Financial Aid Standards of Academic Progress (SAP)

• All students receiving federal financial aid must make satisfactory academic progress toward completion of a degree.
• Academic progress must be monitored for all terms of enrollment, whether or not financial aid was received.
• A student’s academic progress will be evaluated at the end of each semester.
• Notices will be sent to students via email if they are placed on Financial Aid Warning or Financial Aid Suspension.

Three elements of the Financial Aid Standards of Academic Progress Policy must be successfully maintained and are as follows:

1. Successful Completion Ratio is 67% or above of cumulative credits attempted, combining all CVCC credits and all transfer credits accepted, which includes developmental/remedial credits as well. This ratio is calculated by dividing the successfully completed hours, at CVCC and transfer accepted, by total hours attempted at CVCC plus transfer hours. Formula and examples are below.

Example 1:  Peter attempted 36 hours at CVCC and passed 24 hours.  His completion rate would be 24 divided by 36 to get 67% completion ratio.

Example 2:  Wendy transfers to CVCC with 5 credit hours.  She attempts 9 hours at CVCC and passes 4 hours.  Her completion rate would be 5 + 4 divided by 5 + 9, (or 10 divided by 14), which is 71% completion ratio.

Example 3:  John attempted 65 hours at CVCC and passed 35 hours.  His completion rate is 35 divided by 65 which is 53% so he is placed on Financial Aid Warning status for one semester.  His progress will be checked again at the end of the warning period to determine his future eligibility for federal aid.

      2.  Maximum time frame is calculated by the normal length of student’s     program of study multiplied by 1.5 (or 150%).  All credit hours attempted and all transfer credits accepted into the student’s program of study will be used in this calculation.  Example:  General Studies Associate in Science is 64 credit hours.  Once a student has attempted 96 credit hours (whether at CVCC or another institution) then that student has exceeded the hours necessary to complete the degree.

      3. Cumulative Grade Point Average must meet or exceed the following minimum cumulative GPA based on total hours attempted.

Additional conditions which each student must meet to maintain eligibility at CVCC:

• Students must be enrolled in a program of study that leads to a degree to receive financial assistance. Only courses required for the degree completion will be eligible for federal aid.
• Students who have completed 4+ years or more in collegiate setting are not eligible for federal or state grant funds as the student will have exceeded the timeframe for all of CVCC’s degree programs which are two-year associate degrees.
• Student may repeat a collegiate level course that he/she previously successfully completed only once using federal funds. However, both courses will be counted as attempted in the completion rate calculation mentioned earlier in this section.
• Student may not enroll in a developmental or remedial course more than three times and continue to receive federal aid for that course. A student cannot be paid for more than a total of 30 credit hours of college preparatory coursework.
• Students on Academic Suspension will not be eligible to receive federal aid, whether the student serves the suspension or is readmitted on academic appeal, until the student can re-establish his/her eligibility
  • • Students enrolled in both Adult Education and Career Pathway Program can receive Pell Grants and other federal funding.
    • These students must maintain enrollment in both Adult Education for General Equivalency Diploma or GED program and Career Pathway collegiate class(es) to maintain eligibility for federal funding. 
    • Once a GED is obtained, a student will no longer be classified as an Ability to Benefit student.

Financial Aid Warning, Suspension, and Appeal Process

• Financial Aid Warning is placed on a student after a semester review demonstrates the student is not meeting the Financial Aid Standards of Academic Progress. Students can continue to receive financial aid while on warning with the understanding that all the standards will be met at the end of the warning term or they will be suspended.
• Financial Aid Suspension will remain in place until the student either is awarded a probationary status based on Financial Aid Appeal approval or re-establishes eligibility. Students who have been placed on Financial Aid Suspension and have extenuating circumstances which caused their failure to maintain eligibility have the option to appeal.
• Financial Aid Appeal Forms are located under student forms-appeal and in the Financial Aid Office in Wilson Hall. Students may submit the appeal form with supporting documentation of extenuating circumstances that occurred during their semester(s) which caused them not to maintain satisfactory progress to Financial Aid Office. Each month the financial aid appeals are reviewed and students are notified in writing of the appeal decision. If approved, student is placed on Financial Aid Probation.
• Financial Aid Probation status is placed on the student whose Financial Aid Appeal has been approved; or possibly, the student who has been flagged by federal processor for Unusual Enrollment History (UEH). The student may be eligible for federal aid for one semester. Student progress will be reviewed at the end of the probationary term. At the end of the probationary term, if the student has completed all of his/her courses for that term successfully with C’s or better then the student’s federal aid may be awarded for subsequent semesters.
• Re-establishing eligibility is a way for the student to receive federal aid after an Academic Suspension. To re-establish eligibility the student must take additional course-work at CVCC using non-Title IV monetary resources and pass all courses with C’s or better. Once the student meets the Financial Aid Standards of Academic Progress may have his/her federal aid awarded for subsequent semesters. The student would be responsible for the monetary funding of the semester he/she chose to re-establish.