Maintaining Eligibility
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for
Financial Aid Recipients
The Financial Aid Office has established the following policies and procedures to comply with Federal Regulations for students receiving financial aid. The Satisfactory Academic Progress process and policy of Belmont College are reviewed when changes at the federal or institutional level require review to ensure compliance with Federal Regulations. All Belmont College students applying for Title IV federal assistance must meet the criteria stated hereafter regardless of whether they previously received aid or not. SAP is evaluated at the end of each semester and those not meeting SAP are sent a letter or email. SAP calculation includes developmental coursework, letter grades, pass/fail grades, withdrawn courses, repeated courses, incomplete grades, and coursework transferred in from other institutions as determined by the Records Office.
The programs governed by these regulations are:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Work-Study (FWS)
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
- Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized)
- Federal Direct Parent Loan (PLUS)
Satisfactory Academic Progress standards include these elements:
- Qualitative Progress
- Quantitative Progress
- Time Frame
- Graduation
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Title IV and Non-Title IV Recipients
The Financial Aid SAP Policy applies consistently to all categories of students who have a FAFSA on file, regardless of enrollment status, program of study, or any other category of student.
Elements of Satisfactory Academic Progress Defined
Qualitative Progress – The minimum GPA a student must have earned at the end of the evaluation period. Students are evaluated at the end of each semester by the following cumulative grade point average (GPA) standards:
- 6 or above cumulative GPA in 0-29 attempted hours
- 0 or above cumulative GPA in 30+ attempted hours
Quantitative Progress – Students must successfully complete 67% of attempted credit hours with a letter grade of “D” or better after each semester. Grades that are considered successfully complete are A-, B+-, C+-, D+-, P. Grades that are not considered successfully completed are F, I, W, NR, FZ, DZ, D+Z, X.
Time Frame – The required length of time it will take a student to complete a degree program or certificate based on the appropriate enrollment status. Federal regulations allow a student to be eligible to receive aid up to 150% of the time that it would normally take to complete a degree. All credit hours in which a student enrolls or transfers to Belmont College are included in the maximum time frame calculation, regardless of the number of degrees a student chooses to obtain. Belmont College evaluates this per program of study. For example, if a student’s program of study is Computer Applications Certificate which requires 33 semester credit hours to graduate, the student may not exceed 49.5 attempted semester credit hours to obtain that degree without submitting an appeal for Financial Aid. If the student is pursing the Accounting Degree which requires 63 credits, they may not exceed 94.5 attempted credit hours.
Graduation – Students who complete the coursework for graduation are ineligible for continuation of financial aid after graduation. Students must complete the SAP Appeal form indicating they want to pursue a second program of study. An academic plan (Degree Completion Plan) must be obtained from a Belmont College academic advisor and submitted with the SAP Appeal documentation. Financial aid will only be awarded and calculated on courses required to complete the degree. Students may be approved for a maximum of 2 degrees.
Warning – In the event that a student does not meet qualitative and/or quantitative measures after a semester, the student will be placed on a Warning status. The Warning status lasts for one semester. Students in a warning status may continue to receive financial aid funds. No appeal or other action is needed from the student during this warning period. Students who fail to make SAP after the warning period lose their aid eligibility unless they complete the appeal process and are approved.
Suspension – Belmont College students are evaluated at the end of each semester based on the elements of SAP. Students who do not meet the qualitative and/or quantitative criteria for two sequential semesters of enrollment will be placed on Suspension. Students recognized as not meeting the time frame standards also will be placed on Suspension. SAP Suspension means that the student is not eligible for Federal financial aid for future semesters. Students do have an option to appeal this suspension.
Appeal Process – Students may complete the appeal process for consideration of reinstating the student’s financial aid eligibility on a probationary status. Students must explain the reason for not meeting the SAP elements and must provide supporting documentation of the mitigating circumstances. Appeals must also specify what has changed in the student’s situation that will allow them to successfully meet SAP requirements by the next evaluation. If students are not able to meet SAP standards within one semester, their appeal must include an academic plan (Degree Completion Plan) from their academic advisor. The individual academic plan will establish the conditions for continued financial aid for future semesters.
Probation – If a student’s appeal is approved, the student enters a probation status. During this probation status, the student may continue to receive federal financial aid funds. Students who fail to meet SAP or the established conditions at the end of the probation period lose their financial aid eligibility
Developmental Courses – Developmental courses carry credit. However, the credits do not apply directly toward earning a degree or diploma. A student receiving financial aid is allowed a maximum of 30 attempted credits in transitional courses while receiving Federal Aid. Once a student has attempted 30+ credit hours they are not eligible to receive Federal aid for any additional developmental courses. Developmental courses are included in the SAP calculation.
Repeat Courses
According to Federal guidelines, financial aid can pay for a repeat of a previously passed course only once as long as a better grade can be attained. An example would be if a student received an A, they could not receive aid for that repeated course because they cannot get a grade above an A.
Attendance
Attendance is monitored for the receipt of federal and state aid. Students not in attendance are subject to adjustments of their financial aid award amount. Students who register and never attend class(s) are ineligible to receive federal and/or state aid for the class(s) in question. This includes online courses where a student has failed to demonstrate academic engagement. Students must demonstrate a pattern of attendance at the time of disbursement to be eligible for financial aid.
Courses Not Covered by Financial Aid
Some courses, although for credit, may not be eligible for federal aid. Only courses that are required for your degree completion are eligible for Federal Aid. Courses such as the mining courses (MIN1100, MIN1200 & MIN2200), CDL truck driving and energy courses (GIS1100 & NGT1100) are generally not covered under financial aid unless it can be used as an elective for programs such as Industrial Electronics; prior approval and course substitution approvals are required. Pre-Admit courses are only eligible to be counted for student loan credit hours. They are not Pell eligible. In addition, AHT1100 does not qualify for Pell Grant for students enrolled in the Associate of General Science degree or any of the nursing programs. However, if the student is taking at least 3 more qualifying credit hours, a student may be eligible to use Federal Direct Loan funds to assist with the cost of these courses.
Ineligible Programs: Students who are transient (TRN), College Credit Plus (ADP), fire classes (FND), nurse aide (CNS) or non-degree seeking (NDS) are not eligible for federal financial aid at Belmont College.