Owens Community College students receiving federal financial aid are required to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards. Being eligible to enroll in classes does not mean the student has an eligible SAP status for financial aid.
Types of financial aid affected
Students must meet SAP standards to receive financial aid or be considered for financial aid from the following sources:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Work-Study Program
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- Ohio College Opportunity Grant
- Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
- Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program (Subsidized and Unsubsidized)
- Other programs as determined by the Office of Financial Aid
Courses used for determining SAP
The review of a student’s SAP status is based on the entire academic record, even if the student did not receive financial aid for previous semesters of enrollment. This includes the following:
- courses attempted at Owens
- all transfer credit hours being accepted by the College
- courses taken at another institution as part of a consortium agreement in which Owens is the home school
- developmental courses and English as a Second Language courses taken at Owens
When is SAP determined
The SAP status is monitored after each semester’s grades are posted. SAP may also be determined if there is a change to the information that was used to make the SAP determination, such as a grade change for a prior semester.
How are students notified?
After each semester has ended, a student’s SAP status will be calculated and posted in Ozone. Locate the Financial Aid Summary card and click on the Satisfactory Academic Progress Status link. In addition, students who received federal aid in that semester will receive a notice from the Office of Financial Aid if they are not meeting the SAP requirements.
SAP Requirements
Students will be considered to have an eligible SAP status if they:
- Maintain the required cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.0 or better
- Satisfactorily complete enough credit hours to have a pace of completion of 67.0% or higher (see Chart A)
- Will graduate within 150 % of the credit hours required to complete the program (see Chart B)
Students who receive a final grade of A, B, C, D or PNP for a course have successfully completed those credit hours. However, withdrawals from classes (including withdrawals and drops for nonpayment which occur after the financial aid freeze date, even if the class has not started), or a final grade of F, I, WD, AU, FNC, PR or NGR are not considered satisfactory and are therefore counted as hours attempted but not as hours completed. Transfer hours accepted by Owens Community College are considered to have been both attempted and completed and will be used in calculating the remaining semesters of financial aid eligibility and the minimum hours to be completed.
A student who has not met the minimum CGPA requirement of 2.0 or better, or has not completed the minimum credit hours (Chart A), will be assigned a classification of warning for one semester, after which the student will be assigned a classification of ineligible if SAP requirements are not met.
Chart A
Students are expected to complete at least 67.0 percent of their total attempted classes. The total number of attempted credit hours are multiplied by 0.67 to obtain the minimum hours that the student must have completed successfully. Rounding down is not permitted. For example:
| Total Hours Attempted | Required pace | Minimum Hours Required to Complete |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | x 0.67 | 16.08 |
| 12 | x 0.67 | 8.04 |
| 9 | x 0.67 | 6.03 |
| 4 | x 0.67 | 2.68 |
Based on this chart, a student who has attempted 24 credit hours must have successfully completed at least 16.08 credits. This cannot be rounded down to 16 credits.
Warning
A student who has not completed at least 67.0 percent of the total attempted hours, or is below the minimum 2.0 CGPA for credit hours attempted, will be placed on warning. The student has one semester to correct the deficiencies in SAP. The student may continue to be eligible for loans and grants and is encouraged to seek tutoring or other support services for help.
If a student does not attain SAP during the warning semester, the student will become ineligible for financial aid.
Example: In Fall semester a new student attempted 12 credit hours and successfully completed 6 credit hours with a CGPA of 2.0. The student meets the required CGPA, but has not completed the required 67% of hours attempted (6 divided by 12 = 0.5 or 50%). Therefore, the student will be on warning status for the next semester. In the Spring semester the student is enrolled in 12 credit hours. The total number of credit hours attempted is 24 (12 from Fall and 12 from Spring). The minimum number of credits the student must successfully complete is calculated by taking the 24 attempted credits X 0.67 (67%) = 16.08 credits. This is rounded up to 17 total credits that must be successfully completed. Since the student earned 6 credits in Fall, the student must successfully complete 11 credits in Spring. Therefore, the student must complete at least 11 credit hours and have a CGPA or 2.0 or better in the Spring semester in order to remain eligible for financial aid.
Ineligible SAP Status
If a student has not corrected all of the deficiencies in SAP after a semester of warning, or if the student has reached the maximum time frame, the student becomes ineligible for financial aid.
Example: The same student as described above only completes 10 credit hours in the Spring semester. Since the student needed to complete at least 11 credit hours to correct the deficiency in SAP, the student is no longer eligible for financial aid.
