Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Policy
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COPIAH-LINCOLN COMMUNITY COLLEGE SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP) POLICY
Copiah-Lincoln Community College (CLCC) is required by federal regulations to establish minimum standards of satisfactory academic progress (SAP) to determine a student's eligibility to receive federal Title IV student aid for their chosen program of study. Federal Title IV student aid programs available at CLCC are: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program (LEAP), Federal Direct Loan, Parent Loan Program (PLUS) and the Federal Workstudy Programs (FWS). To maintain student financial aid eligibility, the student must progress satisfactorily toward completing a chosen academic or career-technical program/certificate. Students can view their total FA award package at: http://access.colin.edu/cgi-bin/fslogin.mbr/login periodically before and during the semester.
Conditions for Maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress
Students must pass 67% of all courses attempted, maintain a minimum cumulative GPA as presented in the following table and complete a degree or certificate program:
*Students enrolled in certificate programs of less than four (4) semesters must maintain a 2.00 GPA at all times. *The hours of a withdrawn class are considered as "attempted" hours.
Any student who fails to meet the satisfactory academic progress standards will be placed on financial aid probation for one semester. During this probationary semester, a student will continue to be eligible for Pell grant funds. Only one semester of probation will be granted to students during their program of study. However, a student placed on FA probation will not be eligible to apply for a student loan or work-study during the probationary semester of attendance. Also, if a student transfers from another college and is determined to have not met the SAP standards per our policy, that student will be placed on financial aid probation for their first semester at CLCC. Upon completion of the probationary semester, if the minimum SAP standards are not achieved on the courses enrolled in at CLCC, then all federal and state financial aid will be suspended for the next semester of attendance. Students on financial aid suspension must attend at his/her expense and attain the hours and GPA required for satisfactory progress as above indicated.
Time Frame
Federal regulations allow a maximum time frame of 150% of the number of credits needed to complete the degree or certificate program. This time frame is effective for all students, even those that have not previously received financial aid. A student who attempts 150% of all the coursework for their degree/certificate and hasn't yet received the degree/certificate; they cannot receive further aid for that program. Once a student has received an Associate degree (A.A. or A.A.S.) or a certificate from CLCC or another college, he/she must contact the FA Office for re-evaluation to pursue a second degree. If a student has received a higher degree, such as, a Bachelor's or Master's Degree, then those students will have to file an appeal in order to determine any Federal loan eligibility.
If the student has been placed on financial aid suspension for one program, they will not be eligible for aid, regardless, if they change their program of study. They will have to attend one semester at their own expense for a new program. If they meet the SAP standards, they are eligible to file an appeal for reinstatement to the financial aid programs at that time. A student is not eligible for Federal student aid for audit courses, special interest classes, and classes that are less than a semester, such as, truck driving.
Status Review and Notification
A student's entire academic record at CLCC, as well as, all transfer work per the student's current program of study will be evaluated to determine SAP, regardless if financial aid was received for all semesters or in the instance the student was granted an Academic Restart. For Federal student aid purposes, Academic Restart is not recognized. SAP will be checked at the end of the fall semester for all students receiving Federal student aid. SAP will be checked at the end of the spring semester for students who will be enrolled for the summer semester and/or the following fall semester. Attempts to notify all students by mail will be made; however, students should be aware of SAP requirements.
Developmental courses will be treated in the same manner as regular courses since students receive institutional credit and grades for these courses. Students may repeat a total of nine (9) semester hours without increasing the total number of hours attempted for grade point average computations. Hours for repeated courses beyond the allowed nine (9) semester hours will be used in computing grade point average. Any semester in which a student withdraws for any reason will be counted as a semester of attendance and will count towards the number of semesters allowed to participate in the financial aid programs. If a student receives a grade of "I" (incomplete) in any course, this "I" will be treated as if it were an "F" for financial aid purposes. If the grade changes to a "C" or above, it is the student's responsibility to notify the financial aid office to have his/her transcript reviewed to determine financial aid eligibility.
Appeal Process
A student wishing to appeal the decision of the Financial Aid Office may do so by completing a financial aid appeal form available in the Financial Aid Office (FAO) or online at: http://www.colin.edu/financial-aid/financial-aid-forms. In order to be eligible to file an appeal for financial aid reinstatement, the student must demonstrate that the student's failure to meet SAP requirements was due to mitigating circumstances such as:
The student must submit to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee, in writing, why the aid should not be suspended. The appeal will then be reviewed and a decision reached as to whether financial aid probation or suspension is justified. The student will be notified by mail of the FA Appeals Committee's decision on the suspension. If the student is reinstated, the reinstatement letter will give the conditions the student must achieve per semester or the reinstatement will be terminated. The reinstatement is in most cases for Pell grant funds only. A student will have to meet the terms of the reinstatement for 2 consecutive semesters before they will be eligible to apply for a student loan. The student will have to sign and return one copy of the letter accepting the conditions. Financial aid suspension does not prevent students from attending CLCC provided they are not on academic suspension (see College Catalog).
Eligibility
Eligibility for most financial aid is based on financial need. Students are expected to contribute to their own educational expenses and should not expect financial aid to provide for all living expenses. Financial aid is to be used only for education-related costs. Students receiving Title IV funds must not engage in the unlawful use of any controlled substance; must not be in default on a federal student loan; or owe an overpayment on a federal student grant. No financial aid will be processed until all admission requirements are met. If a student has a prior year charge, no more than $200 total from current year Federal student aid funds can be used to pay those charges per Federal regulations.
Students who have already borrowed $23,000 in subsidized or unsubsidized loans (or combination of ) will not be certified for any additional Student Loan(s) at CLCC and may not be eligible to receive any other Title IV aid assistance. These students may wish to seek outside sources of grants and alternative loans.
Enrollment Status
Financial aid is awarded and paid according to the student's enrollment status: 12+ hours = full time enrollment 9-11 hours = ¾ time enrollment 6-8 hours = ½ time enrollment Less than 6 hours = less than ½ time You must be enrolled full time to receive all scholarships, state grants, and work-study. You must be enrolled and attending at least six hours to receive a student loan.
Return of Title IV Funds
A Title IV federal aid recipient who withdraws, officially or unofficially, from all classes on or before the 60% point of the academic term (10th week of school) will be subject to repayment based upon the federal "Return of Title IV Funds" calculation. Federal regulations require that a percentage of the funds disbursed be returned. Students "earn" federal aid funds in direct proportion to the length of time they remain enrolled. A student who remains enrolled past the 60% point of the academic term has earned 100% of the Title IV federal aid for the enrollment period. Pell grant awards are processed based on the student's enrollment status after the add/drop date is past for the semester.
Refunds
In order to be eligible to receive a refund on any credit balance from Federal grants, you must complete 60% of the semester.
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