A student must complete his/her educational goal within 150% of the program length. All coursework appearing on his/her VCCCD academic transcript will count toward Maximum Time Frame. A student who has exceeded this time frame and/or cannot mathematically finish their program within this time frame, and/or has attained a BA/BS (for student loans only), MA/MS (for student loans only), or beyond (for student loans only), will be placed on Suspension and may be required to submit a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form for evaluation.

Educational Goal	Units Required to Complete Goal*	Maximum Attempted Units (150%)*
AA/AS	60 units	90 units
Transfer	60 units	90 units
Certificate of Achievement	*	*
*Program lengths vary. See college catalog for program length.

SAP will be evaluated at the conclusion of each payment period (semester). Calculation includes cumulative number of units completed/transferred to VCCCD divided by the cumulative number of units attempted/transferred to VCCCD.

SAP is met if a student is achieving a 2.00 cumulative GPA or better and the pace is equal to 67% or higher and the student has not reached 150% of the units required for certificate, degree, or transfer program. Once the calculation is performed, the student's SAP status will be posted on the student's MyVCCCD portal.

When a student does not achieve a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA or better and the pace is not equal to or higher than 67%* the student will be placed on financial aid Warning. A student is eligible for financial aid during the Warning term and does not have to appeal. At the end of the Warning term, a student must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 and must also have completed a minimum of 67%* of all attempted units. 

During the Financial Aid Probation term, a student must complete 67% of all attempted units with a term GPA of 2.00 or better and must be following the approved Academic Plan. Students who do not meet these requirements will experience a Loss of Financial Aid Eligibility. 

When a student fails to achieve a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA or better and his/her pace is not equal to or higher than 67% he/she will be placed on Suspension. When a student is placed on Suspension, he/she will no longer be eligible to receive federal financial aid until he/she Reinstates or successfully appeals. A student who is Suspended can: Appeal by completing a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form or attend at his/her own expense until the student raises his/her cumulative grade point average (GPA) to 2.00 and attains a 67% minimum course completion rate. Reinstatement is not  an option for students who have exceeded Maximum Time Frame.

A student Suspended for failing to meet SAP may regain eligibility by successfully appealing to the Financial Aid Office. A student may also regain eligibility by attending without receiving financial aid and attain the minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 and minimum cumulative course completion rate of 67% of all  attempted coursework. It is a student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office in writing when he/she has reinstated him/herself.

Reinstatement is not  an option for students who have exceeded Maximum Time Frame.

An Academic Plan outlines the requirements that a student must adhere to remain eligible for financial aid. The institution develops an Academic Plan for the student that, if followed, will ensure that the student is able to meet the institution’s satisfactory academic progress standards by a specific time, or instead takes the student to successful program completion. Students placed on Academic Plan must complete 67% of all attempted units with a term GPA of 2.0 or better and must be following the approved Academic Plan. A student who has failed the Academic Plan has the right to appeal based on extenuating circumstances. Students must appeal to change the Academic Plan

Student Educational Plan (SEP)

A student who has been suspended, or has exceeded Maximum Time Frame, must meet with an academic counselor to develop a comprehensive Student Educational Plan (SEP) for an eligible program of study. The Student Educational Plan (SEP) must ensure that a student will meet SAP standards by a specified point in time.

Program of Study

A student must declare an eligible program of study from their Primary College, which is the school granting their degree. Only one major change can be applied to an appeal once an Academic Plan (SEP) has been approved with the Financial Aid Office.

ESL Courses

ESL coursework does not count against remedial units; however, the units do count toward Maximum Time Frame. Academic progress in ESL courses will be counted when assessing both a student’s overall GPA and completion rate.

Remedial Courses

Students are eligible to receive financial aid for remedial units if the remedial classes are prerequisites for entrance into a regular college program. Financial aid cannot be received for more than 30 attempted remedial units. Any remedial units exceeding the 30 unit limit will NOT be counted towards his/her enrollment for financial aid purposes. However, they will still count toward Maximum Time Frame and will still be included in the academic progress evaluation. A student should refer to the college catalog of his/her primary college for a list of remedial classes.

