Login
Students are expected to attend all classes. Only illness or serious personal matters may be considered adequate reasons for absences. Students who withdraw officially or stop attending (unofficial withdrawal) may not be eligible for the financial aid originally estimated. PCCC is required to prorate the financial aid based on last date of attendance for students who withdraw officially or the mid-point of the semester for those who unofficially withdraw. (See Return of Title IV Funds Policy).
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND PROGRESS (SAP)
According to federal regulations, students must demonstrate Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Financial Aid Eligibility (Federal regulation 34 CFR 668.34). Requirements for academic progress for financial aid recipients are applied differently than PCCC’s Academic Standards.
Federal regulation states that SAP standards must include a review of all attempted credits for all periods of enrollment, regardless of whether or not aid was received. This includes transfer credits, repeated credits, credits by exam and academic bankruptcy credits regardless of program changes. The student must meet all minimum standards in order to continue receiving financial aid. This includes Pell, FSEOG, Federal Work-study Federal Direct Loans and New Jersey state aid program (TAG, CCOG, EOF, etc.).
What is measured and description of each measurement:
At PCCC, SAP is run at the end of the Fall and Spring semesters. There are 3 main components to this evaluation.
Qualitative – studentmust achieve the following GPA
For students seeking Associate Degree:
For students seeking Certificate:
Quantitative– comparison of the number of attempted credits versus the number of completed credits toward the students’ degree or certificate (including creditsearned prior toAcademic Bankruptcy).
Students must achieve the following completion percentage (including credits deleted due to Academic Bankruptcy)
For students seeking Associate Degree:
For students seeking Certificate:
Maximum Timeframe: The number of credits earned above the 150% of the published length of the program
|
An Associate Degree program requiring 60 college-level credits |
The maximum time frame is 90 credits 60 x 150% = 90 credits |
|
A certificate program requiring 30 college-level credits |
The maximum time frame is 45 credits 30 x 150% = 45 credits |
Attempted Credit Hours: Attempted credit hours are defined as the hours for which the student is enrolled and charged on the census date (the 10th day of enrollment) of the semester.
Earned or completed hours: Earned or completed hours are defined as the hours for which the student has earned a grade of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D”, “F”, or “PC*”. Grades of “W”, “XF”, “F”, “I”, “NC*”, and “Audit” are not considered earned credit hours. (*PC and NC grades were only used for the Spring 2020 term). A grade of "D" is considered passing for federal SAP standards but may not be considered passing for specific coursework taken at the college, and or academic progression/academic placement.
To receive funds from the State of New Jersey, students must register for a minimum of six (6) credits each semester. Academic progress regulations are the same as the federal regulations.
To receive funds from the State of New Jersey, students must register for a minimum of six (6) credits each semester. Academic progress regulations are the same as the federal regulations.
Developmental and ELS Courses: Financial Aid will fund up to thirty (30) credits of remedial courses. Remedial and ELS courses count towards maintaining satisfactory academic progress
SAP Status Definitions:
Once SAP is run, students will fall into one of the following statuses:
Satisfactory: Eligible for financial aid for next term
Warning: Not meeting SAP, but eligible for financial aid for next term. Students in this status are at risk of losing their financial aid if their performance does not improve.
Unsatisfactory: The student is not meeting the SAP standards and is not eligible for financial aid in the next term. The student has the right to appeal against the decision.
Max Time Frame: The student has attempted more than 150% of the number of credits to complete their degree (60 x 150% = 90 credits). A student in this status may appeal if the number of attempted credits is less than 95 and the student has 15 or less credits remaining to complete their degree.
Students are notified of their status via their portal email account.
SAP Appeal Process:
Students are notified by PCCC e-mail if their status is Warning, Unsatisfactory or Maximum Timeframe. Unsatisfactory and Maximum Timeframe students may appeal the decision; instructions and the deadline for appeals are included in the e-mail. Students who wish to file an appeal should be sure to make note of the deadline and submit their appeal in a timely fashion. Deadlines and instructions are also posted on the Financial Aid web page. Appeals should include a clear explanation of why the student was not successful and what steps have been taken that will help the student succeed currently.
