Federal and state financial aid regulations require schools to set minimum standards for satisfactory academic progress and to hold students accountable for meeting the standards. Satisfactory Academic Progress is checked prior to awarding aid, even if students did not receive aid in past quarters. It is also checked at the end of every quarter aid is received.
SAP Standards
- Grade Point Average (GPA)
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All students must have a 2.00 or higher cumulative GPA at the end of the each quarter. Students wishing to begin financial aid for the first time must also be meeting this standard to be eligible for aid.
In some circumstances, students who repeat a course and receive a higher grade the second time can request that the original grade not be computed in their cumulative GPA. To request that your cumulative GPA be adjusted as a result of your performance in a repeated course, please submit a Repeated Course Form. Students without a calculated cumulative GPA due to the type(s) of grade(s) received (i.e. "P" or "S" grades) will be considered to have met the 2.00 cumulative GPA requirement if they meet the credit completion requirement for their most recent quarter of attendance.
- Minimum Units Completed (Pace)
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All students must complete at least 67% of all attempted units. This is calculated by dividing the cumulative number of credits a student has successfully completed by the cumulative number of credits they have attempted. Passing grades include: 1.0 or above or a "P" or "S" grade.
Example: If you attempted 30 credits and successfully completed 24 of them, your completion rate would be 80%. When this calculation falls below 67%, you are no longer on pace.
Grades of "I" (incomplete), "H" (course in progress), "N" (audit), "V" (unofficial withdrawal), "W" (official withdrawal) and "Z" (hardship withdrawal) do not count as completed credits.
We strongly recommend students only take classes that are required to complete their program of study. Grades posted late due to instructor error or late-submitted assignment may cause problems and delays for student. It is up to the student and instructor to ensure that his/her grades are posted correctly and on-time at the end of each quarter.
- Maximum Timeframe
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All students must complete their program within 150% of the published length of the program.
Example: If you are seeking a degree that requires 90 credits, you can receive financial aid while attempting up to 135 credits (90 x 150% =135).
Credits transferred in from other institutions to Peninsula College that count towards a student's current program of study, and any credits attempted at Peninsula College, with or without the benefit of student finanical aid, must be taken into consideretaion. Financial aid will be suspended when the financial aid office determines that a student cannot mathematically complete their degree within this timeframe.
All attempted courses are counted, including incompletes, withdrawals, unofficial withdrawals, hardship withdrawals, failed courses, audit classes, repeated courses, and transfer/assessment credits. Running Start credits, transfer credits accepted from other institutions or from one completed program of study at PC to another and assessment credits will count toward the time limit requirement.
The following courses do not count toward the Time Limit policy: Transitional Studies (BASED), Family Life Education (FLE), high school completion, New Chance, and non-credit courses.
For financial aid purposes, "for-credit developmental courses" are English, Math, and Human Development courses which are deemed below the 100 level. A maximum of 45 for-credit developmental/pre-requisite courses will be excluded from the maximum time-limit requirement. Developmental course progress is included in GPA and Pace of Progression standards.
All PC students are encouraged to utilize the numerous academic resources available in order to meet SAP standards. To learn more about the different tutoring services on campus, please visit the Peninsula College Tutoring Resources & Canvas Help webpage.
SAP Status
A student's SAP status will be evaluated at the conclusion of the Fall, Spring, Winter, and Summer quarters. Students who are not meeting the SAP Standards described above will be placed under a Warning, Suspended, or Max Timeframe Exceeded status, dependent on whether they were previously in a Satisfactory or Warning status. An explanation of each SAP status is provide below.
- Satisfactory (Meet)
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Students meeting and who continue to meet SAP Standards at the end of each term will be assisgned a Satisfactory (Meet) SAP status. Students with this SAP status are eligible to receive financial aid.
- Warning
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Students previously assigned a Satisfactory (Meet) SAP status, and who later do not meet SAP Standards at the end of a term, will be moved to a Warning SAP status. Once under a Warning status, students will have only one quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) in which they can complete coursework in order to meet SAP standards. Students with this SAP status are eligible to receive financial aid.
