2019 - 2020 Catalog
Standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for 2018-2019

The colleges of DCCCD are required by law to formulated standards to measure a student's progress toward completion of a program of study while receiving financial assistance through federal, state or institutional student aid programs by applying both qualitative and quantitative measurements to academic work [34 CFR 668.34]. To comply with applicable laws and accreditation standards, DCCCD has developed a policy describing Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for both applicants and recipients of student financial aid. The following SAP policy measurements become effective July 1, 2018. These measurements shall be used to determine student eligibility for all need-based and Federal Title IV financial assistance, unless the terms of a particular grant or funding source state otherwise. All current and returning students to DCCCD, after a lapse of one semester or longer, will be re-evaluated under the current SAP policy. Satisfactory Academic Progress is measured at the end of each payment period of enrollment. Some financial aid programs have specific requirements. In those instances, the program requirements will supersede the general SAP policy stated here.

Each financial aid applicant must select a primary program of study on eConnect (login required) prior to receiving financial aid payments. A student can receive a retroactive financial aid payment for a prior term within the payment period only if he or she had a program of study selected or a degree program through Admissions for that particular payment period of enrollment. Students may not be allowed financial aid funding for multiple changes of programs for the purpose of extending financial aid eligibility. All previously repeated college-level courses will be counted.

Transfer students must submit official transcripts from all previous colleges attended. If you have an unevaluated transcript with a print date that is more than three years old, you must submit a new one for evaluation. For those who transfer to DCCCD, all previous college transcripts must be received and evaluated by the deadlines listed below. If you are applying for financial aid, please be prepared to pay tuition and fees until financial aid is evaluated based on your transfer request and eligibility.

The deadlines for submitting transcripts for the next term are:

Fall - May 1, 2018
Spring - October 1, 2018
Summer - March 15, 2019

A cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale or higher must be attained by the end of the student's first semester of enrollment at the college. This average must be maintained at the end of each subsequent semester for a student to continue to receive financial aid. Students who do not meet this minimum CGPA requirement will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one payment period of enrollment. If a CGPA of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale or higher is not reached by the end of the warning period, the student will be place on Financial Aid Suspension.

To avoid exceeding the maximum time frame required to complete a program of study using financial aid, students are expected to maintain a specific completion rate which is known as the Pace of Progress. At the end of each period of enrollment, students must have a cumulative passing rate of at least 67 percent of all classes attempted. Grades of W, WX, E, F and I will be counted as hours attempted, but will not be counted as hours successfully passed. Repeating a course will be counted in the completion rate and against the overall Maximum Time Frame required to complete the program of study. Transfer hours accepted towards the student's primary program of study will be counted as both attempted and completed when calculating the Pace of Progress. With the exception of those students who exceed the Maximum Time Frame, students who do not maintain the minimum 67 percent Pace of Progress will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one period of enrollment. If a 67 percent cumulative Pace of Progress is not reached by the end of the warning period, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.

A student may apply for and, if eligible, receive financial aid for attempted credit hours that do not exceed 150 percent of the minimum number of hours required to complete the student's primary program of study. All hours attempted toward the completion of a program of study will be counted regardless of whether financial aid was received or not. Credit hours transferred to the colleges of DCCCD are counted when calculating the 150 percent Maximum Time Frame. Once SAP is calculated, students who have attempted 150 percent of the minimum number of credit hours need to complete their primary program of study, will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. Students who are placed on Financial Aid Suspension may have exhausted their financial aid eligibility to complete the program and may not receive financial aid benefits to complete their primary program of study. Previous hours attempted by a student who have been cleared for a "fresh start" by the colleges of DCCCD will continue to be counted toward the student's 150 percent Maximum Time Frame.

Examples:

1. For a student completing an associate degree program that requires 60 hours, the student must complete the degree within 90 attempted hours. The student will lose eligibility for additional financial aid to complete the program after 90 attempted hours.
2. For a student completing a certificate program that requires 32 hours, the student must complete the certificate within 48 attempted hours. The student will lose eligibility for additional financial aid to complete the program after 48 attempted hours.

Once a Student reaches the maximum time frame a review of the student's current primary program of study will be evaluated, one time only, for additional program hours. A student may have only one program evaluation for additional hours. All previous program evaluations will be considered in the maximum of one program evaluations, which means that if a student has evaluation of program hours in one discipline they may not switch disciplines to garner additional aid eligibility. Only hours which cannot conceivably be included towards the student's primary program of study may be excluded from students Maximum Time Frame calculation. The institution must always include any courses applicable to the student's primary program of study on file when evaluating eligibility for financial aid purposes. Therefore, any courses that apply to your current program of study will be used in calculating your Satisfactory Academic Progress including those hours which could be considered elective. The purpose of a review is to better align the student's chosen program with the student's educational goals and is not to grant additional financial aid eligibility. To be eligible for an Academic Reset the student must be meeting both the Pace of Progress and Cumulative GPA requirements set forth in this Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

An eligible student may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 attempted credit hours of developmental/remedial course work. Once the 30 credit hour maximum is reached, additional developmental credit hours will not be used towards calculating the award amount. Students taking ESOL classes, counted as developmental hours, may submit a written request to the Financial Aid Office to exclude ESOL classes from the 30-hour maximum. All developmental and ESOL course attempts and grades are used in the measurement of the Pace of Progress as well as the Cumulative GPA.

The DCCCD Office of Financial Aid will review academic records at the end of each period of enrollment and determine each student's Satisfactory Academic Progress status. A student who fails to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress minimum standards for Pace of Progress or Cumulative GPA but has not exceeded the 'Maximum Time Frame' will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one period of enrollment. If the student fails to attain the minimum standards for Pace of Progress or Cumulative GPA by the end of the Warning period, he or she will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. As described in the policy above, a student who exceeds the 'Maximum Time Frame' and fails to maintain the minimum standards for Pace of Completion, Cumulative GPA or both will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension without a Warning period.

To regain financial aid eligibility, a student placed on Suspension must pay enrollment related expenses from personal resources until the minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress standards are met. The student's progress will continue to be reviewed at the end of each period of enrollment. Eligibility will automatically be reinstated for the next period of enrollment upon successful completion of a period of enrollment in which the student meets the required Satisfactory Academic Progress standards described in this policy.

Financial Aid OK. Under a Financial Aid OK status, a student is considered financial aid eligible and is regarded as meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and can continue to receive financial aid.

Financial Aid Warning. Under a Financial Aid Warning a student is not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards for Pace of Progress or Cumulative GPA and may continue to receive financial aid for one period of enrollment.

Financial Aid Max. Under a Financial Aid Max, which is a Financial Aid Suspension a student is not considered financial aid eligible and is not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards, however the student may be eligible for an Academic Reset. The Max status is assigned only when the student meets both of the Pace of Progress and Cumulative GPA yet has attempted college transferable hours in excess of 150 percent of the published length primary program of study.

Financial Aid Evaluation. Under a Financial Aid Eval, the determination of whether a student is meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and therefore considered financial aid eligible must be reviewed. Some reasons that this may occur include the student has reached the Maximum Time Frame or the student has not attended the colleges of DCCCD in the past few years.

Financial Aid Suspension. Under a Financial Aid Suspension a student is not considered financial aid eligible and is not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards for the next period of enrollment.

Period of Enrollment. A period of enrollment is equal to one term or semester with summer treated as one term for this purpose. For this purpose the Winter Term is included as part of the Spring Term and the May Term is included as a portion of the Summer Term.