CCC Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Federal regulations require that financial aid recipients maintain satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate to be eligible to receive federal aid.  Academic progress will be evaluated at the time of admission and at the end of each semester for students receiving Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Direct Loans. Summer term is treated the same as fall and spring terms.  All official college transcripts must be available before SAP can be determined. Students failing to provide transcripts will not be eligible for aid.

The Financial Aid Office will determine the satisfactory progress of each student at the completion of the fall, spring, and summer semesters/terms.  Eligibility relative to this policy may also be reviewed as students apply for aid at CCC. 

Academic progress is measured by the following:

  • Cumulative GPA
  • College credits completed/Credit hours attempted or Pace
  • Timeframe needed to complete the degree

Monitoring Periods, Warnings and Loss of Eligibility or Suspension

Students will be monitored based on their most recent academic career for the semester just ending. 

Students not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress will receive an email from the Financial Aid office notifying them of their status.

  • The first time a student falls below standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress, the student will receive a “Warning” and will remain eligible for federal aid.  Warning status cannot be appealed.  While on Financial Aid Warning a student must receive a 2.0 GPA for the semester/term as well as meet the requirements of the pace and the timeframe standards.  If a student corrects the deficiency by meeting the standards at the end of the warning term he or she will be removed from warning.
  • Two consecutive incidents of Satisfactory Academic Progress violations will result in a loss of financial aid eligibility.
  • There is no warning period for the Maximum Timeframe or Pace.

Minimum Cumulative GPA Standard

All students must maintain a 2.0 GPA.

A student failing to meet the cumulative GPA requirement will be placed on financial aid warning and will remain eligible for federal aid for another semester/term.  If they do not meet the cumulative GPA for a second time they will lose their financial aid eligibility.

Credit hour Completion/Pace

Students must complete 67% of all credits attempted at Coffeyville Community College as well as those transferred and accepted from other schools the student has attended. CCC will compare the students cumulative credits attempted against the cumulative credits earned or completed. 

Credits attempted are defined as all classes for which a student receives a passing grade, F, Incomplete, Withdrawal, or Credit.

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

Grade of Incomplete

Credits for a course in which a student received a grade of incomplete are considered as not completed.  When the incomplete grade becomes a letter grade, your credits earned may be re-evaluated to determine the student’s successful completion of the required number of credits.  It is the student’s responsibility to inform the Financial Aid Office of such a grade change.

Course Withdrawal

Credits for a course from which a student has withdrawn are not considered as completed.  Courses dropped before the end of the 20th day certification date (published in the schedule for each semester) will NOT count as attempted credits.  Those courses dropped beyond the census or certification date will be counted towards attempted hours.

Remedial Courses

Remedial coursework will be counted towards a student’s academic progress and included in attempted hours.

Repeated Courses

All grades and attempted credits will be counted toward academic progress and maximum timeframe.  Please note:  Federal regulations allow for financial aid to pay for one retake of any previously passed course.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits that are accepted toward a student’s educational program count as both attempted and completed credits.

Maximum Timeframe/Pace

Students must complete their degree within 150% of the published length of their program.  A student enrolled in a degree seeking program must complete their 64 credit hour degree within 96 hours.  A student will be expected to complete their clock hour program within 150% of the normally established timeframe.  Example:  A Welding Coursed offered as a 1300 hour course that takes two semester to complete, the maximum timeframe to complete the program would be three semesters.  Pace of completion requirements are specified and aligned with a maximum timeframe permitted.  Pace=total credits completed divided by total credits attempted.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal

A student who believes their Financial Aid Suspension is due to extenuating circumstances beyond their
control has 30 days from the date of notification to submit a Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic
Progress Appeal. The request must detail the circumstances and must include third-party
documentation to substantiate the basis of the appeal. The U.S. Department of Education regulations
state that a student must meet one of the following criteria to appeal suspension from financial aid:

  • Death of an immediate relative of the student.
  • Injury or illness of the student.
  • Other circumstances that result in undue hardship to the student.

Documentation must be provided to substantiate one of the above criteria. Appeals without
documentation and/or not meeting one of the criteria will be denied. The appeal should also describe
how circumstances have changed so that the student is in a better position to be academically
successful. The submission of the appeal does not guarantee a change in the student’s financial aid
eligibility. The Appeal committee will review the student’s appeal and the students will be notified in
writing of the committee’s decision. All decisions are final. You will be responsible for any institutional
charges if your appeal is denied. Please email the business office to discuss billing and payment
questions at [email protected]. Students may contact the Financial Aid Office to obtain a
Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form by emailing [email protected].

Approved Appeals and Satisfactory Academic Progress Probation

A student for which an appeal is approved will be placed on financial aid probation and will need an academic plan completed with an academic advisor. Certain conditions for academic performance will be set through the academic plan and monitored each semester.  The probationary conditions will continue EACH semester/term.  If the student fails to meet the conditions of the academic plan the probationary period will be revoked and the student will lose financial aid eligibility.  Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals will only be approved once per academic career.