- Suspend
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Students previously assigned a Warning SAP status, and who do not meet SAP Standards at the end of a term in which they were enrolled while under a Warning SAP status, will be moved to a Suspended Sap status. Students with this SAP status are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. Additionally, if at any point in time it is determined that a student cannot complete their course of study within the 150% Maximum Time Frame, they will be immediately moved to a Suspended status.
- Max Timeframe Exceeded
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Students have exceeded 150% of the published normal completion length of their program.
- Probation
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Students who have submitted a complete SAP Appeal Form, and whose SAP Appeal is approved, are placed under a financial aid Probation status. While under financial aid Probation, a student will regain financial aid eligibility for one quarter. At the conclusion of the quarter for which they were under financial aid Probation, each student's academic performance is re-evaluated to determine their SAP status for the following semester: Satisfactory, Suspension, or Probation.
- Academic Plan
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Students will be placed directly on plan status when the financial aid office determines that a student is at 83% of the maximum timeframe for their degree/program of study. This status may be manually placed for students who have submitted a complete Time Limit Appeal, and whose Time Limit Appeal is approved, and is meeting the terms and conditions of their probation to continue their approved appeal for the student's future enrolled term.
View the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Chart.
Earning Reinstatement After Being Suspended from Financial Aid Eligibility
If you are terminated from financial aid eligibility for reasons other than having reached the maximum time limit for your program, you can earn reinstatement one of two ways:
- Earn Reinstatement on Your Own
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We strongly encourage your to appeal! 99% of appeals submitted each year are approved and most students go on to graduate. You may also reach out to our office if you have a concern, but if you feel there's a barrier to the appeal process, you have the following options at your own expense (or through the assistance of a third-party funding source):
- Bring your cumulative GPA up to a 2.0
- Enroll and complete a high enough percentage of your classes to bring your cumulative completion rate up to 67%
- Once your cumulative GPA is above 2.0 and you have increased your completion rate, notify our office by submitting a SAP Appeal Form.
- Reinstatement via the Appeal Process
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Tough situations happen but remember you are tougher. The Financial Aid Office is here to listen to your college experience and to give you the opportunity to have your eligibility reconsidered through our SAP Appeal process. We understand that sometimes extenuating circumstances may have hindered your academic progress. This is not reflective of your ability and does not limit your future success. Our goal is to help restore your financial aid eligibility and point you to academic and other resources that may assist in completing your degree while reducing financial barriers.
Examples of extenuating circumstances that may have impacted your academic progress include, but are not limited to:
- Unable to complete your course of study within the maximum timeframe because of a change of academic major
- Serious illness, injury, or other health-related episode or condition that can be documented by a medical professional
- Death of an immediate family member or other person or close relation (copy of death certificate, obituary, or funeral program required)
- Documented extenuating circumstances that were beyond the student's control
- Disabilities verifiable by Peninsula College's Access Services
- Activities associated with a student's service in the United States Armed Forces or other entity providing essential services to the public
- Issues experienced by students transitioning to collegiate academic requirement, which have been resolved or are being remediated with the intervention of the Student Success Department
Appeals submitted without official supporting documentation will not be reviewed until all required elements of the appeal are submitted.
SAP Appeal Process
- Appeal Form and Supporting Documentation
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Student must submit a completed SAP Appeal form that includes a written statement explaining two things:
- What happened that led to you not meeting SAP (including a timeline of the event(s)
- What has/will change that will help you get back on track in the future academically
Students must provide supporting documentation which proves the unusual and extenuating circumstances which affected the student's ability to meet academic progress requirements.
- Make sure that supporting documentation is coming from an objective third-party. No family or friends
- Letters written on your behalf must be on official stationary/letterhead. The only exception to this would be for PC employees who can send a letter via their PC email address
- Documentation submitted needs to be able to confirm the statements that you've made and verify the timeline you were experiencing academic issues.