Repeated Coursework

Federal regulations prevent the financial aid office from paying for a course that has been passed and repeated more than one time. In order for a repeated course to be counted towards a student’s enrollment status for financial aid purposes, a student may only repeat a previously passed course once (a total of two attempts). If a student enrolls in a previously repeated and passed course for a third time, this course will not count towards your enrollment for financial aid purposes.

Repeated courses may be included if the student received a withdrawal (W) or failing grade. Courses may be repeated consistent with district academic standards, as identified in the college catalog. All repeated courses do affect Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations. Grades of A, B, C, D, P, CR (Credit), or CRE (Credit by exam) are considered passing grades.

Suspension and Extension Appeals cannot override the federal regulation. If a student is in a class that is not eligible for payment, but the class is part of his/her approved Academic Plan, he/she will not be penalized for repeating the class, but he/she cannot receive financial aid for that class.

 

A student who has had his/her financial aid Suspended has the right to appeal, based on extenuating circumstances (see below), by submitting a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Form. Appeals must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office within the semester the student is requesting aid. See Appeal Deadlines below.

Students must:

Submit a completed Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Form to the Financial Aid Office by the deadlines listed below.

• To obtain the Appeal Form, log in to your My.VCCCD.edu portal and click the Financial Aid tab and click the Online Financial Aid Account.
• In the  SAP Appeal box, click SAP Appeal and fill out the webform (All Questions must be answered), and provided Supporting documentation. Please see the video above of the OC Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal for steps submitting the Appeal form.
  • Suspension of Eligibility: When a student fails to achieve a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA or better and his/her pace is not equal or higher than 67%* he/she will be placed on Suspension. When a student is placed on Suspension, he/she will no longer be eligible to receive federal financial aid until he/she Reinstates or successfully appeals. A student who is Suspended can: Appeal by completing a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form or attend at his/her own expense until the student raises his/her cumulative grade-point average (GPA) to 2.00 and attains a 67%* minimum course completion rate.
  • Maximum Time Frame: You have exceeded the maximum time frame when you have taken at least 150% of the credits required to complete your program of study. For example, 150% of a 60 credit AA degree is 90 credits or more. It will be less if you are in a certificate program. Your attempted credits are counted whether or not you were using financial aid when you took the courses. Students who have earned a bachelor's degree must complete this appeal (and any other document required to complete their financial file) only if they are interested in receiving Direct Loans or Federal Work-Study.

 

Complete appeal packets consist of the following:

1. The completed Appeal Form. The Financial Aid Office prefers the student's statement be typed directly into the PDF fillable form.

• The Explanation of Circumstances section on the form must be filled in. Examples of extenuating circumstances include: medical condition or illness of the student; death of an immediate relative; divorce or separation; military service; illness, injury or medical condition of a family member that required care; change in academic major or exceeded time frame; other similar situations that affected academic performance that were beyond the student's control.

• The Resolution of Circumstances section on the form must include information on what has changed in the student's situation that will allow the student to demonstrate satisfactory academic progress at the next evaluation, and/or what steps the student has taken to alleviate any obstacles (for example, meeting with academic counselor, tutoring, testing, reducing unit load, etc.).

2. Supporting documentation that supports the explanation of circumstances the student addressed in his/her letter (for example, copies of letters from doctors or counselors, divorce decree, medical information related to illness, death certificate, birth certificate, etc.).

3. Student Educational Plan (SEP) develop a comprehensive SEP for an eligible program of study by an academic counselor.

*Appeals should not include statements based on financial need. Financial need is already assumed.  

* Incomplete appeal packets will not be accepted or will be automatically denied. 

 

If your first-level appeal has been denied, you may proceed with a second-level SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) appeal. Please complete the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Second Level Form.

Fall 2024 - December 6

Spring 2025 - May 16

Summer 2025 - July 25

 

**SAP appeals must be received within the semester the student is requesting aid. Be sure to check the college website for specific deadlines related to SAP appeals.