蜜桔直播

How to Maintain Eligibility for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

---

In order to maintain eligibility for receiving financial aid, federal regulations require that all Title IV aid recipients make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward achieving a certificate or degree. Progress is measured at the end of each term by evaluat颅ing the student鈥檚 cumulative grade point average (GPA), credits earned in relation to attempted hours (Pace), and the length of the academic program. These standards apply to your entire academic history, regardless of whether Title IV aid was received or not.

View the SAP Document

 

• Pace: The number of successfully completed hours divided by the number of attempted hours. Students must pass at least 67% (unrounded) of all attempted hours (not earned) in order to maintain eligibility for financial aid. Attempted hours include: 鈥淲, AU, I, IP, N, N/C, W, WD, WF, X, F, FA鈥�. Transfer hours and hours included in Academic Fresh Start will still count towards PACE. Students placed on Warning, Probation or Removal will be notified via MyWS.
• Cumulative progress: In addition to the above standards, students must achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.0.

 

Associate Degree & Certificate Programs: Recipients majoring in Associate Degree and eligible Certificate Programs are limited to 150% of the required hours of their program of study, excluding learning support hours. Per federal regulations, however, we must stop aid PRIOR to reaching that limit at a rate that aligns with Pace (100/150 = 67%). Students will be placed on warning when they reach 100-125% of their scheduled program hours to allow one final term to complete the program. Credit hours are reviewed after each term. The review is based on cumulative attempted hours and not earned hours. Warning status will only be valid for the next term the student is enrolled. After that term, the student will go on removal. Students may submit an appeal for removal for maximum hours. 

• Learning Support Hours: Students are allowed to receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 cumulative attempted hours of learning support coursework, including pre-requisite and/or co-requisite classes.
• Transfer Students: Credits/grades officially accepted by WSCC are included in the cumulative attempted hour limitation as stated above. However, all hours are considered when new transfer students are initially reviewed for SAP.
• Second Degree Students: Students who enroll to obtain a second degree or certificate are subject to the above limitations as well. Credits from a prior enrollment at WSCC (or other institution) will be included in the max-hour limitation. Prior degrees may create an automatic max-hour removal.
• Repeated/Audited Courses: All credits from repeated courses will be counted toward the max-hour limitation. A student may receive financial aid to repeat a previously passed course one time only, but they may receive financial aid to repeat a failed course until it is passed or until the college limit is met or max-hour limits are reached.
• Change of Majors: Changes in majors do not extend the maximum hours allowed.
• Academic Fresh Start: All courses taken count towards maximum hours. Courses excused under an Academic Fresh Start will count towards maximum time frame.

 

The amount of Federal Pell Grant Funds a student may receive over his or her lifetime is limited to 600%. This is equivalent to 6 years or 12 semesters. Students enrolled less than full time will be assessed at the fractional enrollment status. Workforce Pell (beg. July 2026) counts towards this lifetime limit. 

This cannot be appealed.

 

If a student does not meet the academic requirements as stated above, he/she will be placed on a financial aid 鈥渨arning鈥� status unless the student has reached max hours limits already (>125% or prior degree). On warning, the student is allowed to receive financial aid for the next term that he/she attends. The student鈥檚 status will be evaluated at the end of the 鈥渨arn颅ing鈥� term. If the student does not meet all required academic standards including pace and GPA, they will lose eligibility to receive financial aid. If the student reaches or exceeds the maximum hour limitation, he/she will not be eligible for financial aid.

 

 Students placed on financial aid removal may continue to enroll at 蜜桔直播 without financial aid if they are eligible to re-enroll accord颅ing to institutional policies and have the resources to pay their fees.

If a student registers for a future term prior to grades being evaluated for the current term, the aid posted for future terms will be canceled as a result of being placed on financial aid removal.

