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Satisfactory Academic Progress:

Federal and State regulations require that all financial aid recipients maintain specific academic standards called “Satisfactory Academic Progress” or SAP. Except for some private and institutional funds all forms of financial aid (grants, loans, work-study and scholarships) are affected by this policy.  These standards are applied to a students entire academic history at Red Rocks Community College including periods when financial aid was not received.

Effective Fall 2006 the financial aid office will evaluate student academic progress at the end of each semester based on three criteria: Cumulative GPA, Cumulative Completion Rate (%) and Maximum Time Frame.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards:

1. Cumulative GPA: 2.0 or above.
2. Cumulative Completion Rate: 67% or above.
3. Maximum Time Frame: After attempting credits totaling 110% of degree requirements submit a valid degree evaluation to the Financial Aid Office and complete a degree or certificate within 150% of the required number of credits for that degree or certificate.

Students who meet these three standards will be considered to be in Good Standing.

Probation / Suspension

Probation:
A student will be placed on Satisfactory Academic Progress Probation if he/she:

1. Fails to maintain a Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater.
2. Has a Cumulative Completion Rate of less than 67%.

Students maintain their financial aid eligibility while on probation but must bring their Cumulative GPA and Cumulative Completion Rate above the stated standards to avoid Suspension in subsequent terms.

Suspension:
A student will be placed on Satisfactory Academic Progress Suspension if:

1. After a probationary term the Cumulative GPA is below 2.0.
2. After a probationary term the Cumulative Completion Rate is below 67%.
3. After attempting 110% of degree requirements the student failed to submit a valid degree evaluation by deadline.
4. Student has attempted more than 150% of the required number of credits for a degree or certificate.

While on suspension students lose their eligibility for financial aid. No aid will disburse to student accounts for terms that a student is on suspension. 

Appeal Process:

Students who are submitting appeals, please read this section carefully.

If a student is placed on Financial Aid Suspension, they have the right to submit a written appeal to the Financial Aid Office.

Appeals must explain any mitigating circumstances that prevented the student from successfully completing their coursework and must be accompanied by supporting documentation. 

Examples of mitigating circumstances may include, but are not limited to: severe illness, severe injury, death in the family, an unforeseen or unavoidable personal circumstance. 

The appeal must also explain why the circumstances no longer exist and what the student will do to ensure that they will meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards in the future.

Appeals can take up to 2 weeks to review. It is the responsibility of the student to submit an appeal in a timely manner if they wish to have suspensions reconsidered and aid reinstated for subsequent semesters.

All denied appeals are automatically referred to the Red Rocks Community College Appeals Committee for a 2nd review. All decisions made by the Committee are final. Appeal forms may be obtained in the Financial Aid Office or on the forms section of this web site.

How Satisfactory Academic Progress is Measured:

Attempted Credit Hours: Defined as any credit hours for which a student is registered at the census date for the class.

Earned Credit Hours: Defined as any class for which a student has received credit. Grades of A,B,C,D and P are considered earned.

Incomplete Credit Hours: Defined as any class a student has attempted but did not receive credit for. Grades of SP,NC,F,I,W,Z,AU and AW are considered incomplete credits hours.

Grade Changes: Students are responsible for notifying the Financial Aid Office of grade changes that affect their SAP standing.

Cumulative Completion Rate: Determined by dividing the total number of earned credit hours by the total number of Attempted Credit Hours.  Students must maintain a completion rate of 67% or more in order to maintain their good standing.

Maximum Time Frame: Defined by using the required number of credits needed in order to complete a certificate or degree. For example, an Associates Degree requires 60 credits. A student must earn 60 credits prior to attempting more than 90 (60 x 150%) credits. The same calculation applies towards certificates.

Transfer credits and repeated courses will be included when determining maximum time frame.

Students who have attempted 110% of the required number of credits for a degree or certificate will be sent a notification requesting that a degree evaluation be completed and turned into the Financial Aid Office for review. Students who do not comply with this request will be placed on suspension and any subsequent financial aid disbursements will be cancelled.  An appeal will need to be filed with a valid degree evaluation. 

Students who have attempted 150% or more of their degree requirements will be placed on suspension and will need to appeal.

Academic Requirements for Outside Scholarships:

Students receiving certain scholarships such as Colorado Centennial Scholarship,  Honors Scholarships, and  Foundation Scholarships may have other academic requirements to maintain their eligibility. Please refer to documentation on your scholarship, the awarding institution or the Financial Aid Office for additional information.

Reinstatement of Aid:

In order to regain Financial Aid Eligibility students must meet all three standards (Cumulative GPA, Cumulative Completion Rate and Maximum Time Frame) at the time that academic progress is reviewed.

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