Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) for Financial Aid Recipients
The Danville Area Community College (DACC) Office of Financial Aid is required by federal regulation (HEA Sec.484(c), 34 CFR 668.16(e), 668.32(f), 668.34) to monitor academic progress toward a degree or certificate for all degree seeking aid applicants. As a result, the Office of Financial Aid reviews the academic history of all attempted course work of all applicants prior to the awarding of Title IV Federal Student Aid and/or Illinois State Student Aid. These standards must have components of a Quantitative Measure and a Qualitative Measure and be reviewed at stated intervals. At DACC SAP is reviewed at the end of each enrollment period.
Academic progress is evaluated the first time a student is awarded
student
financial aid and at the end of each term thereafter. If, during the
semester,
you withdraw from a class we will mail you a copy of the SAP standards
for your review. We hope this process will help you remain in "good
standing"
with the Federal and State student financial aid programs.
The Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) apply to the following programs:
DACC Presidential Scholarship Recipients
Federal Title IV Programs:
Veteran’s Educational Benefits:
Completion Rate and Grade Point Average Requirement
You are required to meet the standards listed below or your eligibility to receive student financial aid will be placed in a Financial Aid PROBATION (warning), Financial Aid SUSPENSION (denied), or Financial Aid TERMINATION (ineligible) status. To be in “GOOD STANDING” for Student Aid you must be meeting the minimum standards.
MINIMUM CREDIT HOUR COMPLETION (Quantitative Measure)
At the end of each enrollment period SAP is reviewed. Cumulatively you must successfully complete a minimum percentage of all credit hours attempted. Attempted credit hours include any credit hours in which you were enrolled after the refund period is over. Generally this is after the tenth day of classes.
If you have accepted Title IV aid for days you attended during the refund period and you totally withdraw you will be placed on SAP Suspension status. Some students will have slightly different refund periods because of late starting classes. Each semester's refund period is published at the DACC WEB page, in the Student News or you may contact the Registration Office for the dates.
Successful completion of a class is a letter grade of A, B, C, D, S. Unsuccessful completion is defined as Failure (F), Withdrawal (W), Incomplete (I), or Unsatisfactory (U). Remedial classes are graded as: passing "S" for satisfactory or "U" unsatisfactory (which is considered not completing the course work). The completion rate requirement applies to remedial classes. Note that remedial coursework does not calculate into your GPA.
Minimum Percentage
If you fail to successfully complete the minimum percentage of credit hours required you will be placed on financial aid Probation for the next term of enrollment.
GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA) REQUIREMENT (Qualitative Measure)
You are required to earn and maintain a 2.0 (C) Cumulative grade
point
average out of a possible 4.0. (4 point scale as of summer 2007 term)
FINANCIAL AID PROBATION
A Probation Status occurs the first time a student fails to meet the minimum standard in any one of the components. If you are placed on Probation you will still be eligible to receive Student Financial Aid.
Upon the end of your next period of enrollment if you meet the minimum standards for cumulative completion of credit hours and your cumulative GPA is at 2.0 or better you will “automatically” be reinstated and placed into SAP “Good Standing”.
FINANCIAL AID SUSPENSION
Total withdrawal or failure to complete ALL credit hours will result in SUSPENSION. This includes the refund period if Title IV was accepted for the days in attendance.
Failure to complete the minimum cumulative standards of either component while on a financial aid status of Probation and not demonstrating progress in the cumulative Quantitative Measure and/or cumulative Qualitative Measure will result in the SUSPENSION of your future aid eligibility.
REINSTATEMENT OF AID ELIGIBILITY (Appeal Procedures)
If you feel there were circumstances beyond your control that
affected
your academic performance, you may appeal the Suspension. An
appeal
is a written statement from you with supporting documentation
explaining
your circumstances. Other support documentation could include:
MAXIMUM HOURS ATTEMPTED
(Cumulative
Quantitative Measure)
Time of Completion: Title IV and/or Illinois State Student Aid eligibility will be TERMINATED if you exceed the 150% completion of the published program time frame for all cumulative credit hours attempted (not earned). Remedial coursework credit hours attempted will be counted as part of your program of study timeframe. Students who require remedial coursework are limited to a maximum of 30 credit hours of attempted remedial coursework. If you have attended previous college's please request copies of your grade transcripts be sent to the DACC Records office. Also, send the DACC Records office a memo (or phone them) that the transcripts are to be evaluated for your program of study (Certificate, Degree or transfer credit) at DACC. Credits that can be used for your program at DACC will be included in the Maximum Time Frame for program completion. You are advised to work with your academic advisor to “stay on target” to complete your educational goal.
If your financial aid eligibility is TERMINATED and you are no longer eligible for student aid funding due to exceeding the maximum time frame (cumulative attempted hours), you may submit a personal letter (an appeal) explaining and documenting why you have not completed your program of study. Your letter must be submitted with an academic plan of program completion including total hours and semesters required. This plan is called a Degree Audit and must be prepared by your DACC academic advisor/counselor.The Appeals Committee will take into consideration that remedial coursework may have extended the timeframe towards your completion date.
DEADLINES TO SUBMIT APPEALS
The deadline to submit an appeal is no later than two weeks PRIOR to the semester you wish to attend and be reviewed for eligibility for student aid. If you miss the appeal deadline your appeal WILL NOT be considered for that semester. It is to your advantage to submit your appeal immediately after being notified of your academic progress status. Appeal deadlines are published in the Student News, DACC’s Financial Aid WEB page (under “Important Dates”) and various bulletin boards on campus. The SAP status letters highlight the two week prior to the term deadline as well.
Be aware that appeal approvals may have certain limitations and specific conditions that a student must follow to continue using financial aid funding. The Appeals Committee will take into consideration that remedial coursework may have extended the timeframe towards your completion date. If you are not clear of the meaning of your appeal response visit the financial aid office for clarification of the Committee's decision. In order to protect your privacy these matters will not be discussed over the phone.