Academic Progress (SAP)

Grades and attendance can have an enormous impact on your financial aid eligibility

Students who receive financial assistance from Title IV, state or institutional funds must make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) to remain eligible to receive financial aid. SCC reviews records at the end of each semester to check SAP.

How is SAP measured?

• Successfully complete 67% of enrolled credit hours. This will be measured on a cumulative basis. Example: If the student enrolls for a total of 24 credit hours their first academic year, the student must satisfactorily complete 16 credit hours. (Example: 24 credit hours x .67 (67%) = 16 credit hours)
• Completion of the academic program in 150% of the published length of the program. Example: Associate in Arts degree = 60 credit hours. Maximum enrolled credit hours permitted to complete this program would be 90. (Example: 60 credit hours x 1.5 (150%) = 90 credit hours.
• Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average. During the entirety of a student's program, the student must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00.

Additional Standards:

1. Credit/no credit, course repeats, withdrawals, incompletes, and developmental courses shall be included as a part of the student's cumulative credit hours enrolled for maximum time frame purposes.
2. Transfer credits accepted toward the student's program are included when measuring the student's cumulative completion percentage and cumulative GPA (for financial aid SAP purposes). The accepted transfer hours are also included when measuring cumulative credit hours enrolled for maximum time frame purposes.
3. Courses taken for audit, hours via Institutional Proficiency Exams, Advanced Placement, and hours via the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) will not be included as part of a student's cumulative credit hours for maximum time frame purposes.

The student's total academic history is monitored regardless of whether he/she has previously received financial aid.

Programs Affected by Standard Requirements

• Federal Pell
• Federal SEOG
• Iowa Vocational Technical Grant
• Iowa Kibbie Grant
• All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship
• Future Ready Iowa Last Dollar Scholarship
• Federal Direct Loan
• Iowa Foster Care Grant (ETV)
• Federal PLUS Loan
• Iowa National Guard Tuition Program
• Federal Work-Study
• Designated SCC Foundation Scholarships

Financial Aid Warning

The first term a student fails to meet these standards, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. Any student on Financial Aid Warning will have one semester to bring their coursework up to minimum standards. A student failing to attain these standards by the end of the warning semester will be terminated from receiving further financial aid by being placed on "Dismissal." This termination includes student loans.

Two options to regain eligibility for financial aid

1. Complete the number of credit hours necessary to achieve the 67% requirement and/or minimum cumulative grade point average need for their grade level. This will be at the student's own expense.
2. If special circumstances exist, the student may submit a letter of appeal to the Financial Aid Office stating the reasons the standards requirements noted above were not met. If the appeal is approved by a review committee, eligibility for financial aid will be reinstated on a probationary level. The student must also submit and agree to the terms of an Academic Plan. If the student does not fulfill the requirements of the Academic Plan, this will result in the student being placed on "Dismissal"; no further appeals will be considered. In the event the appeal is denied, the student must complete at least six credit hours within his or her academic program before another appeal will be considered by the review committee.

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