Financial Aid Office

Satisfactory Academic Progress 2012-2013

Dear Student,

Your academic success is important, and necessary for you to realize the full benefit of the opportunities provided you through the Federal Financial Aid Program. The Department of Education recently announced some changes to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy that may impact you.

Federal Regulations state a person must be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program and maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to receive Federal Student Aid. A regular student is someone who is enrolled for the purpose of obtaining a degree or certificate at NWACC. All hours attempted at or transferred into NWACC will be counted as part of a student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress.[1] Academic progress will be reviewed prior to a student’s initial enrollment period and at the end of each semester.

 To be in Good Standing for Financial Aid a student must:

                ·         successfully complete at least 67% of all attempted credit hours and

·         maintain an overall grade point average of at least 2.00 and

·         attempt no more than 150% of the hours needed for their declared degree plan

·         must be on track to complete degree plan within the maximum time frame

 

A student will be placed on Financial Aid Warning if they

 

·         do not successfully complete 67% of all attempted credit hours or

·         have an overall grade point average of less than 2.00

 A student will be placed on Financial Aid Exclusion if they

                1.    attempt 90 or more credit hours for associate degrees requiring 60 hours

2.    cannot  mathematically complete the degree within the maximum time frame

3.    fail to be in Good Standing at the end of the Financial Aid Warning semester

4.    receive all “FA” (failure to attend) grades for a semester

 How does Financial Aid Warning affect my financial aid? Students may still receive federal (PELL, SEOG, student loans and work-study) and state (AWIG) funds. Students are eligible under the Warning status for one semester. At the end of the semester, the student must be meeting the Good Standing standards. If the student does not meet the minimum standard at the end of the Warning semester, they will be placed on Financial Aid Exclusion.

 How can I be removed from Financial Aid Warning?

 Student must be meeting the Good Standing standards at the end of the Warning period.

How does Financial Aid Exclusion affect my financial aid?

 Students on Financial Aid Exclusion are not eligible to receive federal (PELL, SEOG, & Direct Student Loans and Work-Study) or state funds.

 How can I be removed from Financial Aid Exclusion?

 For condition 1 & 2, the only way to be removed from Financial Aid Exclusion is to have a Financial Aid Appeal approved.

 For condition 3 & 4, a student may be removed from Financial Aid Exclusion one of the following ways:

        ·         Students may be reinstated to Good Standing once their cumulative GPA and overall course completion rate meets the Good Standing minimum standards.

·         Students may be reinstated with an approved Financial Aid Appeal.

 

How do I appeal Financial Aid Exclusion if I have an extenuating circumstance?

 

·         Obtain a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form from our office or print it from our financial aid webpage at www.nwacc.edu . Complete all requirements listed on the Appeal Form and submit appeal to the Financial Aid Office.

 

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals are reviewed by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee which normally meets bi-weekly.  Their decision is final and the student will be sent a response to their NWACC email account. Students may submit an appeal for low course completion rate and/or GPA only two times during their career for separate extenuating circumstances. Appeal requests for too many hours will be approved for only one degree plan.

 

The Financial Aid Office will send notification of Financial Aid Warning or Financial Aid Exclusion to the student’s NWACC email account as soon as their completed financial aid file has been reviewed.  Notice of Financial Aid Exclusion may be issued for past semesters based on an evaluation of the student’s previous academic record.

 

• Students must submit complete official transcripts. If a transcript is received with in progress grades, a student will be required to submit a second official transcript with the completed grades.
• It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office of any grade changes.
• When a student repeats a course, the highest grade earned is computed in the refigured cumulative grade point average; however, all classes are counted as attempted and only the highest graded class is counted as completed.
• A student may repeat a failed course two times.
• A student may repeat a successfully completed course or a class that they have withdrawn from only one time.
• Financial Aid is not awarded for courses that are audited or classes that are not part of an approved degree plan.
• Incomplete grades are counted as attempted but not completed hours and are counted in the student’s GPA as an “F”.
• Financial Aid will be awarded for up to 30 credit hours of remedial course work.
• Students who change their degree and/or majors or who are pursuing a second degree are subject to the maximum number of hours attempted rule.