Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students who have been accepted as regular students into a program/career major and need remediation to assist in completing their program may complete hours at the Academic Center. If a student takes remedial courses prior to being admitted in the program as a regular student, those remedial courses will not impact the student's maximum timeframe.

SAP will be checked at the point when the student successfully completes the clock hours for a payment period. The student's cumulative period of enrollment for the career major will be evaluated, even periods of enrollment for which the student did not receive financial aid. Students may not retroactively receive funds for a period in which they did not meet the requirements of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Students are not eligible for more financial aid for a program after successfully completing all the hours the Department approved for financial aid; therefore, in most instances, SAP will not be checked at the end of the student's final payment period if the financial aid has already been disbursed prior to the scheduled assessment checkpoint.

At the end of each assessment period, the student must demonstrate that s/he meets the qualitative and quantitative standards outlined above. If the student does not meet these standards, the Financial Aid Office will place the student in a Warning Status for the next payment period. If the student fails to meet the standards for two consecutive payment periods, the Financial Aid Office will place the student in Suspension Status and will send a letter to the student explaining why the student has lost eligibility. This letter will explain how to appeal the Suspension Status.

A student not meeting the standards outlined above may be placed on Warning Status for the following payment period. The student is eligible to receive financial aid for this warning period; however, if the student does not meet the SAP requirements of two payment periods in a row, the student will lose eligibility for financial aid. See Financial Aid Suspension Status below.

If a student cannot mathematically complete the program within 143% of the maximum timeframe, then the student will automatically be considered ineligible for financial aid, and all future disbursements will be canceled until the student can demonstrate that s/he is meeting the standards.

A student who fails to meet the SAP requirements for two consecutive payment periods will lose eligibility for federal student aid and state grants. The student will no longer be eligible for any future disbursements until the student can show s/he meets the SAP standards.

If the student feels there was an error in the calculation of his/her SAP, it is the student's responsibility to have his or her instructor notify the financial aid office when progress standards have been met.

A transfer student is a student who was previously enrolled at another school or in another program/career major at Francis Tuttle. Any hours that transfer to a new program will count as hours attempted.

Many of the programs at Francis Tuttle have related curriculum. If a student transfers to a program that is related to the student's previous program, then the SAP status from the previous program will carry forward to the new program. For example, if a student in the Financial Clerk program is on Warning and then transfers to the Full Charge Bookkeeper program with 200 hours of transfer credit, then the student will begin the new program on warning status.

If a student transfers to a new program and it is determined that the student had no previously attempted or completed hours from a previous program, then the student will begin the new program in Good Standing.

Students in good standing who withdraw and return to the same program after 180 days will automatically be placed on Warning for the new payment period if the following are true: 1) The student withdrew without completing the previous payment period, and 2) the student had financial aid for the payment period in which s/he withdrew.

If the student was already on Warning Status for the payment period when s/he withdrew, s/he will be placed in Suspension Status if s/he returns after 180 days.

If a student has a cumulative grade of "F" at the end of the payment period, then the student will automatically bypass the Warning period and go directly on Suspension. The student will not be able to go on to a new payment period until s/he has a passing grade. It is the student's responsibility to have the instructor inform the Financial Aid Office when s/he has a passing grade. Once the student has established that s/he has a passing grade, s/he will be placed on Warning for the next payment period. Students with a failing grade are not eligible for retroactive disbursement until they show they have successfully completed the prior payment period.

If a student considered ineligible for financial aid feels that mitigating circumstances are involved, the student may appeal to the Financial Aid Advisory Committee. This appeal must be in writing and should be submitted within 10 days of the notice of suspension. The appeal letter must explain why the student did not meet the SAP standards and what the student will do in order to regain satisfactory academic progress. Documentation of the mitigating circumstances must be included with the appeal. (Mitigating circumstances include, but are not limited to: illness or injury of the student or a member of the student's immediate family; death in the student's immediate family; or other trauma.) The Financial Aid Director will meet with the Financial Aid Advisory Committee to make a determination on the appeal. If the appeal is granted, the student will be placed on either Financial Aid Probation or on a Financial Aid Academic Plan.

If the Financial Aid Advisory Committee grants an appeal for a student in Suspension Status, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation for the next payment period. This status is similar to the Warning Status, in that that student will continue to receive financial aid for the probationary payment period. If the student does not meet the SAP standards at the end of the probationary payment period, s/he will go on Suspension Status for the next payment period. Students will only be allowed one probationary period. Students who go in Suspension Status may appeal this status again, but they will be on a Financial Aid Academic Plan, as outlined below.

Students who appeal their Suspension Status but cannot demonstrate that they will meet the SAP standards by the end of the next payment period may be placed on a Financial Aid Academic Plan. This plan must demonstrate what the student plans to do in order to get back in good standing with the SAP policies over a period of time. The student's Academic Plan will be checked at certain intervals, as outlined in the student's Academic Plan. If the student has not followed the Academic Plan when it is checked at these intervals, then the student will be placed back in Suspension Status and will not be eligible for financial aid. No more appeals will be granted, and the student will not get financial aid until s/he can demonstrate that s/he is meeting the SAP standards.

A student who is denied aid due to unsatisfactory progress will be informed in writing on the basis of the denial. The student must successfully complete a payment period without any federal student aid and meet the criteria as defined above in order to re-establish eligibility for federal student aid. It is the student's responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office when s/he feels s/he is once again making satisfactory academic progress. The student's instructor must notify the Financial Aid Office to confirm the student is meeting the SAP standards.