SAP Appeal Decisions:
Probation
Students are notified by PCCC email of the appeal decision. Decisions include:
Students who submit an appeal and are approved for a semester of "Probation" are expected to regain eligibility by meeting the Financial Aid Standards of Satisfactory Academic Performance and Progress by the end of the next term. If the student does not meet the SAP standards at the end of the next term, he/she will not be eligible for financial aid in future terms but can submit an appeal for an Academic Plan.
Academic Plan
Students who submit an appeal and are approved for an Academic Plan may not withdraw from a course and cannot earn less than a semester GPA of 2.0 at the end of each semester. Students on an Academic Plan will be evaluated at the end of each semester. If the student continues to meet the criteria stated above, he/she will remain eligible for financial aid but will remain on an Academic Plan until either the plan expires, or they meet the regular financial aid SAP standards.
If the student does not meet the conditions of the Academic Plan, they will not be eligible for financial aid in future semesters.
Denied
Students who submit an appeal and are denied, are not eligible for financial aid for the next term. However, if there are extenuating circumstances which can be documented, the student may request a re-evaluation of the appeal denial to the Director of Financial Aid.
Students who are denied are encouraged to resubmit an appeal the following semester if their circumstances have improved. The new appeal must include a clear explanation of why the student was not successful. Administrative errors and exceptions to the following SAP designations are evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Director of Financial Aid, the Associate Director of Financial Aid or the Assistant Director of Financial Aid.
Failure to meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress does not preclude a student from enrolling in subsequent semesters at their own expense provided the student meets the academic requirements of the College.
RETURN OF TITLE IV FUNDS POLICY
The term “Return to Title IV Funds”, refers to the Federal Financial Aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended) and includes the following programs: Unsubsidized Direct Loans, Subsidized Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, and Federal SEOG Grant.
The Return to Title IV Funds policy applies to financial aid students who withdraw from all classes (officially or unofficially) in a semester. Official withdrawals are when a student submits a signed and completed form to the PCCC Registrar or notifies an official representative of the College of their intent to withdraw. Unofficial withdrawals are when a student stop attending all classes during the term, does not complete a drop form or notify an official representative of their intent to withdraw. Or receives an “XF” grade in all of their classes.
Official Withdrawal
The students’ withdrawal date is:
- The date the student began the institution’s withdrawal process
Unofficial Withdrawal
- The midpoint of the semester for a student who leaves without notifying the institution and who does not submit a signed affidavit of their intent to begin classes in a later session during the reporting term.
Title IV aid is prorated based on the number of days attended up to the 60% point in the semester. Title IV aid is considered 100% earned after 60% of the semester has passed. A copy of the worksheet used for this calculation can be requested from the Financial Aid Office.
In accordance with federal regulations, when a Return to Title IV calculation must be completed, financial aid is returned to the Department of Education and/or Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. The returned in the following order:
Unsubsidized Direct Loans,
Subsidized Direct Loans,
Direct PLUS Loans,
Federal Pell Grants,
Federal SEOG grants
State grants are prorated (if applicable) and returned to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.
Assistance other Title IV Assistance, other federal sources of aid.
*Students withdrawing before the last day to add/drop for a given term will receive a 100% refund. Notices of possible refunds and adjusted bills will be sent to the student’s home address by the Bursar Office.
Institutional responsibilities regarding the return of Title IV Funds include:
- Providing each student with the information given in this policy.
- Identifying students who are affected by this policy and completing the Return of Title IV Funds calculation for those students.
Returning any Title IV Funds that are due the Title IV programs.
The student’s responsibilities regarding the return of Title IV Funds include:
- Paying any outstanding balance resulting from a Return to Title IV calculation.
The fees, procedures, and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change at any time. Any notification of a withdrawal or cancellation should be in writing and addressed to both the Registrar and Financial Aid.
