Satisfactory Academic Progress

Meeting SAP

Good Standing- Students who are meeting all aspects of the SAP policy or successfully following a designated academic progress plan.

Warning

Students who fail to meet SAP for the first time (excluding students who have already attempted 150% of the credits required for their programs of study) will be automatically placed in a Warning Status for one (1) term and are expected to meet SAP requirements by the end of that term.  Students who fail to meet SAP requirements at the end of the warning status term will be placed on financial aid suspension.  However, with a successful SAP appeal, those students will be placed on financial aid probation and will retain financial aid eligibility.

Probation

Students who have successfully appealed financial aid suspension are placed in Probation Status (PS). Students in Probation Status (PS) are eligible to receive financial aid for one (1) semester, after which they MUST be in Good Standing (GS) or meeting the requirements of an academic progress plan that was pre-approved by the College Financial Aid Office.

Not Meeting SAP

Suspension-Students who do not meet the credit progression schedule and/or the cumulative grade point average standard, or who fail to meet the requirements of their pre-approved academic progress plan, will be placed in Suspension Status (SS). Students in Suspension Status (SS) are not eligible to receive financial aid. See Steps to Appeal Your SAP Status.

Academic Suspension

Academic requirements for avoiding warning status and staying in school differ from financial aid requirements for SAP. Academic status will be noted on registration records; financial aid status will be noted on financial aid pages in the Student Information System (Your MyLaurelRidge account). Any student suspended from the College for academic or behavioral reasons is automatically ineligible for financial aid.

150% Rule- This determination is not based on grades but credits completed versus required. The calculation also includes transfer credits and any completed credits for a previous degrees or certificate. Developmental and ESL course work are excluded in this calculation. Whether or not the student received financial aid for those terms is of no consequence. Please Note: Students that have already completed 2 degrees at Laurel Ridge CC are not eligible for aid, even if aid was not used for those degrees. Appeals will be denied.

67% Rule- This determination is based off all the credits ever attempted at Laurel Ridge CC, not just the current semester. A student must successfully complete at least 67% of all credits attempted at Laurel Ridge CC. A successfully completed course is one where a grade of A, B, C, D, or S is earned. Unsuccessful grades include F, I, R, U, or W.

COVID-19-Spring Semester 2020 Grading Policy Guidance

GPA Rule- This determination is based off of your cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA), not just the current semester.

In order to remain eligible for financial aid consideration, students must meet minimum cumulative grade point average requirements based on a progressive scale*. Only non-remedial courses with grades of A, B, C, D, and F are included in this calculation. Transfer credits are excluded. In order to graduate, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 is required.

There is a GPA requirement based on credits attempted, see the chart below.

*Some scholarships have stricter GPA requirements and therefore do not fall under the above scale. LRCC requires a minimum 2.0 GPA to graduate from any Career Studies Certificate (CSC), Certificate, or Associate Degree. This overrides any GPA requirement for financial aid. For example, if your CSC requires 18 credits to graduate, you need a minimum 2.0 GPA, even though financial aid requires a minimum 1.75 GPA. 

Transfer Students:  Credits officially accepted in transfer will be counted in determining the maximum number of allowable semester credit hours for financial aid eligibility.  Students only taking courses at LRCC to transfer back to another college that will award the degree are NOT eligible for financial aid at LRCC. 
 
Second Degree Students:  Credits earned from a first degree or certificate must be counted if the student changes programs or attempts a second degree or certificate. Depending on the circumstances, an appeal might be warranted. 
 
ESL and Developmental Studies: Students may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 semester hours of Developmental Studies courses as long as the courses are required as a result of placement testing, the student is in an eligible program of study, and SAP requirements continue to be met. ESL credits are unlimited in number as long as they are taken as part of an eligible program and SAP requirements continue to be met. 
 
BSK Courses: BSK courses are not eligible for financial aid because they are considered pre-developmental and federal and state regulations do not allow financial aid to pay for those courses. Therefore it is the student’s responsibility to pay for those courses out-of-pocket.  

Additional Considerations:

• Withdrawals (W grades) that are recorded on the student’s permanent academic transcript will be included as credits attempted and will have an adverse effect on the student’s ability to meet the requirements of the completion rate for financial aid. 
• Incomplete Grades: Courses that are assigned an incomplete grade are included in cumulative credits attempted. These cannot be used as credits earned in the progress standard until a successful grade is assigned. 

• Repeated courses enable the student to achieve a higher cumulative grade point average. Students can repeat courses with financial aid until successfully completed but repeating courses adversely affects the student’s ability to meet completion rate requirements.  Financial aid can be considered for successfully completed classes that are repeated to achieve a higher grade but for only one additional attempt.  Only the latest attempt will count toward the cumulative grade point average.  

NOTE: Some career studies certificate programs are ineligible for student financial aid, but those credits will be counted toward all SAP requirements (Grade Point Average (GPA), Completion Rate, Maximum Timeframe, and Developmental Maximum) if the student later enrolls in an eligible program.

Students who do not meet the credit progression requirements (67% Rule or 150% Rule) and/or cumulative grade point average requirements (GPA Rule) will be immediately ineligible for financial aid.  Removal from financial aid does not prevent students from enrolling without financial aid if they are otherwise eligible to continue their enrollment. 

Unless extenuating circumstances exist and an appeal is granted (see “IV. Appeals” for additional information), a student in financial aid suspension should expect to continue classes at his or her own expense until SAP requirements are again met 

Students who fail to meet these SAP standards and who choose to enroll without benefit of student financial aid may request a review of their academic records after any term in which they are enrolled without the receipt of financial aid to determine whether they have again met SAP standards.  If the standards are met, eligibility is regained for subsequent terms of enrollment in the academic year. Students should consult with the financial aid office for assistance in appealing any element of this policy or to determine how to regain eligibility for financial aid. 

The steps to appeal are based on the SAP Rule that impacts you. To determine your SAP Rule: Login to MyLaurelRidge >> Click SIS >> Click Student Center >> Click To-Do List

Only complete appeal submissions, with documentation, will be evaluated by the Financial Aid Office–The decision is final. Students will be required to complete additional requirements (i.e., see a career counselor or another type of counselor, meet with an advisor to develop an academic progress plan for completion, limit enrollment, etc.) before an appeal is granted.  The goal is to help the student get back on track for graduation.  The reasonableness of the student’s ability for improvement to again meet SAP standards and complete the student’s program of study will be carefully considered; appeals will be approved or denied.  Students who have appeals approved will be in probationary or academic progress plan status for the coming term.  During probationary or academic progress plan status, the student must meet the conditions of the appeal as communicated to them by the Financial Aid Office, or the student will return to suspension. Failure to meet the requirements of the academic plan will result in financial aid suspension until the student returns to Good Standing on their own. If an academic progress plan has been pre-approved by financial aid, continuing to meet the requirements of that plan will put the student back into good standing.

Appeals must be submitted by the Friday of the first week of each semester or aid will be cancelled. Appeals submitted beyond that date will still be reviewed.