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Satisfactory Academic Progress

For purposes of determining student eligibility assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, an institution must establish reasonable standards for measuring whether a student is maintaining satisfactory academic progress. On October 29, 2010, the Secretary of Education published final rules aimed at improving the integrity of programs authorized under Title IV of the HEA, as amended.

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Requirements to Maintain SAP Standards

Emergency COVID – 19 (ECV) Grade : The ECV grade will not count in the SAP GPA calculation, but will be counted in the Pace of Progression and Maximum Time-frame standard outlined in the SAP Policy.

Grade Point Average 

  • Maintain a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA
  • Maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA each semester for students on an Academic Plan.

Pace of Progression (passing a required number of hours) 

  • 67% of cumulative hours attempted
  • 75% of semester hours attempted for students on an Academic Plan.

Maximum Time-Frame

  • Total overall hours must not exceed 150% of the published length of a student’s degree program.

The SAP Review Process

Satisfactory academic progress will be reviewed at the end of each payment period by the college’s Financial Aid Department for all students, and students who received aid the previous semester (payment period) will be notified of their updated status, in writing, via email.

Academic Plan

All students whose appeals are granted are placed on an Academic Plan. The Academic Plan will require the student to meet two standards: earning a 2.0 semester GPA and passing 75 percent of hours attempted. These standards progress a student towards completion of their degree or certificate program within a reasonable time frame. Students will need to meet the requirements of the Academic Plan each payment period until meeting the SAP standards. Not enrolling in college for a period of time then re-enrolling will not bring the student into compliance with the SAP policy.

Repeated Courses

A student may only receive federal aid for one previously passed course. All repeated courses are included in the total attempted hours for SAP evaluation.

Developmental Courses

The maximum number of hours that a student may receive Title IV federal aid for developmental courses is 30 hours. Developmental courses are counted as attempted hours, completed hours and grades received for SAP purposes even if federal aid is not used for these courses.  

Change of Major

Students who change their major are still expected to complete the coursework for the new major within the maximum allowable hours. All attempted hours from a prior major will be included in the total attempted hours.

 Become familiar with the full SAP policy: LCTCS Policy 1.026 - May 2018 Revision