Examples of Documentation Include, But Not Limited to:
- Letter from a Doctor and/or Counselor
- Letter from an Advisor or Professor
- Letter from a Supervisor
- Medical Records
- Information from the Access Services or Student Success Department
- Legal Documents
- Medical Assessments
- Death Certificate/Obituary
- SAP Appeal Timeline
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Please be aware that submission of an appeal is not a guarantee of approval. We review appeals on a first-come, first-served basis. Depending on the required steps and documentation needed for your specific circumstance, it may take up to 1-2 weeks (3-4 weeks during peak times) to review your appeal and notify you of the decision, We strongly encourage you to submit you SAP Appeal immediately after you receive notification that you are not meeting SAP requirements so that you may receive a decision on your appeal in a timely manner.
- If Your SAP Appeal is Approved
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You will be responsible for following specific conditions each quarter in order to maintain your financial aid eligibility during that academic year. We will notify you via email of the conditions you are required to meet to maintain eligibility, and we will review your progress before we disburse any additional aid to you each quarter. On an appeal approval, you must complete 100% of your attempted courses with a passing grade including: 1.0 or above or a "P" or "S" grade. Receiving anything below a passing grade (including a W), will disqualify you from your appeal.
- If Your SAP Appeal is Denied
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You will be given the opportunity to make a counterappeal to provide additional supporting statements and documentation of the extenuating circumstances preventing you from making satisfactory progress toward your academic goals. This will also allow you to provide the most recent and up-to-date supporting documents, such as progress reports of your current grades for your current enrollment. If your counterappeal is denied, you will be responsible for all costs associated with your enrollment during the academic year. You may need to seek alternative enrollment options or sources of funding.
The Financial Aid Office reserves the right to limit the number of SAP Appeals a student may file to one appeal per quarter. Once denied, the student may not be allowed to submit another appeal until the next quarter.
The Office of Finacial Aid also reserves the right to require a student complete a successful quarter without and appeal approval.
All decisions made by the Financial Aid Director/Financial Aid Appeals Committee are final and there is no higher appeal process. By law, neither the Peninsula College President not the US Department of Education can override the Financial Aid Administrator's decision.
Receiving Aid for More Than One Program of Study
Students can pursue a maximum of two programs of study (associate degrees and/or certificates) plus one Bachelor of Applied Science degree while on financial aid funding at Peninsula College. This means after completing one program, the student begins working towards a second program. Financial aid for the second program will not be awarded until the completion of the first degree/certificate appears on the student’s academic transcript.
“Program of study” means either an associate's degree program or a certificate program that is 36 or more credits in length. A degree and a certificate earned in the same field (for example, an AAS degree in Criminal Justice and a certificate in Criminal Justice) count as one program for Satisfactory Academic Progress purposes.
Changing Your Program of Study
If you switch to a different program of study, your attempted credit count will not start over. All previously attempted credits will count toward the maximum allowed for your new program of study. It is therefore very important that you notify the Financial Aid Office in writing when you switch programs so we can send you a letter telling you how many attempted credits you have remaining, and whether you have enough financial aid eligibility to complete the new program.
Repeated Courses
Students can repeat courses for which they receive financial aid. Each time a class is repeated, whether or not financial aid paid for the course, the credits are counted toward the time limit policy requirement. Each time a for-credit developmental course is repeated while the student is receiving aid, it counts toward the 45 credit limit on for-credit developmental courses. Developmental courses (up to 45 credits) are excluded from the time limit calculation.
Federal regulations allow a student to repeat a previously passed course once and be eligible for federal student aid, such as Pell or Direct Loans. It is important that you to run an Advisement Report each time you register or update your class schedule to ensure you are staying on-track with the requirements to complete your program.
Courses Not Eligible for Financial Aid
Running Start, high school completion, transitional studies (BASED), audit, Tech Prep, and Family Life Education (FLE) credits do not count towards the financial aid credit completion requirement for Satisfactory Academic Progress.