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. This policy outlines the requirements for financial aid satisfactory academic progress at Peninsula College.
Time Limit Policy
Associate Degrees
Students pursuing an associate’s degree can no longer receive WA College Grant and Pell Grant after reaching the maximum usage limit of six full-time years of eligibility. For all other types of financial aid, students can no longer receive aid after the number of credits they have attempted equals 150% of the credits required for their degree, rounded down to the nearest whole credit.
Certificate Programs
Students enrolled in an eligible certificate program (a program that is 36 or more credits in length) can no longer receive WA College Grant and Pell Grant after reaching the maximum usage limit of six full-time years of eligibility. For all other types of financial aid, students can no longer receive aid after the number of credits they have attempted equals 150% of the credits required for the certificate, rounded down to the nearest whole credit. ***If you are completing a certificate program as part of the first year of your Associate degree, then you will be assigned the time limit for the Associate degree.
Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) in Applied Management
Students pursuing a bachelor's degree can no longer receive WA College Grant and Pell Grant after reaching the maximum usage limit of six full-time years of eligibility. For all other types of financial aid, students can no longer receive aid after the number of credits they have attempted equals 150% of the credits required for their degree, rounded down to the nearest whole credit.
Transfer Credits From Other Colleges
Credits transferred in from other institutions that apply towards your program of study will count toward your attempted credits.
The following courses do not count toward the Time Limit policy: Transitional Studies (BASED), Family Life Education (FLE), high school completion, New Chance, non-credit courses, and up to 45 credits of developmental courses. Developmental courses are English, Math, and Human Development courses below 100 level. If you attempt more than 45 credits of developmental coursework, those additional credits will count towards your maximum time limit. Non-credit developmental courses are not counted towards the time limit requirement, nor are they counted towards cumulative GPA.
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.
Satisfactory Academic Progress - Quantitative Measure
Pace of Progression Requirement
To remain eligible for financial aid, students must complete at least 67% of the credits they attempt. We strongly recommend students only take classes that are required to complete their program of study. Students must complete their program of study within a maximum time frame (or credit limit) as described in the Time Limit Policy in order to receive financial aid. Students who do not complete at least 67% of the credits required towards their program of study within the time frame will be terminated from financial aid eligibility. Pace of progression is checked quarterly and at the beginning of each academic year.
Credit Completion Requirement
A passing grade is a 1.0 or above or a “P” or "S" grade. Grades of "0.0", “*”, “I”, “W”, “Y”, “N”, “VF”, “VP”, “V”, “Z”, and “U” do not count as completed credits. Only credits completed by the end of the scheduled quarter will count as “completed” for Satisfactory Academic Progress. Grades posted late due to instructor error or late-submitted assignments may cause problems and delays for students. 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.
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.
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.
Satisfactory Academic Progress - Qualitative Measure
G.P.A. Requirement
To be eligible to receive financial aid, students must have a 2.00 or higher cumulative GPA at the end of each quarter. 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 Petition to Disregard Grades.
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.
Financial Aid Warning Status
If your cumulative GPA falls below a 2.0 and/or you are not meeting the 67% pace of progression requirement (completed vs attempted credits), you will be placed on Warning status with Financial Aid for your next quarter. Warning status means you are still eligible for financial aid, but you are expected to raise your cumulative GPA up to the 2.0 minimum requirement during the next quarter, and improve your pace of progression to meet the 67% minimum requirement.
Financial Aid Termination (Suspension) Status
If, for the second consecutive quarter, your cumulative GPA remains below a 2.0 and/or you are not meeting the 67% pace of progression requirement (completed vs attempted credits), you will be placed on Suspension/Termination status with Financial Aid for all future quarters. Suspension/Termination status means you are not eligible for financial aid, which includes grants, federal student loans, work study, and all other sources of aid which have Satisfactory Academic Progress as an eligibility criteria.
Earning Reinstatement After Being Terminated 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: Register for 5 or more credits in one quarter at Peninsula College at your own expense (or through the assistance of a third-party funding source), successfully complete the credits, have a 2.0 or greater cumulative GPA at the end of the quarter, and be meeting the pace of progression requirement of 67% (completed vs attempted credits.) Once your grades have been posted for the quarter, you must notify the Financial Aid Office that you earned reinstatement by completing an appeal form.
- Reinstatement via the Appeal Process: Submit, and secure approval of, a written documented appeal for reinstatement based on any unusual or extraordinary circumstances beyond your control that occurred during the quarter. Examples include (but are not limited to): the death of a family member, or a one-time medical emergency. Appeals must include official supporting documentation and a written explanation as to how your circumstances are no longer a problem, and/or will not prevent you from being successful in future classes. Appeal forms are available at Pirate Central or in the Financial Aid Office, and also on our Forms webpage. If you were terminated after being on Financial Aid Warning, you should also explain any mitigating circumstances that resulted in your being placed on Warning status. For tips on writing a successful appeal, please click here. If you submit an appeal and it is denied, you must earn reinstatement on your own.
Appeals submitted without official supporting documentation will not be reviewed until all required elements of the appeal are submitted.
Appeals
Students who have reached or exceeded the maximum time frame for their program of study, or who have not met the pace of progression requirements, must submit a Time Limit Appeal to the Financial Aid Office for consideration of future quarters of aid. Time Limit Appeals are not approved for students who enrolled in courses that were not required towards their program of study while they were receiving financial aid funding. Appeal forms are available at Pirate Central or the Financial Aid Office.
All appeals, including Appeals for Reinstatement, must include official supporting documentation, a written statement signed by the student, and the appropriate appeal form. Incomplete appeals will not be reviewed.
View the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Chart.
Unusual Enrollment History
Unusual Enrollment History (UEH) is defined as “students who have received Pell Grant funds from three or more institutions over four award years.” The current relevant academic years that require review are 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. The particular pattern of enrollment that the Department of Education is concerned about is whether the student attends an institution long enough to receive Title IV aid (Pell Grant or loans) as a financial aid refund, leaves without completing the enrollment period or earning credit, and then enrolls at another institution, repeating the pattern.
If flagged by the Department of Education, students will be asked to provide copies of all academic transcripts for all schools where they received aid during the relevant academic years. Students will not be considered for any financial aid funding until all requested transcripts are provided. Students who did not complete any credits at one or more of the previous schools during the prior three-year period may be determined to be ineligible for financial aid funding. Ineligible students may earn reinstatement by enrolling in 6 or more credits at Peninsula College and meeting all Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements that quarter, or by obtaining an approved Appeal for Reinstatement. Reinstatement Appeals can be requested from the Financial Aid Office and must be based on unusual and extraordinary circumstances beyond your control; appeals must include official supporting documentation that demonstrates why you were unable to complete any credits at the school(s) in question.