Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Process Overview & Responsibilities
To be eligible for Title IV aid, a student must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) as per section 668.16(e) of HEA 1965.Taylor College has developed policies to determine the academic standards that students are expected to meet and then a means and schedule of measuring the achievement of those quantitative and qualitative standards. SAP standards are established by the Program Director. The relevant SAP policies are summarized below. All students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress according to the following standards in order to continue enrollment. Satisfactory Academic Progress will be evaluated at the following time periods depending on the program enrolled in.
Semester Credit programs: End of each Semester.
Clock Hour programs: End of each course.
Same As or Stricter Than
The SAP policy for Title IV students at Taylor College is the same as the school’s standards for students enrolled in the same educational programs who are not receiving Title IV aid. The Title IV SAP policy is the same as the school’s academic policy.
The Financial Aid Office reviews the Title IV SAP policy to ensure that it meets all federal requirements. The Program Director notifies the Financial Aid Office if the school changes its academic policies.
Quantitative Measure of Satisfactory Academic Progress
The Financial Aid Office in coordination with the Program Director monitors quantitative progress. The quantitative SAP is reviewed manually and a copy of the latest transcript is maintained in the college’s computer system.
The following is for Quantitative measurement for Semester Credit programs:
- Duration of no longer than 150 percent of the length of the program
The following is for Quantitative measurement for Clock Hour programs:
- Required to complete the program within 100 percent of the length of the program
Qualitative Measure of Satisfactory Academic Progress
A Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) equal to or greater than 2.0 is required for graduation. In addition, at the end of the first academic year, students must have a CGPA equal or greater than 2.0 to be making satisfactory academic progress. Grades from credits transferred into the college will be used in the calculation of the Cumulative Grade Point Average.
If a student’s CGPA falls below a 2.0 the student is placed on Financial Aid WARNING during the subsequent academic year. After counseling, the student signs an agreement to the conditions of the Financial Aid WARNING period. During the Financial Aid WARNING period, eligibility for financial aid continues. The following will not be considered as credits successfully completed: W and I. A student who does not meet the 2.0 CGPA at the end of the Financial Aid WARNING period will be terminated from the college.
Withdrawal Date
If a student does not continue with class, the withdrawal date will be determined after the student exceeds the number of allowed absences (refer to Student Attendance and Tardiness Policy). However, if a student is in communication with the institution via any means of communication to inform that the student will no longer be attending, that date of communication will be considered the date of determination for the student. A student must contact the Program Director or Program Coordinator to give any notification of official withdrawal. If a student wishes to enroll into the program in the future, the student must complete the withdrawal process outlined in the “Official Withdraw from Program with Consideration for Future Reenrollment Policy”.
A student, who chooses to transfer from one program to another, will have only the grades and credits that apply to the new program will be applied to the student’s Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). Students who withdraw from the college and later re-enter in the same program will continue at the same satisfactory progress and evaluation points in effect at the time of withdrawal. A student who withdraws from a clock hour program and then re-enters the same program will not have the same satisfactory progress information from the prior program.
Treatment of Title IV Funds When a Student Withdraws from School
The Financial Aid officer is required by federal statute to calculate the percentage of earned Title IV Funds received or pending to be received and to return the unearned funds for a student who withdrew, was terminated or failed to return from an approved leave of absence.
Recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula:
Percentage of aid earned = the number of scheduled hours in the payment period completed up to the student’s last date of attendance as per the school’s attendance records, divided by the total clock hours in the payment period.
If this percentage is greater than 60%, the student earns 100% of the disbursed Title IV funds or aid that could have been disbursed.
If this percentage is less than 60%, then the percentage earned is equal to the calculated value.
Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percent of unearned aid using the following formula:
Aid to be returned = (100% minus the percent earned) multiplied by the amount of aid disbursed toward institutional charges. If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student may be required to return a portion of the funds. All Title IV funds that the institution must return will be made no later than 45 calendar days after the date the school determines that the student withdrew.
When Title IV funds are returned, the student may owe a balance to the institution.
If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution must send written notification to the student (or parent for PLUS loan funds) to offer a post-withdrawal disbursement for any amount not credited to the student’s account no later than 30 calendar days after the date that the school determines that the student withdrew . The institution is required to make a post-withdrawal disbursement within 120 days of the student’s date of determination that they withdrew.
Refunds are allocated in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan
- Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
- Federal Parent (PLUS) Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant
- Other Title IV assistance
- Private and institutional aid
- The student
Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Process
A student, who wished to appeal a disciplinary action and/or decision made in reference to the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, must submit a typed letter to the Program Director. This letter must contain information about the student’s reason regarding the action and/or decision and reasons why the student is wishing to appeal. Students must provide supportive documentation along with their letter in order to support their position and any mitigating circumstances that may have existed. The Program Director will hear any student who disagrees with a SAP decision, on an appointment basis only.
The student will be notified of the Program Directors decision within fifteen (15) business days following the receipt of the student’s appeal letter, additional time may be taken to thoroughly review student’s appeal. A student, who wishes to appeal any SAP decision made by the Program Director, must submit a typed letter to the President with supportive documentation explaining the reason why the student is wishing to appeal the decision. The President will notify the student within fifteen (15) business days of the receipt of the letter, additional time may be taken to thoroughly review student’s appeal. The Presidents decision shall be final.
