Satisfactory Progress

The following information outlines the financial aid satisfactory academic progress requirements for financial aid recipients. Satisfactory academic progress is evaluated quarterly. The financial aid office at each campus is responsible for monitoring SAP.

Definitions

Meets – Students are meeting the minimum requirements of the college’s SAP policy and are eligible to receive financial aid in the following quarter.

Warning – one or more of the qualitative or quantitative measures have not been met. Students placed on warning must successfully complete all the credits for which they enroll the quarter following the warning status and achieve a 2.0 quarterly GPA or higher to continue receiving aid.

Probation – students on probation have had a “SAP Appeal” or “Appeal for Reinstatement of Aid” approved and are expected to be eligible at the end of the term. At minimum, students must complete 100% of their attempted credits, earn a 2.0 or better quarterly GPA, and maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better during the conditional probation quarter(s).

Conditional Probation – students on conditional probation have had a “SAP Appeal” or “Appeal for Reinstatement of Aid” approved and are required to follow specified conditions of their reinstatement. Students are notified of their additional requirements. Failure to meet these conditions during the probationary period will result in becoming ineligible for financial aid for future quarters. At minimum, students must complete 100% of their attempted credits, earn a 2.0 or better quarterly GPA, and maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better during the conditional probation quarter(s).

Suspension / Ineligible – the student is not eligible to receive financial aid as they have not met all SAP minimum requirements. For reinstatement options, see the “Right to Appeal” section.

Pace of Progression - ability to complete a program of study within the maximum allowed time frame.

Maximum Timeframe WARNING – the student is nearly out of time to complete their degree with financial aid funding. Students with this status are still eligible to receive financial aid funding until they reach 150% of their degree’s credit requirements or reach lifetime limits on aid. An educational plan from your academic advisor may be required. See maximum timeframe requirements under the Maximum Timeframe section below.

Maximum Timeframe – The student has reached the maximum number of credits they may receive for their degree with financial aid funding, and this may not be appealed.

SAP is reviewed prior to offering any financial aid, in addition to the review at the end of each quarter that some type of financial aid is received. Grades of 1.0 - 4.0, S and Y (where appropriate) will count toward completed credits. Grades less than a 1.0, I (Incomplete), NC (Non-Credit), N (Audit),"*" (Missing Grade) and W (Withdrawal) do not count toward completed credits. Financial aid funds may be used to repeat courses once after the course is completed.

To fulfill SAP requirements:

1. Students must be enrolled in classes required for their declared program of study at one of the Seattle Colleges campuses.
2. Funding is allowed for pursuit of one program of study at a time. Request for program changes are allowed after approval from the Financial Aid Office.
3. Students must meet all qualitative measures, quantitative measures, and maximum timeframe requirements listed below.

A student must earn a quarterly GPA of 1.0 and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at the end of each quarter. Failure to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 will result in a "Warning" status. Two consecutive quarters of warning status will result in suspension status. A quarterly GPA below 1.0 will result in a suspension of financial aid eligibility.

The academic progress for every financial aid applicant will be reviewed after each quarter. All of a student’s academic coursework is considered in the review process, whether the student received aid during the term or not.

The assessment will include both the qualitative and quantitative standards and is based on the student’s entire academic record, including all transfer credit hours accepted which apply to the student’s specific program of study.

Students may appeal by submitting a “SAP Appeal” or “Appeal for Reinstatement of Aid” form which is sent directly to Financial Aid staff upon completion.

In addition to a personal statement, students are encouraged to provide documentation and an approved education plan. Documentation examples include, but are not limited to, the following: court document, police reports, letter from a public assistance agency, letter from a member of the clergy. Generally, students may not appeal for the same reason more than once.

If a student’s appeal is approved, they will be placed into Probation status and given new terms and conditions to follow to maintain eligibility to receive financial aid. Students will remain on Probation status until they meet the terms listed on their Probation Approved Letter, or meet the minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.

Students may appeal the Financial Aid Office’s decision to deny a Financial Aid Appeal only on the basis of failing to follow policy and precedence. Students are can make the request in writing to the Director of Financial Aid at the respective campus.

Incomplete courses are not counted as completed for SAP calculations. The student is responsible for notifying the financial aid office when the class is completed.