Students may be placed on financial aid removal if any of these conditions occur:

• Students in 鈥渨arning鈥� status fail to meet SAP in their next semester of enrollment
• Students are placed on academic suspension
• Students fail to meet the conditions of an IAP (Individual Academic Plan)
• Students meet the maximum hour limitations
• Students are unable to mathematically meet the maximum hour limitations

Zero Earned Hours

Students who receive all unsatisfactory grades, any combination of:  F, FA, AU, I, IP, N, N/C, W, WD, WF, X for a term will be placed on financial aid warning. This applies to grades transferred from other higher education institutions as well (unless the last two terms are both zero hours which results in removal). Students will return to 鈥淕ood Standing鈥� by satisfactorily achieving the required academic progress standards at the next evaluation period. Students will be placed on financial aid removal if academic progress standards are not met at the next evaluation period. This may be appealed by following the appropriate procedure stated below. 

 

If extenuating circumstances caused a student not to meet the SAP standards, a student may file an appeal. Documentation must be provided to substantiate the reason of the appeal. Only complete and legible appeals will be considered. Submitting an appeal does not constitute ap颅proval. Students are limited to 3 appeals during the course of their enrollment at WSCC.

Appeals will be considered for the following reasons:

• Serious injury or illness of the student
• Death, serious injury/illness of immediate family member (mother, father, sibling, spouse, child)
• Family trauma which occurred during the semester in question
• Other extenuating circumstances (must be documented)

Process for filing an appeal:

• Complete the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal. Include a written statement (prepared by the student) indicating what oc颅curred that resulted in unsatisfactory progress and what has changed that will now allow for student success. Every term that included an unsuccessful grade should be addressed and documented. Forms are available in the Financial Aid Office and off-campus sites or by emailing finaid@ws.edu from Senators Mail account to request the electronic SAP appeal. DO NOT SUBMIT PERSONAL INFORMATION TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS.
• The student must meet with his/her academic advisor or counselor for advising. The advisor must complete and sign the form or the appeal will be considered incomplete.
• Attach appropriate documentation to support reason stated in appeal.
• Submit all information to Financial Aid Office for review by the 14th day of the term wanting to regain eligibility. Appeals received after the 14th day will be held for the next term.

The following criteria will be considered when reviewing appeals:

• Academic progress (including grades from other schools)
• Remaining hours in program of study
• Amount of aid already received (including aid from other schools)
• Pace (cumulative number of hours successfully completed/cumulative attempted hours)
• Demonstrated ability to complete the program

Federal regulations allow for the approval of appeals only under the following conditions:

• It has been determined that the student will be able to meet SAP standards after the subsequent term.
  
  
• An Individual Academic Plan (IAP) may be developed for the student that, if followed, will ensure that the student is able to meet SAP standards by a specific point in time or graduation. This option must be approved and monitored by the Financial Aid Appeals committee. The student will be required to sign the IAP agreeing to the conditions stated within the agreement. 

Once a determination has been made regarding the results of the appeal it will be posted to the student鈥檚 MyWS account. If the appeal is approved and the student is placed on probation, the student must meet the satisfactory progress standards by the next evaluation period. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the student being placed on Financial Aid removal for subsequent terms. Students that are placed on an Individual Academic Plan (IAP) must meet the requirements of the plan, which will also be evaluated at the end of each term. The student will be placed in an IAP Review status at the end of each term until their account can be reviewed to ensure that they met the terms of the IAP. If the student does not meet the conditions of the IAP, they will be placed on Financial Aid Removal and will not be eligible for financial aid until they meet the SAP standards or have another appeal approved. All decisions made by the Appeals Committee are final and cannot be re-appealed.

Academic criteria for other programs 鈥� Scholarships and other third-party sources of financial aid may have additional requirements regard颅ing satisfactory academic progress. Please refer to the guidelines of the specific scholarship or third-party source for additional requirements (i.e.TN Lottery). 

---

蜜桔直播 offers counseling, career guidance, testing, tutoring and academic advising free of charge in order to assist students in achieving their educational goals. Visit: /student-services/.

The Financial Aid Office encourages all students to use these services as needed.