Maximum Time Frame
To remain eligible for financial aid, a student must make sufficient progress to graduate within 150% of the credit hours required for their program.
A student who is receiving federal aid and is within twelve credit hours of meeting the maximum time frame allowed to complete a program will be sent a notice that they are near the maximum limit. If the degree or certificate is not completed within the time frame allowed, the student becomes ineligible for federal financial aid.
Chart B
Students are expected to complete their degree or certificate within 150% of the total number of credits required for their program. Once a student has attempted the maximum number of credits, eligibility for federal financial aid will end.
| Number of Credits in Program | Maximum time frame | Maximum Number of Credits to Complete Program |
|---|---|---|
| 20 credit hours | x 1.50 | 30 credit hours |
| 36 credit hours | x 1.50 | 54 credit hours |
| 60 credit hours | x 1.50 | 90 credit hours |
| 70 credit hours | x 1.50 | 105 credit hours |
Example: A student’s program requires 60 credit hours to complete. The student has attempted 90 credit hours but still has 12 credit hours to take before completing the program. The student will not be eligible for federal student aid for the remaining 12 credit hours.
Developmental Hours
A student is limited to taking 30 developmental credit hours while receiving federal financial aid. Federal financial aid programs will not cover any developmental courses taken after reaching the maximum 30 hours. These courses include but are not limited to Chemistry 095, English 090, English 091, English 095, English 096, English 097, English 099, Math 013, Math 033, Math 054, Math 064, Math 070, Math 074, Math 089, Math 091, Math 096 and Math 099. Developmental courses that are no longer available are still included in determining the 30 developmental credit hour limit.
Repeated Courses
Students may receive financial aid for repeating courses. However, if retaking a previously passed course, financial aid can only be used for one repeat of the course even if the second attempt results in a lower grade. Any courses that are repeated will be used in the calculation of a student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress status. Each repetition will count towards the attempted hours; however, only the course(s) being counted in the CGPA calculation will be counted in completed hours for SAP. Limits on repeated courses are outlined in the College catalog.
Reinstatement of Financial Aid / Right to Appeal
A student who is ineligible for financial aid can become eligible again by fulfilling one of the following conditions:
- Eliminate all academic deficiencies by completing the number of credit hours that are lacking, and/or complete enough credit hours to achieve the minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA, at student’s own expense.
- Successfully appeal the ineligible status by demonstrating unforeseen, documentable extenuating circumstances.
Appeal deadline
An appeal will not be considered for the current semester after the third week of the full semester.
| Semester | Deadline to Appeal |
|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | September 9, 2024 |
| Spring 2025 | February 3, 2025 |
Appeal process
A student with unforeseen, documentable extenuating circumstances who has been denied financial aid may appeal in writing by completing the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form and submitting supporting documentation. This form can be submitted online. Log in to ozone.a4group.net, locate the Financial Aid Summary card, click on Satisfactory Academic Progress Status, and click on the link to the form. Paper copies are also available at the Student Service Center.
For each semester in which the student did not meet a semester GPA of 2.0 and/or a semester completion rate of at least 67.0%, the student must submit information and documentation explaining why the SAP standards were not met and what has changed that will allow the student to meet SAP in the future. The appeal form and all required supporting documentation must be submitted before the appeal deadline for that semester. The Office of Financial Aid will respond in writing to an appeal. Only information submitted with the initial appeal will be considered.
Circumstances for an appeal that will be considered include unexpected injury or illness of the student, work schedule change, daycare or transportation problems, death of a close family member, or other unforeseen extenuating circumstances. For those students who are appealing because they have exceeded the maximum time frame, in addition to the reasons already listed, the appeals committee would consider classes taken toward a second Associate’s degree or classes that would transfer toward a Bachelor’s degree.
Approved appeals
If a student’s appeal is approved, they will be placed on financial aid Probation. While on Probation, the student may receive financial aid for one semester. In order to be eligible for aid for subsequent semesters, the student must meet the terms of the appeal. For all Probation students this includes:
- Successfully completing all the courses attempted during the semester with no withdrawals from classes (including withdrawals after the financial aid freeze date, even if the class has not started) or a final grade of F, I, WD, AU, FNC, PR or NGR
- Maintaining a semester GPA of 2.0 or higher
In addition, for students who are on Probation due to the maximum time frame rule, they must also:
- Complete their degree within the date listed on their appeal
- Follow the academic plan that was submitted with their appeal
Additional requirements may be listed on the appeal approval notice.
All information is subject to change based on changes to federal law, regulation, or College policy and procedure. If changes are made, students must abide by the new policy.