Satisfactory Academic Progress

All students receiving any form of financial assistance must conform to the Indian River State College Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). This is a requirement stipulated by Federal Regulations. This policy is put in place to ensure that financial aid recipients are moving through their academic program of study at a reasonable rate and are making progress toward their degree. IRSC is changing our current policy (calculated at the end of Spring for Summer of 2022) to look at the student’s current degree or certificate program to calculate these requirements (instead of all previously taken credits). We believe that this new policy provides a more equitable assessment of academic performance (for both native and transfer students). SAP is reviewed and calculated at the end of each term in which you have been enrolled (regardless of whether you were receiving financial aid at that time).

SAP RULES

There are three parts to the SAP rules.

1. CUMULATIVE GPA

You must maintain a certain cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) dependent upon the number of credit hours you have attempted towards your current degree or certificate program, as indicated below. This includes all course work (that counts towards your current program) you have taken at IRSC or transfer credits from any college or university (this includes college level classes taken during high school), regardless of whether or not you received financial aid for those F grades (for classes that could have counted towards your current program) are also calculated in your cumulative GPA.

Minimum Attempted Credit Hours	Maximum Attempted Credit Hours	Minimum GPA
0	15	1.50
16	30	1.70
31	999	2.00

2. COMPLETION RATE

You must successfully complete at least 67% of all of the classes in which you have This includes all the course work you have taken at IRSC or transfer credits from any college or university that counts as post high school credit (this includes dual enrollment classes) that counts towards your current degree or certificate program, regardless of whether or not you received financial aid for those classes. W grades (for classes that could have counted towards your current program) are also calculated in your attempted hours to determine your completion rate.

3. TOTAL ATTEMPTED HOURS

You will not be eligible to receive financial aid once you have attempted more than 150% of the normal credits required for your degree or certificate program. For example, a student who is registered as an A.A. degree-seeking student has a normal credit expectation of 60 credit hours. Therefore the A.A. student may receive aid only up to 90 credit hours (60 hours times150%) and the BS programs up to 180 credit hours (90 for AA/AS and 90 forBS = 150%). If you have questions about your program’s maximum eligibility,please contact the Financial Aid Office. Notice: The total credits counted in this calculation include all credits attempted by you, regardless of whether or not you received financial aid for those classes. This includes those attempted credits transferred from other schools, and count towards your current degree or certificate program (also includes F’s, W’s or repeated courses that could have counted towards your current degree program). A student who has exceeded this standard is no longer eligible for financial aid whether or not items one or two (above) were met.

Warning

If your cumulative GPA and/or cumulative completion rate fall below the standards of SAP, you will be placed on one term of financial aid warning. At the end of that term both of your cumulative GPA and completion rate (part one and part two above) must be at the necessary levels to remain on financial aid. If you receive a W, I, F or U while you are on warning you may be suspended for the next semester (check with financial aid if you have questions).

Suspension

If you do not meet both of items one and two (above) at the end of your “warning” semester, you are no longer eligible for financial aid until you have taken classes, using funding other than Federal and State financial aid, and have raised your cumulative GPA and completion rate to meet the above standards. If you have attempted more than 150% of your program, you will be suspended regardless of whether you meet the other two requirements.

Appeals (Petition)

Occasionally a student does not meet SAP due to an extraordinary circumstance beyond the control of the student. Such a student may appeal to the IRSC Financial Aid and Scholarship Committee for consideration of restoration of financial aid eligibility. A student must complete an appeal form and MUST supply documentation of the extraordinary circumstance. The documentation must cover most terms (if you did badly in more than one) that caused the suspension. The committee will review the information supplied by the student, and will render a final decision. The committee’s decision is not open to further appeal. Examples of extraordinary circumstances include serious illness, hospitalization, or a death in your immediate family. Students approved must follow a financial aid plan until their SAP is clear.

Academic Grade Forgiveness

All courses attempted and completed (to include grade forgiveness) that are applicable to a student’s current degree or certificate program of study are included in all SAP calculations.

Transfer Students

Initial SAP status for students transferring in will be “warning” (for anyone transferring in without a SAP status of “passed”) and SAP will be calculated each semester as they attend and follow the same requirements as those stated above.