Satisfactory Progress

Student applying for or awarded financial aid at North Seattle College are required to make satisfactory academic progress in an eligible program of study and meet pace of progression requirements. Students must enroll in classes which meet the requirements for their degree or certificate program at North. All quarters and all credits are considered, regardless of whether financial aid was received, when evaluating satisfactory academic progress.  

The following information and charts outline the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements for financial aid recipients. Satisfactory Academic progress is evaluation quarterly and upon initial application.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements

Satisfactory academic progress is reviewed prior to offering any financial aid, in addition to the review at the end of the quarter. 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 not be used to repeated courses in which a grade of 1.5 or higher, “S” or “I” were received.

To fulfill satisfactory academic progress requirements:

• Students must be enrolled in classes required for their declared program of study at North Seattle College.
• Funding is allowed for pursuit of one program of study. Program changes are allowed after approval from the financial aid office.
• Courses must be completed on time within the academic quarter of enrollment.
• Students must meet all qualitative measures, quantitative measures, and pace of progression requirements listed below.

Definitions of Financial Aid Status

• Warning – one or more of the qualitative or quantitative measures listed below 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 GPA or higher to continue receiving aid.

• Probation – students on probation have had an “Appeal for Reinstatement of Aid” approved and are required to follow specified conditions of their reinstatement. Failure to meet these conditions during the probationary period will result in becoming ineligible for financial aid for all future quarters. At minimum, students must complete 100 percent of their attempted credits and earn a 2.0 or better GPA during the probation quarter(s).

• Cancellation/ineligible – the student is not eligible to receive financial aid as the student has not meet all satisfactory academic progress standards. 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.

Qualitative Measures

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 2.0 GPA will result in a "warning" status. Only one quarter of warning status will be allowed. A quarterly GPA below 1.0 will result in a cancellation of financial aid.

Quantitative Measures

Students are expected to successfully complete the credits for which they enroll in each quarter. Students must earn a minimum of 50 percent of their attempted credits at the end of each quarter or their financial aid will be cancelled. Students must complete the appropriate number of credits based on their enrollment status as follows:

Pace of Progression

Students must be able to complete their program of study (certificate or degree) within 150 percent of the published length of the program (125 percent for state financial aid programs).  Students that cannot mathematically complete their program in the maximum time frame for their program of study are not eligible to receive financial aid.

Pace of progression is evaluated against all attempted credits within the last 10 years and is based on the cumulative number of credits completed divided by the cumulative number of credits attempted. The number of credits attempted will proportionally determine the number of credits that the student must successfully complete:

Right to Appeal

Financial aid recipients who do not meet the satisfactory academic standards as written may petition for reinstatement of aid. All funding reinstatement is subject to availability of funds. Students may appeal by one or both of the methods below:

• Submit an appeal for reinstatement form based on extenuating circumstances, i.e. death of a relative, unexpected injury, prolonged illness, etc. Documentation must be provided. A maximum of two appeals is allowed.
• Enroll and complete 6 or more credits of required coursework and successfully complete all enrolled credits with a 2.0 GPA or better. Submit an unofficial transcript with the appeal for reinstatement form.

Students whose petition for reinstatement is approved will have a “hold” placed on their student account. This hold will prevent the student from added or dropping courses online. All changes to the course schedule must be approved by the Financial Aid Office. The hold will remain in place for each quarter(s) the student is on probation status.

Satisfactory Progress Limitations

• Students have a time frame for completing a program of study at North and must enroll in classes required for their program of study. All attempted credits at North Seattle College and all credits transferred in from all colleges attended within the past 10 years will be evaluated. Students who have utilized the maximum time frame allowed may meet with an academic advisor to develop a petition for an extension of the time frame. Extensions will only be allowed within federal and state guidelines and approved on a case-by-case basis. 
• Up to a maximum of 45 credits may be added to the allowable credits attempted for required remedial or developmental coursework as identified by a college placement test or program requirements. This includes remedial or developmental credits earned at North and any credits transferred in. ESL classes are not counted as part of the 45 credits allowed and are not covered by financial aid funds.
• If you owe a repayment of financial aid funds for any reason, you must repay this amount before any additional aid can be disbursed or an appeal for reinstatement can be approved. See the financial aid office for a detailed explanation of repayment requirements.
• If you are transferring from another college and have either exceeded the limits as stated above or were terminated from aid for lack of satisfactory progress, you will not be eligible for financial aid at North. Extenuating circumstances may be submitted to the Financial Aid director for review.