolled three-quarter time (9-11 hours) or half time (6-8 hours) must complete a minimum of 6 hours for the semester/12 hours for the nine-month school year. Students enrolled in less than half time (1-5 hours) must complete all hours for the semester/all hours for the nine-month school year. This includes both developmental and college level course work. Summer is not considered as a part of SAP. This is a time when students may regain their eligibility.

Withdrawals, drops, repeated, and developmental courses are counted toward the total hours attempted each semester.

TIME FRAME: Students pursuing a two-year program of study (Associate Degree) may not receive financial aid for more than 97 attempted semester hours. Students pursuing a one-year program of study (certificate) may not receive financial aid for more than 45 semester hours. Students who exceed the time frame semester-hour limit will no longer be eligible for financial aid. Developmental courses do not count toward the 97 or 45 hour limitation.

FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SATISFACTORY PROGRESS

Failure to maintain satisfactory progress will result in Financial Aid Suspension.

FINANCIAL AID SUSPENSION: Financial Aid Suspension occurs when the cumulative grade point average is less than 2.0 for two consecutive semesters and/or the required number of hours have not been completed for two consecutive semesters. Students will not receive financial aid while on Financial Aid Suspension. Students on Financial Aid Suspension may continue to enroll at Grayson County College at their own expense. However to regain eligibility for financial aid, students must complete no less than six hours within a semester with a 2.0 cumulative GPA and meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.

STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOTIFYING THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL AID WHEN THEY BELIEVE THEY HAVE REGAINED ELIGIBILITY FOR TITLE IV ASSISTANCE.

Note: Students who exceed the time frame limitations (97 hours for Associate Degree candidates and 45 hours for Certificate candidates) will automatically be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and will no longer be eligible to receive financial aid unless a 97 Hour Appeal is submitted and approved.

MONITORING

Academic progress is determined by the number of hours that must be completed each academic year (fall/spring), based on the number of hours enrolled per semester by the student. If a student does not make satisfactory progress, they will be placed on suspension. At the time of verifying the student's file, the Office of Financial Aid will evaluate the student's file based upon the preceding academic year.

APPEAL PROCEDURE

Students placed on Financial Aid Suspension due to lack of satisfactory progress may appeal the denial of financial aid. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Director of Financial Aid. Conditions that may serve as grounds for an appeal are: (a.) extenuating circumstances that contributed to the unsatisfactory progress; (b.) change of major course of study caused the student to exceed the maximum time frame.
The Director of Financial Aid has the ability to approve or disapprove a student's first appeal. Anyone appealing more than once will have their appeal sent to a committee to make the decision. The Director of Financial Aid will notify students in writing of the results of the hearing.

Students who have appealed and been approved must complete the number of hours approved for the semester with a current 2.0 GPA. The student's transcript will be evaluated for the semester which the appeal was originally approved.

A Student whose appeal is denied may submit a second-level written appeal to the Executive Vice President. The second-level appeal should be submitted to the Director of Financial Aid who will, in turn, submit it to the Executive Vice President. The Executive Vice President's decision will be final and will be reported to the student in writing.