Maintaining Eligibility for Financial Aid

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) - Undergraduate

SAP is used to define successful completion of coursework—for both establishing and maintaining eligibility for financial aid and scholarships. Federal regulations require all colleges and universities to publish and apply standards that monitor students' progress toward completion of their certificate or degree program. Two departments monitor SAP at the completion of each semester. The Registrar's Office monitors course work for academic standing, and the Office of Student Financial Aid ensures that all students (including full-time students, part-time students, and students without aid) are meeting the requirements for SAP. These standards apply to all students regardless of whether a student has received previous financial aid or transferred from another institution. The federal regulations set minimum requirements, but schools can choose their own acceptable thresholds. This means that SAP standards can vary from one institution to the next.

Students failing to meet SAP standards will receive communication via email to their C of I email address. All students should check their email on a regular basis for any changes or updates to their student account, financial aid awards, or requests for documentation.

In order to maintain SAP, the student must:

• Have a grade point average which meets the minimum requirements for continuation of study at The College of Idaho;

• Earn a minimum number of credits for each academic year; and

• Complete all degree requirements within a specified time-frame.

Evaluation of Academic Progress

At the end of each semester, academic progress will be measured by comparing the number of attempted credit hours (including accepted transfer credits) with the credit hours earned and by the student's cumulative grade point average. This includes any course for which the student has remained enrolled past the add/drop period. The following criteria are considered when evaluating a student's SAP:

Credits Attempted: Credits attempted are defined as all classes for which a student receives a passing grade (D- or better, or P), or an F, I, W, L, or WA. Excluded credits are counted as withdrawals—attempted, but not completed.

Credits Completed: Credits completed are defined as all classes for which a student receives a passing grade of D- or better, or P.

Credits Excluded from the Pace Calculation: Remedial credits will not be counted as credits attempted or completed. Audit credits also do not count as credits attempted or completed.

Repeat Courses: Repeat courses count as attempted and completed credits. Financial aid will be paid for repeat courses when the initial grade is an F. Financial aid will only be paid twice for a repeat course if the course has been passed with a D- or better at any time.

By rule, SAP standards must include both a qualitative standard and a quantitative standard:

• Qualitative Requirement: A student must maintain an acceptable GPA in order to continue to receive financial assistance. The criterion is the maintenance of a 2.0 cumulative GPA; initially, students with less than a 2.0 cumulative GPA will be placed on warning and have one semester to improve their academic record before being placed on suspension. Grade point averages are monitored by the Registrar's Office; see Policies and Procedures for additional information. Students placed on warning are eligible to receive financial aid.

  Please note: College scholarships and some state and federal grants are reduced if the student's cumulative GPA falls below a 3.0. Students should refer to their award letter and Financial Aid Handbook or the Office of Student Financial Aid for additional information.

• Quantitative Requirement: A sliding scale is used to monitor an undergraduate student's quantitative requirement. The completion rate is calculated by dividing the number of successfully completed credits by the number of attempted credits over the student's entire academic career, including all accepted transfer credits and any credits earned during periods of enrollment when the student was not receiving financial aid. If a student changes course of study (major), the hours attempted under all courses of study are included in the calculation of attempted and earned hours.

Maximum Time Limit (Pace)

Pace is required to ensure students complete their program of study within the maximum time frame. Timeframe is calculated by a student's ability to complete an undergraduate program, measured in credit hours, a period no longer than 150 percent of the published length of the program. That is, students must complete the 124 credits required for completion of a C of I degree; 150 percent of total credits is 186 credits, at which point the student may lose financial aid eligibility. Students must complete 67% of all credits attempted at C of I and those transferred and accepted from other schools.

Please note: If a SAP review makes it clear the student cannot mathematically complete the degree in the allotted time frame or is unable to raise the GPA to the minimum 2.0 within the maximum time frame, the student is placed on suspension.

Pace of Progression

Pace is calculated by dividing cumulative credits successfully completed by cumulative credits attempted.

Cumulative Credits Successfully Completed ÷ Cumulative Credits Attempted = Percent Completed

At each SAP review, students must have completed 67% of all credits attempted.

Pace to Completion

To ensure federal compliance, students who enroll in a degree program and have earned 124* credits or more, including transfer and regular credits, should be on an academic plan or applying for graduation, at which time a credit evaluation will be completed.

*For undergraduate students to reach 124 credits, enrollment will be approximately 16 credits each fall and spring semester for four years.

