Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Financial Aid (through Fall 2018)
To be eligible for federal financial aid programs, students must be making academic progress. Academic progress is determined by the student’s GPA and the number of credit hours earned each semester. The standards of academic progress for federal financial aid are the same as Herkimer College's academic standards. In order for a student to maintain eligibility for federal financial aid programs, federal regulations require students to maintain Pursuit Of Program (earned hours) and they must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (GPA) above dismissal status as indicated in the charts below.
Standards for Academic Progress Cumulative GPA Qualitative Measure
|
Total Credit Hours Attempted
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Good Academic Standing
|
Academic Intervention
|
Academic Probation
|
Academic Dismissal *
|
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0 - 11.5 credits
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
12 - 18.5 credits
|
2.00 or higher
|
1.30 - 1.99
|
1.00 - 1.29
|
Below 1.00
|
|
19 - 36.5 credits
|
2.00 or higher
|
1.80 - 1.99
|
1.50 - 1.79
|
Below 1.50
|
|
37 - 54.5 credits
|
2.00 or higher
|
1.95 - 1.99
|
1.75 - 1.94
|
Below 1.75
|
|
55 credits or more
|
2.00 or higher
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Below 2.00
|
*First time full time freshmen whose status is dismissal will be placed on academic probation after his/her first term.
|
Credits Attempted Compared to Credits Earned:
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If credits earned are greater than or equal to:
|
If credits earned are less than
|
|
|
|
Total Credit Hours Attempted
|
Good Academic Standing
|
Academic Intervention
|
Academic Probation
|
Academic Dismissal *
|
|
0 - 11.5 credits
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
12 - 18.5 credits
|
8
|
8
|
7
|
6
|
|
19 - 36.5 credits
|
13
|
13
|
12
|
10.5
|
|
37 - 54.5 credits
|
28
|
28
|
26
|
22
|
|
55 or more credits
|
75% of credits attempted
|
75% of credits attempted
|
72% of credits attempted
|
67% of credits attempted
|
*First time freshmen whose status is dismissal will be placed on academic probation after his/her first term.
Failure to meet the standards for satisfactory academic progress will affect financial aid eligibility. Students should contact the Financial Aid Office for information.
Students with questions about academic standards and requirements can contact the Advisement Center.
Financial Aid Warning
Students who are placed on Academic Probation will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for the following term. They will remain eligible for federal aid for that term but will be notified that they must improve their academic performance to avoid losing their financial aid.
Loss of federal financial aid
Students who are academically dismissed are not eligible for federal financial aid programs. If the student feels he has extenuating circumstances that led to his dismissal he may appeal the decision. See below.
Financial Aid Appeal Process – Financial Aid Probation
A Financial Aid Appeal Form, separate from the Academic Appeal Form, must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office by the due date posted for consideration of reinstatement of aid. The Financial Aid Appeal Form will be mailed to the student along with the Academic Appeal Form. Applications will also be available by contacting the Financial Aid Office.
Financial Aid reinstatement's are only considered due to extenuating circumstances such as medical concerns, death in the family, fire, legal problems, catastrophic events or other circumstances beyond your control that occurred during the term for which you lost eligibility.
If a financial aid appeal is approved, students will be awarded federal aid and placed on financial aid probation for the subsequent term. Students may also be placed on an academic plan as part of their probation status.
In order to continue to receive federal aid, the student must be making satisfactory academic progress based on the Academic Standing charts or meet the requirements of their personal Academic Plan at the conclusion of the term. The Financial Aid Office will review the student’s academic progress to determine continued eligibility. Final decisions regarding federal student aid are determined by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee.
Maximum Time Frame for Completion (150 Percent Rule)
Student's can receive federal financial aid for a limited period of time. Students may receive federal financial aid for up to 150% of the credit hours required to complete their degree or certificate program. For example: a typical Associates Degree requires 64 credit hours to complete. Once a student has attempted 96 credit hours (64 x 1.5), they are no longer eligible for federal financial aid. The attempted hours include withdrawn classes, failed classes and all transfer classes. Per federal regulations, this includes all credit hours regardless of whether or not the student received financial aid during the time the credits were taken. If a student wished to appeal the maximum time frame rule, please see below for instructions.
Maximum Time Frame Appeal Process
A student who has lost his/her financial aid eligibility due to exceeding the maximum time frame may submit a 150% Appeal Form to the Financial Aid Office if there were extenuating circumstances which contributed to the student's inability to complete the program of study. Examples of extenuating circumstances would be medical concerns, death in the family, fire or other catastrophic events, legal problems or other circumstances beyond your control that occurred during the term for which you lost eligibility. Appeal forms are available by contacting the Financial Aid Office. Final decisions regarding federal student aid are determined by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee and will notify students of their financial aid eligibility. If the appeal is granted, the student is required to work with their advisor to develop and follow an academic plan for graduation. Students that fail to meet their academic plan may lose federal aid eligibility for the future semester.
Evaluation Process
Academic Progress is evaluated at the end of each semester in which federal aid is awarded to students, not including the winter mini term. Evaluation of academic progress will occur shortly after final grades have been posted by the Registrar and notices will be sent out promptly.
Note: Although the college does not evaluate academic progress at the conclusion of the summer session, the Financial Aid Office does evaluate summer academic progress to determine future eligibility for federal financial aid. Once summer grades are posted, students meeting the dismissal criteria for academic standards, will notified by the Financial Aid Office that they are not eligible for federal financial aid. Students with extenuating circumstances can submit a Financial Aid Appeal form to be reviewed by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee. (See Financial Aid Appeal Process)
What is the difference between "attempted" and "earned" credit hours?
Attempted credits include all course work in the student's academic history at Herkimer County Community College, including transfer, advanced placement credits, repeated classes as well as withdrawn classes. Earned credits include all attempted (non-remedial) courses for which a passing grade has been received (D- or higher) and all transfer credits. Grades listed as "Incomplete" at the time of evaluation will be considered attempted and unearned, but will not affect the grade point average.
Incomplete Grades
A letter grade of "I" (incomplete) will count as attempted credits toward a student's pursuit of program. In certain cases, financial aid eligibility and satisfactory academic progress cannot be determined with incomplete grades. These students will not be eligible for financial aid and will be responsible for all college costs incurred until a final grade is determined. It is the student's responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office once a final grade has been submitted.
Repeated Classes
Are you taking a class at Herkimer College that you previously completed? This may affect your current financial aid awards! Repeating a course which a student previously passed (D- or higher grade) may affect a student's eligibility for financial aid. To be eligible for federal aid, a student may repeat a previously passed course only once for that class to be included as part of the student's enrollment status. For state financial aid, repeated passed classes will not be included for determining full time attendance for state award programs.
Course Load Requirements
The U.S. Department of Education mandate that courses must be creditable toward the degree, diploma or certificate program in which the student is enrolled. Student’s financial aid may be adjusted or canceled if enrolled courses are not applicable toward their degree program.