All financial aid recipients are subject to the Randolph Community College Satisfactory Academic Progress policy regardless of when they initially began enrollment. Federal regulations require that students receiving Federal financial aid make satisfactory progress according to College policy. Randolph Community College has chosen to apply the standards listed below to all students who receive aid from Federal, State, and institutional aid.
The standards measured are both qualitative and quantitative and will be monitored at the end of each academic semester for all enrolled financial aid students. The standards of academic progress at Randolph Community College will be used as the basis for determining a student’s eligibility for financial assistance. Any student who fails to meet the minimum standards will be placed on probation for one semester. At the end of the probationary semester, the Financial Aid Office will notify the student, by letter, of his or her eligibility status. Title IV aid will be withheld until the standards are met.
Qualitative Measure: Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement
Students must maintain the required cumulative grade point average of 2.0 in order to be eligible to receive assistance.
Quantitative Measure: 67 % Completion Rate and 150% Maximum Timeframe
The student must maintain the minimums as listed below:
Completion Rate Requirement:
The student must successfully complete 67% of the cumulative credit hours attempted to meet the minimum requirement. Example: if the student attempts 60 credit hours during enrollment, the student must successfully complete 40 credit hours (60 hours attempted x 67% = 40 hours). Successful completion is defined as receiving a grade of A, B, C, D.
Maximum Timeframe:
The maximum timeframe for a student to complete a program is 150% of the published length of the program. Example: if 75 credit hours are required to complete a degree, the student may attempt a maximum of 113 credit hours before the student exceeds his eligibility for financial aid (i.e. 75 x 1.5 = 113). One academic year of credit (30 semester hours) may be added for required remedial coursework.
If a student is pursuing more than one program of study, maximum timeframe standards of 150% will be applied, toward each program, for all attempted hours. Students may only receive financial assistance for two programs of study while attending RCC. However, if the student should need additional periods of enrollment to complete the additional program(s) or if the student has a valid reason for pursuing an additional program of study, appeal procedures noted within this Satisfactory Academic Progress policy may be applied.
Treatment of Selected Grades:
Withdrawals: Credit hours in which a student receives a grade of “W”, “WF”, “FW”, or “AW” are included in the number of attempted hours, but do not count toward successfully completed hours. Students who withdraw may have difficulty meeting the satisfactory academic progress requirements.
Incompletes: Credit hours in which a student receives a grade of “I” are included in the number of attempted hours, but do not count toward successfully completed hours. Students with “incompletes” may have difficulty meeting the satisfactory academic progress requirements at the time of evaluation, but may request reevaluation upon completion.
Transfer Credit: Students transferring from another college will be considered making satisfactory progress at the time of enrollment at Randolph Community College. A student’s maximum time to receive financial aid will be reduced by the equivalent transfer of credit hours towards his/her degree.
Audit, Proficiency (Credit by Examination), and No Show: An audit (Y), proficiency (X), or no show (NS) grade is not considered attempted coursework. It is not included in the grade point average or completion rate determinations. A student cannot receive financial aid for courses that he or she audits, completes by proficiency exam, or is considered a no show (Y, X, or NS).
Repeat Courses: For financial aid purposes, all hours attempted will continue to be counted in the student’s cumulative total of hours.
Summer Session:
Credit hours attempted and earned during summer session will be included in the calculation of satisfactory academic progress, just as any other enrollment period.
Eligibility Status:
Satisfactory: Satisfactory status is achieved when all criteria explained above is met.
Probation/Conditional Status: Students (who are not currently on probation) who do not have the required grade point average and/or have not successfully completed 67% of their attempted credit hours, will be placed on probation for the following semester. Satisfactory progress will be monitored at the end of the semester to determine if the student met the standards of progress and is eligible to continue to receive financial aid.
Termination: Students on financial aid probation/conditional status who have not attained at least a cumulative 67% completion rate and/or earned the minimum required grade point average listed above will have their financial aid terminated at the conclusion of the probation period. Students who have attempted the maximum allowable credit hours for their program of study will have their financial aid terminated.
Notification of Financial Aid Termination or Probation: The Financial Aid Office will send a warning letter to any student who is placed on financial aid probation/conditional status or a termination letter to any student who is no longer eligible to receive financial aid.
Regaining Eligibility: Students who attend college (without federal financial aid) may regain financial aid eligibility by achieving a 67% completion rate and earning the required GPA based on hours attempted. A student may request reconsideration of eligibility for financial aid by submitting a written request to the Financial Aid Office once all requirements are met.
Students who exceed the maximum allowable timeframe to complete a program of study must appeal and provide a graduation plan signed by their academic advisor. If the plan is considered reasonable, the student may receive financial aid on probation for one or more semesters until the degree is completed.
Petition of Waiver of Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards: Students who have been disqualified from receiving financial aid may petition the Financial Aid Office to waive the satisfactory progress requirements only where there are special circumstances. A student may submit written documentation to the Financial Aid Office that explains unavoidable circumstances that have affected academic performance. Supporting documentation must be presented. Circumstances may include, but are not limited to: illness of student, immediate family member or the death of a family member. If a student is allowed to continue based on mitigating circumstances, the student will be given an additional increment of time to meet the standard requirements.
Returning students are evaluated on a continuing basis from the first enrollment at Randolph Community College unless a mitigating circumstance is considered. Returning students who are previously enrolled under an academic progress policy other than the current academic progress policy will be required to meet the standards of the current policy upon returning.
Complete academic record:
In order to measure a student’s satisfactory progress toward degree, diploma, or certificate requirements, the student’s total academic record at Randolph Community College must be evaluated whether or not the student received financial aid for the entire time of enrollment. When students complete course work for more than one major, college and financial aid academic progress standards must be met to receive student financial aid.
Appeals:
A student not eligible for financial aid may appeal financial aid eligibility. The process for appeal is as follows:
- A student may appeal in writing to the Director of Financial Aid explaining why satisfactory academic progress requirements were not met. Documentation of extenuating circumstances is required.
- A student may appeal in writing to the Dean of Student Services if they do not agree with the resolution from the Director of Financial Aid. If a student disagrees with the determination by the Dean of Student Services, the standard grievance procedure in the College Catalog must be followed.
11/16/2006
Revised
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