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FINANCIAL AID SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC POLICY

In accordance with the United States Department of Education Regulations (Public LAW 94-482) and the MNSCU Board Policy 2.9 the financial aid office at Inver Hills Community College has established the minimum standards of progress for financial aid recipients of federal and state financial aid programs. The purpose of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy is to ensure that financial aid recipients are attending Inver Hills Community College to receive an education and not only to secure financial aid dollars.

Part 1: Qualitative component standard

All students are required to maintain an acceptable Grade Point Average (gpa). A 2.00 gpa is required to graduate from all programs offered by Inver Hills Community College. A student is not making satisfactory academic progress whenever his/her gpa is below a 2.00. Grades of A, B, C, D, F and FN will be included in calculating a students gpa. A student must have a cumulative gpa of at least 2.00 each term to retain financial aid eligibility.

 

Part 2: Quantitative component standard

1. All students are expected to complete the classes for which they have registered.  When a student withdraws from a class, he or she still must complete 67% of the cumulative number of credits attempted.  For this policy, grades of A, B, C, D, and P are included into the calculation of the credit-hour completion rate as successfully completed.  Courses with letter grades of I, U, F, FN, W and NC are treated as credits attempted but not successfully completed.  Blank grades will be treated as non-completions.  A student must have a cumulative completion rate of 67%.  An example would be if a student had attempted 45 cumulative credits, they must have successfully completed 31 cumulative credits (45 credits x 67% = 30.1, rounded up to 31).
   
   
2. Maximum timeframe standard
   The U.S. Department of Education and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education expects all students to complete their degree or certificate program within an acceptable period of time. Financial aid recipients at Inver Hills may continue to receive aid until they have received their degree/certificate or until they have attempted 150% of the credits needed to complete their degree/certificate. For example, a student pursuing an AA degree would have up to 96 credits to receive aid assuming that an AA degree requires 64 credits.

Part 3: Evaluation Period--Review of progress

At the end of each term, including summer, the financial aid office will review aid recipients to make sure that all criteria of the satisfactory progress policy have been met. The review is based on cumulative records.

 

Part 4: Failure to meet standards

If a student fails at the end of any term to meet the college's qualitative, quantitative standards they will be immediately placed on Financial Aid Probation (FAP). While a student is on FAP they are eligible to receive financial aid.

1. Continuation on FAP:
   If the student completes the qualitative (2.00) and quantitative (67%) standards for the term but has not met the cumulative standards they will continue on FAP until they either meet the standards or can no longer successfully complete their program in the required timeframe are then placed on Financial Aid Dismissal (FAD).
   Reinstatement of students on FAP:
   A student that has been placed on FAP and meets the progress policy standards for both the term and cumulative will be removed from FAP.
   Financial Aid Dismissal (FAD):
   At the end of the probationary period a student that does not meet the progress policy standards will become ineligible for aid immediately at the end of the term.
2. FAD for extraordinary circumstances:
   Inver Hills may immediately suspend any student whose academic performance falls below the standards, does not attend classes or whose attendance pattern appears to abuse the receipt of financial aid.

Part 5: Notification

Students will be notified in writing any time they enter into a probationary or financial aid dismissal status and the process by which a student may appeal for reinstatement.

 

Part 6: Students eligible to appeal

A student may appeal their dismissal by documenting unusual circumstances in writing to the Director of Financial Aid. Unusual circumstances might include death of a family member, injury to the student or unexpected illness. If approved, the student will be re-instated and placed on Financial Aid Probation (FAP) and subject to the criteria above. If the Director of Financial Aid denies the appeal the student may appeal to the appeal committee. This committee will meet prior to the start of each term. Failure to submit the denied appeal to the committee by its scheduled meeting will result in the petition being held till the next meeting. Students will be held responsible for meeting all tuition and fee deadlines and expenses incurred while in the appeal process. The decision of the committee is final.The appeals committee may in granting an appeal, attach additional criteria, the student must achieve in order to successfully complete the probationary status (FAP).

Students ineligible for appeal: If Inver Hills determines that it is not possible for a student to raise her or his GPA or course completion percentage to meet the institution's standards before the student would reach the end of the program for which he or she is receiving financial aid, the institution will suspend the student from financial aid eligibility immediately upon completion of the evaluation.

Part 7: Reinstatement, Regaining eligibility

A student may neither pay for their classes nor sit out a period of time to re-establish financial aid eligibility. Students that have been placed on financial aid dismissal (FAD) can only regain their eligibility through the colleges appeal process or when they have met the college's financial aid satisfactory academic progress qualitative and quantitative standards.

 

Part 8: Additional Elements

1. Treatment of grades:
   1. Courses for which a student receives a letter grade of A, B, C, D, S and P are included in the calculation of term and cumulative completion percentages as courses successfully completed.
   2. Courses for which a student receives a letter grade of I, N, NC, W, F, and FN are treated as credits attempted but not successfully completed. Blank, Z, and IP grades are treated as attempted but not successfully completed. Audited Courses (AU) are not eligible to receive financial aid and are not counted in the calculation for satisfactory progress.
2. Academic Amnesty (the forgiveness of prior grades):
   Academic amnesty is not available for aid recipients.
3. Audited Courses:
   Audited courses are not eligible for financial aid and or not included in the progress policy calculations.
4. Consortium credits:
   These credits are included in the gpa, completion rate, and time-frame calculations.
5. Remedial and developmental courses:
   These credits are included in the qualitative and quantitative standards of this policy. Up to 30 remedial/developmental credits shall be excluded from the maximum time-frame standard.
6. Repeated classes:
   Repeated classes are included in the GPA (only highest grade earned), completion rate (all classes) and time-frame calculations (all classes). Classes may only be repeated as allowed in the Inver Hills Catalog.
7. Transfer Students:
   Credits attempted at other institutions will be applied to the maximum time-frame and not the gpa or completion rate. If the student has excessive credits attempted they will need to meet with an academic advisor to determine if they meet their degree requirements in the required timeframe. Transfer students that have academic records that do not meet the Inver Hills satisfactory progress policy must petition to the Director of Financial Aid to receive financial aid. If the appeal is approved they will be placed on FAP and subject to the term and cumulative standards. If the petition is denied the student may submit a petition requesting to have an appeal committee make a decision.
8. Withdrawals:
   Grades of W are considered in the quantitative component of the policy as attempted but not completed. A grade of W will impact completion rate but not the qualitative component. (W's will impact completion rate but not the gpa standard).

This policy is subject to change.