Federal regulations require that all students who receive federal student aid maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as defined by the institution. These regulations require that a school's SAP policy include both 1) a Qualitative measure and 2) a Quantitative measure. The Tri-County Community College Financial Aid Office is required to review a student’s entire academic record (regardless of the age of the record or whether or not aid was received) to determine if he/she is in compliance. A student’s SAP is evaluated at the time of application for aid and at the end of each semester. Students must meet all of the standards listed below. Failure to meet these standards will result in the loss of financial aid.

Qualitative Measure: Students must achieve and maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better on all coursework attempted. This includes all periods of enrollment, including those for which the student did not receive financial aid. The GPA calculation includes grades of A, B, C, D, F, U, I, M, NM, S, P, P1, P2, P3, and R. Transferred (TR), Audited (Y), Credit by Exam (X), and classes Never Attended (NA) are excluded from the GPA calculation.

Quantitative Measure:  Students must successfully complete at least 67% of the total attempted credit hours to maintain SAP. Cumulative credit hours attempted are defined as all credit hours attempted at TCCC (excluding courses dropped during 75% refund period) and all credit hours transferred from other institutions. Credit hours completed include courses with grades A, B, C, D, M, S, P, P1, P2, P3, & TR. Credit hours not successfully completed include grades F, I, NM, W, WF, WP, U, & R. Exception: Grades of IE and/or WE will not be included in the quantitative calculation. For example: a student who attempts 12 credit hours and successfully completes 9 credit hours has a 75% completion rate (9 credit hours completed divided by 12 credit hours attempted = 75%). Repeated courses will be calculated as hours attempted (See list below).
In addition to measuring successful completion of 67% of total attempted credit hours, students must also complete their program of study in a time frame not to exceed 150% of the published length of the program. This is called Maximum Time Frame and it measures all attempted credit hours. For example: If a student’s primary program of study completes in 72 hours, the student must complete the program prior to amassing no more than108 total credit hours (72 x 1.50 = 108). The student’s academic history, including transfer hours accepted from other institutions for his/her current program of study are considered when evaluating academic progress within the established time frame. A student is no longer eligible to receive financial aid when it becomes mathematically impossible to complete his/her program within the Maximum Time Frame (150% of its length). Please contact the Financial Aid Office about possibly regaining eligibility. The following key points may also affect the maximum time frame:

• Changing Program of Study – students who change their program are still responsible for adhering to the 150% maximum time frame of the new program. Students who decide to change their program are advised to do so early in their academic program, and only after consultation with their advisor and the Financial Aid Office.
• Secondary Program of Study – students who declare a second program run the risk of exceeding the 150% maximum time frame. All hours attempted for both programs will be calculated into the maximum time frame. Students should consult with their advisor and the Financial Aid Office before adding a secondary program of study.
• Course Incompletes, Withdrawals, and Repeats – All credit hours for course incompletes, withdrawals, or repeated courses will be counted as hours attempted toward the maximum time frame. Exception: Grades of “IE” or “WE” will not be included in the quantitative component of the SAP calculation.
• Remedial Courses – Students who have been accepted into a program of study and are required to take remedial courses as determined by placement testing are limited to 30 semester hours of remedial course work while receiving Financial Aid. Such courses will extend the 150 percent time frame by the number of credit hours attempted in each remedial course.
• Graduates – students returning to TCCC to pursue an additional degree will be given a new maximum time frame. Only the successfully completed credit hours that apply to the additional degree will be counted towards the next maximum time frame.

Students are strongly encouraged to consult with the Financial Aid Office regarding changes to their program of study.