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Financial Aid

Financial Aid

Standards of Academic Progress (SAP)

Federal regulations require that students receiving financial assistance must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward completion of a degree or certificate. A student must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the standards of progress policy. Satisfactory progress is not to be confused with "good standing". A student can meet the Jefferson State Community College requirements of "good standing" and be allowed to enroll but not meet the minimum standards to receive financial aid while enrolled. All students will be monitored for compliance with Federal Requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each semester, whether or not the student received financial aid during those periods.

Jefferson State Community College will measure a student's performance for satisfactory academic progress in three areas: completion rate, cumulative grade point average, and maximum time frame. The Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress apply for all Title IV financial assistance programs including Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study (FWS), Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Direct Loan Program, as well as assistance from the state.

In addition, financial aid recipients must report to the Financial Aid Office when they withdraw from a course or withdraw from the college. Complete withdrawal from school before 60% of the term is completed will result in the student having to repay a percentage of aid that they have received. The formulas used to calculate the refunds and repayments may be obtained from the Financial Aid Office.

Completion Rate

At the end of each semester, a student's academic progress will be reviewed by comparing the cumulative number of attempted credit hours with the number of credit hours earned. When academic progress is measured, all work attempted at JSCC and all transferred in credit hours from other institutions will be considered.
The following information is considered when evaluating a student's academic satisfactory progress:

  • Withdrawals (W, WP and WF), incompletes (I and IP) and failures (F) are considered attempted but not earned hours.
  • Repeated courses and courses for which the student has been granted academic bankruptcy are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours. A student is allowed to repeat a course that they have not passed with a "C" or better.
  • Audited courses are not considered credits attempted or earned. Students cannot use Title IV funds to pay for audited courses.
  • Transfer credits do not count in the calculation of the GPA, but they are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours.
Cumulative Grade Point Average

Financial aid recipients must maintain the following required grade point averages according to number of hours attempted at Jefferson State:

  • Students who have attempted 12-21 semester credit hours at the college must maintain a 1.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA).
  • Students who have attempted 22-32 semester credit hours at the college must maintain a 1.75 cumulative GPA.
  • Students who have attempted 33 or more semester credit hours at the college must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA. If the student has never attended Jefferson State, then the cumulative GPA form the last school attended will be used.
Maximum Time Frame

In order to complete a program in the maximum time frame, a student must earn 2/3 of hours he attempts. Those who do not will be terminated from aid. A student who has been terminated may be reinstated in one subsequent semester. When a student attends at his own expense to qualify for reinstatement, he must enroll in courses which are required for his degree or certificate and he may not repeat courses which he has already passed. Jefferson State's Financial Aid Office allows a student two terms of attendance before he will be dropped from aid for failure to make academic progress.

The maximum time frame for completing a program of study is 150% of the required length of the student's specific program. This maximum time frame includes all attempted hours, transfer hours, and developmental work taken, whether or not financial aid was received or courses were successfully completed. A student is no longer eligible for financial aid when he has attempted 150% of the number of hours required for his degree or certificate.

Examples:
  • If your degree is a 60 hour degree: 60 x 150% = 90 hours maximum time frame. You are eligible for only the first 90 hours of attendance.
  • If a student transfers into JSCC and has attempted 40 hours at another institution, these hours will go against the hours needed for the student's degree. The student who has attempted the 40 hours at the first institution and is attempting to complete a 60 hour degree program at Jefferson State must consider the hours they have left to complete their degree : 60 x 150% = 90 - 40 = 50 hours maximum time allowed for degree funding.

A change in program of study will be allowed; however, aid will be granted only for additional required hours as determined by comparison of the two programs of study.

A financial aid recipient may not be paid for more than 30 credit hours of remedial courses.

In addition to the above procedures, the maximum length of a student's program may not exceed 150% of the minimum length required to complete the program.

Suspension

When a student is suspended, whether the student serves the suspension or is readmitted upon appeal, the student is not eligible to receive financial aid. To become eligible once again for financial aid, the student must enroll at his own expense, must attempt at least 12 hours in one term, must complete at least 2/3 of those hours, and must earn a GPA of a 2.0 or greater for that term.

Evaluation of Academic Progress

All students will be monitored for compliance with Federal Requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each semester whether or not the student received financial aid during those periods. At that time, a student will be in good standing or denied financial aid assistance for the following term. The student must meet all three requirements, completion rate, cumulative grade point average, and maximum time frame, to remain eligible for financial aid. Students will be notified by the Office of Financial Aid if they are denied financial aid.