• If the remaining credits needed to complete the bachelor's degree plus the credits already attempted will cause the student to exceed the 186 maximum allowable attempted credits, the student will be required to complete a petition.

• Students are no longer eligible for financial assistance once they have received 186 undergraduate credits during their academic career or after they have graduated.

• The exception to this is enrollment in the fifth-year internship program through the education department, which occurs after a student graduates.

Student Standings

Students' progress according to the SAP standards is measured at the end of every semester in order to determine eligibility for future semesters. Students can be in one of the following SAP status categories:

Dean's List

To receive Dean's List recognition, a student must complete at least nine or more graded credits (excluding grades of P and S) in a given semester and achieve a GPA of 3.75 or higher for that semester. Dean's List recognition is given only for the fall and spring semesters.

Good Status

Students who are meeting all of the standards of SAP and are not in a period of warning, suspension, or probation are in good standing; no additional enrollment, advising, or academic plan requirements are specified.

Warning Status

Should a student’s semester GPA and/or cumulative GPA fall beneath a 2.0, or their pace to completion fall below the mandatory threshold, the student’s academic standing will be put on academic warning. The semester of academic warning is designed to serve as a "wake-up" call. It is notice that the student’s current academic plan, goals, or study routines are not working and need to be evaluated and perhaps changed.  

Students earning this status in the fall will be placed on academic warning in the spring. Students earning this status in the spring will be placed on academic warning in the fall. Students on academic warning are expected to remain in a full course load (at least 12 credits) during their semester of academic warning.

If a student finishes their academic warning semester with at least a 2.0 for their semester GPA and brings their cumulative GPA above a 2.0, and/or raises their pace to completion above the threshold, the student will be deemed in good standing.  Should the student not meet these criteria, they will be dismissed with the right to appeal.

Suspension Status

Students who do not meet both qualitative and quantitative standards are no longer eligible for financial aid. Students will receive a letter informing them of their suspension. Classes can be taken (using their own funding) and students can raise their cumulative GPA and completion rate to meet the above standards to be reviewed for SAP. Students who are placed on suspension may petition if there are extenuating circumstances that led to academic difficulties (see petition process below).

Probation / Academic Plan

A student on probation may receive federal, state, and institutional aid for one semester pending evaluation.  Students who have been placed on probation and are attending their program under an approved academic plan remain eligible for aid as long as they continue to meet the conditions of that plan.

Petition Process

Students who are placed on suspension may petition if there are extenuating circumstances that led to academic difficulties. A student may petition (with supporting documentation) in these situations:

• Extenuating circumstances: situations over which the student has no control and may include death in the student's immediate family, hospitalization, accidents, and illness. Supporting documentation is required.

• Suspension resulting from a grade of Incomplete (I) or missing grades.

The following must be included with the petition:

• Why the student failed to meet satisfactory progress.

• What has changed in the student's situation that will allow the student to demonstrate satisfactory progress at the next evaluation.

• A written academic plan with advisor signature.

The Financial Aid and Academic Standing Committee will:

• Review the petition and current academic performance.

• Convey in writing to the student the approval or disapproval of the petition.

• If the petition is approved, the student will be placed on probation for the next semester.

• If the petition is approved and the student does not meet the requirements of the approval as outlined in the approval document, the student will be automatically placed on suspension.

Students who have been suspended and choose not to petition, or who miss the petition's deadline, or whose petition is denied may be considered for re-admission upon presenting evidence of ability to do satisfactory college work. Normally, the expectation is that the student will complete at least twelve credits at another regionally-accredited college or university with no grade below a C. Students who have been dismissed and do not appeal may not enroll in any classes at The College of Idaho unless they have permission from the Financial Aid and Academic Standings Committee.

A student may submit a maximum of two petitions during their time of study at The College of Idaho.

Reinstatement

The policy does not preclude a student from enrolling in subsequent semesters. Students can raise their GPA and/or satisfy credit deficiencies by taking additional course work at The College of Idaho without receiving financial aid or by transferring in credits from another institution. Students who have lost eligibility for financial aid will not regain eligibility simply by paying for his or her classes for a semester or by sitting out a semester. Students may have their financial aid reinstated once all SAP standards (both qualitative and quantitative) are met. Students can also submit a copy of their College of Idaho transcript and a petition form to verify grade changes, including removal of Incompletes, if this will result in the student meeting the requirements of SAP for financial assistance.

Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4)

Repayment of Unearned Financial Aid

Students should understand that if they are enrolled beyond the tenth-day census date in any semester in which they receive financial aid and then withdraw (officially or unofficially) or otherwise do not complete the full length of the semester, repayment of a portion of the financial aid received for that semester may be required.

