Satisfactory Academic Progress
To be eligible for federal financial aid, students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Modesto Junior College has adopted the following satisfactory academic progress policy, which contains elements specified in federal regulations.
QUALITATIVE REQUIREMENTS
All financial aid students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 2.0.
QUANTITATIVE REQUIREMENTS
MAXIMUM TIME FRAME: All financial aid students are expected to complete their program of study within 150% of the published length of the program. Students enrolled in 60-unit AA/AS, 4-year transfer, or vocational programs are expected to complete their programs by the time they attempt 90 units. Students enrolled in vocational programs of less than 60 units are allowed a maximum time frame (attempted units) that is 150% of their program’s length.
PACE RATE: To measure whether students are progressing on pace for completion of their course of study within the maximum time frame, Modesto Junior College evaluates the pace rate of financial aid students at the end of each term. At each term’s end, students are expected to have completed at least 67% of all units attempted. Classes with grades of A, B, C, D, and P (passed) are considered to have been completed. Classes with grades of W, F, I, NP (no pass) are not considered completed. All classes taken at other institutions through a consortium agreement are also included in the pace rate assessment.
FREQUENCY OF SAP EVALUATION
The academic progress of financial aid students is evaluated at the end of each payment period after grades for that term are posted.
FINANCIAL AID WARNING
When academic progress is evaluated, students whose cumulative GPA is below 2.0 and/or whose cumulative pace rate is below 67% are placed on Financial Aid Warning. In addition, students who are either transferring to Modesto Junior College or who are continuing Modesto Junior College students, but never previously applied for financial aid, are placed on Financial Aid Warning if their cumulative GPA is below 2.0 and/or if their cumulative pace rate is below 67% at the time they enter the Financial Aid program. Students on Financial Aid Warning will continue to be considered for financial aid during the Warning term. Students will be removed from Financial Aid Warning after the Warning term if their GPA and pace rate meet the Federal guidelines minimum standard. Students who do not meet the GPA and pace rate standards will be placed on Disqualification status.
FINANCIAL AID DISQUALIFICATION
Students who do not meet all cumulative academic requirements at the end of the Warning semester will be placed on financial aid Disqualification. In addition, some students may be subject to automatic suspension based on previous academic history. Students who are Disqualified from financial aid may reestablish financial aid eligibility by meeting all cumulative SAP criteria outlined in the Qualitative & Quantitative requirements sections of this document.
Students placed on Disqualification status are not eligible to receive financial aid except for a BOG Fee Waiver, if eligible. Students who complete a semester on Disqualification must have their academic progress reviewed before financial aid eligibility is determined for the following semester. Due to the short time period between semesters, there will be at least a three-week delay in the notification of eligibility. If eligible, any disbursements of student aid will also be delayed.
APPEALING FINANCIAL AID DISQUALIFICATION
Under certain conditions, students placed on Disqualification may file an appeal for consideration of reinstatement of financial aid eligibility. The following are examples of reasons a student may file an appeal:
- Change in academic major
- Documented serious injury, illness or medical condition requiring a doctor’s care
- Death of an immediate family member (copy of death certificate is required)
- Documented extenuating circumstances that were beyond the student’s control
The following are not considered extenuating circumstances beyond a student’s control:
- Personal problems not requiring professional intervention
- Poor time management
- Unaware of academic progress policies or other college requirements
- Not following placement test and/or Academic Counselor’s recommendations
- Transportation problems
- Child care problems
To file an appeal, students are required to submit a complete appeal packet which includes:
- A letter explaining their particular situation
- Supporting documentation for allowable special circumstances
- A current Student Educational Plan
- An evaluation from the counselor reflecting their progress towards their educational goal and the number of remaining semesters needed
Denied Appeals – ALL APPEAL DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND INCONTESTABLE.
Approved Appeals – students on an approved appeal will be placed on Financial Aid Probation.
FINANCIAL AID PROBATION
Students on Financial Aid Probation must meet all of the following requirements each semester to maintain Financial Aid eligibility:
- Be enrolled and attending an eligible program for the purpose of completing an AA/AS degree, transfer requirements, or certificate program
- Follow the academic plan submitted with the appeal as well as all appeal restrictions
- Complete all attempted classes with C’s or better; no “W’s”, “I’s”, “NP’s”, “D’s”, or “F’s”
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE CRITERIA LISTED WILL RESULT IN TERMINATION OF FINANCIAL AID UNTIL BOTH GPA AND PACE RATE ARE MET.
REPEATED COURSES
Modesto Junior College Financial Aid will follow the Yosemite Community College District policy regarding repeated courses.
Students are allowed to repeat classes for financial aid purposes, provided the classes are allowed under the district’s repeat policy as specified in the college catalog. All repeated courses will be included in the maximum time frame assessment, the cumulative GPA assessment, and the cumulative pace rate assessment.
TRANSFER COURSES
All courses taken at other institutions will be included in the maximum time frame assessment, the cumulative GPA assessment, and the cumulative pace rate assessment, provided the transcripts have been submitted, evaluated, and posted to the student’s academic record. Students with bachelor degrees are not eligible for Federal Pell Grants. Foreign courses will be accepted and counted by the district if they have been professionally evaluated by a credible foreign degree evaluation organization.
ESL UNITS
ESL units will not be counted when determining the remaining maximum time frame. ESL units will be considered when assessing both the student’s cumulative GPA and pace rate. To ensure that students are making progress towards their educational goal, it is expected that after four (4) semesters of ESL instruction, students will begin incorporating coursework that is related to their educational goal/major.
INCOMPLETE COURSES
“I” (incomplete) grades will be considered “attempted”, but will not be considered to have been “completed”. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the financial aid office if an “I” grade changes during a term. If the change of grade will affect the student’s financial aid eligibility, the financial aid office will perform a recalculation of aid eligibility during the term. Otherwise, the change of grade will not be factored into the cumulative pace rate until the next SAP evaluation.
PACE RATE CALCULATION
GRADES OF “D” OR BETTER AND “CREDIT”
Students who receive grades of “D” or better and “credit” will receive credit for the classes attempted and are considered to have completed those classes.
WITHDRAWALS AND GRADES OF “INCOMPLETE”
Students who withdraw from classes or receive grades of “incomplete” will have those classes included in the pace rate calculation. “Withdrawals” and “incompletes” will be included with all other classes attempted.
GRADES OF “F” AND “NO PASS”
Students who receive grades of “F” or “No Pass” do not receive credit for the classes attempted and are not considered to have completed those classes.
PROGRESS IN SUMMER SESSIONS
Students’ progress in summer sessions will be counted when assessing cumulative pace rate and cumulative GPA.
REPORT DELAYED (RD) GRADES
Students whose record reflects a Report Delay (RD) grade for a course taken the previous term at the time of the initial financial aid award disbursement, will have aid withheld until the grade is reported and posted to the student’s record.
MODESTO JUNIOR COLLEGE (MJC) NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT: MJC complies with all federal and state rules and regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender or disability. This holds true for all students who are interested in participating in educational programs and/or extracurricular school activities. Harassment of any employee/student with regard to race, color, national origin, gender or disability is strictly prohibited. Inquiries regarding compliance and/or grievance procedures may be directed to the college’s Title IX Officer and/or the Section 504/ADA Coordinator.
To print a copy of SAP standards click here: SAP
