Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Financial aid recipients are expected to make reasonable academic progress to obtain a degree or certificate as a condition to receive federal, select state or Nevada State College (NSC) financial aid funding. A student’s entire academic history at NSC, transfer credits applicable to his/her major, consortium agreement credits, or college classes taken while a high school student, are reviewed to ensure timely progression toward graduation. Even if a student were not a financial aid recipient in the past, his or her entire academic history must be reviewed when applying for federal, state or NSC financial aid programs.

In order to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and eligibility for the financial aid programs listed below, students must achieve all three of the following:
1. Maintain a 2.0 grade point average;
2. Satisfactorily complete at least 70% of cumulative credit hours attempted; and
3. Complete a degree/certificate program within the maximum time frame of credit hours allowed.

In calculating a student’s completion rate, all credits attempted at NSC will be included, as well as:
• Transfer credits from other schools counting towards your degree program; and
• Prior semesters of enrollment at NSC even if you were not a financial aid recipient.

Grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D- and S are considered to be “satisfactory” grades for maintaining this policy. Grades of F, I, N, U, W, and NR are considered to be “unsatisfactory”.
All financial aid recipients must report grade changes to the Financial Aid and Student Employment Office. This is necessary to reassess current financial aid eligibility. Students may have to re-pay financial aid they were not eligible to receive in the event of grade changes

Maximum Time Frame Defined
A student is expected to complete a degree/certificate program within a reasonable prescribed time frame. Federal regulations limit funding to no more than 150% of the average length of the program. For most undergraduate degree programs at NSC, the maximum amount of credits that may be funded is 180. Students in certificate, dual major or second degree-programs may be required to complete a Financial Aid Study Plan to assist in determining the progress being made toward their degree or certificate.
All attempted credits at NSC and at all other institutions are counted in this limit, regardless of whether or not aid was received. There is no provision for “academic renewal” in which credits attempted and grades earned are excluded. The credit limit includes dual majors, changes in majors and second degrees. Financial aid eligibility is “suspended” at the end of the semester in which the credit limit is reached.

A student who is within 30 credit hours of exceeding his or her maximum time frame will receive a “warning” notification from the NSC Student Financial Services & Scholarships office. A student is still eligible to receive financial aid with an assigned warning status. Once the maximum time frame credit hours are exceeded, a student’s warning status will be converted to “suspended” and will no longer be eligible to receive federal, select state or NSC financial aid programs. The maximum time frame cannot be appealed.
Monitoring Intervals & Probation Status:

Satisfactory academic progress is monitored at the end of every semester. A student who does not maintain SAP, as defined in this policy, will receive a “warning” notification at the conclusion of their first semester of not meeting the policy. Warning status is only a courtesy reminder, encouraging a student to rectify his or her academic progress for the next semester, so that financial aid eligibility can be continued; however, it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of their SAP standing, regardless of whether a student is notified in writing. SAP policies will be enforced, whether or not a student receives the notification.

A financial aid recipient who does not meet the SAP policy after two semesters will receive a written notification indicating their financial aid has been “suspended” and will no longer be eligible to receive financial aid assistance.

Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility
A student may pay for college expenses at his or her own expense in order to make up any SAP policy deficiencies. Once policy deficiencies are rectified, a student may be reconsidered for financial aid eligibility. A student may also appeal his or her eligibility status as described in Section 6 of this policy.

Repeated Courses

Repeated courses, when permitted by NSC policy, are included for SAP purposes.

Appeals
A student whose financial aid was suspended for not meeting the 2.0 GPA or 70% completion requirements of this policy has the right to appeal mitigating circumstances to the Financial Aid and Student Employment Office. To initiate an appeal, a student must complete a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form available at: www.nsc.nevada.edu/finaid Note the 150% maximum time frame component of the SAP policy cannot be appealed.

A student must provide supporting documentation to substantiate mitigating circumstances and demonstrate an academic plan for success. The burden of evidence is upon a student to validate cause for not meeting the policy requirements. A SAP appeal should be clear, concise, have a well-described timeline of events and must have supporting documentation. Appeals which lack these characteristics will be denied or pended for additional information. Incomplete appeals will add significant review time to determine a response.

Appeal Review and Status Notification
Satisfactory Academic Progress appeals are reviewed by members of the financial aid professional staff, who will make a recommendation for approval or denial. Final determination will be made by the Director or Associate Director of Student Financial Services and Scholarships. Individualized consideration is provided to students based upon his or her circumstances and supporting evidence provided within the appeal.

If an appeal is approved, the student will be placed on “probation” status, during which time he or she may continue to receive financial aid funding. An approved appeal will outline the conditions the student must meet in order to maintain financial aid eligibility until she or he has regained SAP standing. Failure to meet these conditions will result in revocation of the “probation” status and a return to financial aid “suspension.” Additional appeals cannot be considered per federal regulations.

Students will be notified of their appeal results in writing. The decision of the Director/Associate Director is final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education or other NSC employee per federal financial aid regulations.

 Return to Title IV (Paying back unearned funds to the Department of Education)
If you completely withdraw during any semester at NSC, you will be subject to the Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy as conducted by Student Financial Services and Scholarships. Federal law requires the amount of student assistance you have earned up to the point of withdrawal be determined by a specific calculation. In some instances, you may owe funds back to NSC or the federal programs from which you received financial assistance.

The amount of assistance you have earned is determined on a pro-rata basis. That is, if you completed 30 percent of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earned 30 percent of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed at least 61 percent of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all of your assistance. The federal government has mandated a policy of aid recalculation where recipients of Title IV funding fail to complete a minimum of 61 percent semester attendance. Title IV programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 include Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, Federal Stafford Loans, Federal unsubsidized loans and PLUS loans.

For the purpose of determining your point of withdrawal during a semester, your student separation date is:
1. The date the student began NSC’s official withdrawal procedure; or
2. The date determined by the school as the last date of academically related activity; or
3. The midterm date if no official documentation of your withdrawal is available.

You are responsible for any assistance awarded to you for which you do not qualify or earn. You will be notified of the overpayment that you must repay in a timely manner. Upon notification, you will have 45 days to resolve your outstanding balance owed. After the 45 day period, your account may be referred to the U.S. Department of Education for collection. You will be ineligible for future federal and state financial assistance at NSC or other institutions until you repay the amount due.

Note: Please realize that even if you repay the overpayment amount, you are still subject to the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

If you are considering withdrawing from class, for any reason, please contact the Office of the Registrar, your academic advisor and the Financial Aid and Student Employment Office.