If a student enrolls but does not attend classes, he or she will need to repay all financial aid. Students who do not attend classes have not established eligibility for the financial aid received, and all financial aid must be repaid within 30 days.

Students agree that if they withdraw or otherwise cease attendance up through and including the 60 percent point of a semester, they may owe a repayment of a portion of the financial aid received and agree to pay back any and all amounts due to either the College or the U.S. Department of Education.

Please note: If (as determined by classroom instructors) a student attends beyond the 60 percent point of a semester, that student is considered to have earned 100 percent of the aid received for the semester.

These procedures apply to all financial aid recipients. Financial aid is awarded and disbursed to students in anticipation of students' successful completion of their courses and progression toward graduation. The U.S. Department of Education regulates the management of Title IV funds and, in some cases, a student who receives Title IV financial aid but does not complete his or her coursework is not considered to have "earned" the Title IV aid they received.

When a student officially withdraws from all of their courses, audits all of their courses, receives unsatisfactory grades in all of their courses, or otherwise fails to attend the full period of enrollment, The College of Idaho is required to determine the earned and unearned portions of Title IV aid the student was scheduled to receive.

The earned and unearned portions of Title IV aid are determined as of the date a student ceased attendance, based on the amount of time the student spent in attendance. Up through the 60 percent point in each period of enrollment, a prorated schedule is used to determine the amount of Title IV funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal.

After the 60 percent point in the period of enrollment, a student has earned 100 percent of the Title IV funds he or she was scheduled to receive during the period.

For a student who officially withdraws at any time through the 60 percent point of a period of enrollment, the official withdrawal date is the earlier of:

• The date the student begins the official withdrawal process (submits a signed complete withdrawal form); or
• The date the student otherwise provides official notification of intent to withdraw.

For a student who fails to officially withdraw (does not complete the official withdrawal process but receives unsatisfactory grades in all their courses):

• For a student who unofficially withdraws due to circumstances beyond their control, the date the College determines is related to the circumstance that was beyond the student's control.
• For all other students who unofficially withdraw, the midpoint of the enrollment period or the last date the student participated in an academically related activity will be counted as the last date of attendance (as reported by his/her instructors), whichever is later.

When a student is determined to have withdrawn, either officially or unofficially, the College will use federal law/regulations to make the following determinations and complete the following activities:

• Determine the amount of the student's institutional charges.
• Determine the Title IV aid disbursed to the student.
• Determine the Title IV aid that could have been disbursed to the student (if any).
• Determine the student's official withdrawal date.
• Calculate the amount of the student's earned and unearned Title IV aid.
• Calculate the amount of Title IV aid the College must return.
• Calculate the amount of Title IV aid the student must return.
• Notify the student of the determinations and calculated values used in the R2T4 calculation.
• Notify the student of the resulting balance owed to the College and/or the U.S. Department of Education.

The following list is of financial aid programs, Title IV, to which the Return of Title IV Funds requirement applies. The financial aid programs are listed in the order that the school must return per the federal formula:

1. Unsubsidized Direct Loans
2. Subsidized Direct Loans
3. Parent PLUS Loans
4. Pell Grant
5. Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
6. Iraq/Afghanistan Service Grant

Amounts required to be returned to the U.S. Department of Education by The College of Idaho become debts immediately due and payable to the College upon completion of the R2T4 calculation and will be billed to the student. The student must make prompt payment or payment arrangements to satisfy the debt owed to the College. The College reserves the right to refer the debt to a collection agency for servicing. Amounts returned by the College to the U.S. Department of Education on the student's behalf and owed to the College must be paid directly to the Business Office. Do not send payments to any other department or agency.

Exit Counseling

Exit counseling is a mandatory information session which takes place when a student graduates or attends school less than half-time; the session explains loan repayment responsibilities and when repayment begins. If the student borrowed for federal loans, unlike grants and work-study, this constitutes borrowed money that must be repaid, with interest, just like car loans and home mortgages. Students cannot have these loans canceled because they didn't like the education received, didn't get a job in their field of study, or because they are having financial difficulty. Loans are legal obligations that students must repay.

Exit counseling:

• Is required before a student withdraws, graduates, or drops below half-time attendance (even if one plans to transfer to another school).
• Helps the student understand rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower.
• Provides useful tips and information to help the student manage loans.

These procedures, as well as the federal regulations they are based on, are subject to change without advance notice.