/Institutions/Augusta-Technical-College/json/2017/Fall-Semester-2017-Catalog-local.json

/Institutions/Augusta-Technical-College/json/2017/Fall-Semester-2017-Catalog.json

Academic Policies for Financial Aid

Federal regulations require the College to establish policies--Standards of Satisfactory Progress--to measure whether students applying for financial aid are in good academic standing and making satisfactory academic progress toward completion of their diploma or degree programs. A student must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 to receive financial aid and maintain a 67 percent completion rate.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

A student is required to maintain satisfactory academic progress to remain eligible for financial aid.  Augusta Technical College uses the following standards to monitor a student’s progress toward his or her diploma, degree, or certificate. 

Satisfactory progress is measured in terms of three components:

• Length of time to complete the program (150%)

• A qualitative component (2.0 GPA) GPA-Grade Point Average

• A quantitative component (completion of attempted credit hours, 67%)

Maximum Timeframe

 

There are a maximum number of hours that students may attempt in pursuing their current program of study.  Students may not exceed 150% of the hours needed to complete the program of study they are currently enrolled in, excluding Learning Support courses.  This does include transfer coursework that has been accepted as credit toward the student’s current program of study.  Once a student has attempted 150% of the minimum number of credit hours necessary for completing the program requirements, the student will not be eligible to receive financial aid.

Qualitative (Grade Point Average)

Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0 to remain in good standing.  Financial aid GPA’s will be monitored at the end of Fall Term and Spring Term.  A student whose cumulative GPA falls below a 2.0 is placed on Financial Aid Warning for their next term of enrollment.  This will allow a student one term to increase the GPA to the satisfactory level.  If, after one term, the GPA remains below 2.0, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and eligibility will be lost until the cumulative GPA has been brought back to at least a 2.0 level.  Students may receive aid while on Financial Aid Warning, but will not receive aid while on Financial Aid Suspension. Transfer coursework and Learning Support courses are not counted in the cumulative GPA calculation. 

Quantitative (Completion Rate)

In order for students to graduate within the maximum “time frame” of hours, at the end of Fall Term and Spring Term they are expected to have cumulatively completed at least 67% of their credit hours attempted.  A student, who, at the end of these terms, has not successfully completed 67% of their cumulative hours attempted, will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for their next term of enrollment.  This will allow the student one term to increase the cumulative completion rate to the satisfactory level.  If, after one term, the cumulative completion rate remains below 67% the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and eligibility will be lost until the cumulative completion rate has been brought back to at least 67%. Students may receive aid while on Financial Aid Warning but the student will not receive aid while on Financial Aid Suspension.

Students may re-establish good standing when they have cumulatively completed 67%of their attempted credit hours.  The following grades (see Grading System) do not count toward successfully completing a course: “F”, “I”, “W”, “WF”, “WP”, and “IP”.  For all courses, any combination of these results in no progress, and will be calculated in the completion rate when computing eligibility for financial aid.  Repeat courses will be considered as any other class and both grades will count in the GPA. Grades of “F” and “WF” will be counted in computing your GPA.

Learning Support courses are graded on an A* through F* scale.  A grade of A*, B*, or C* will be considered satisfactory completion of a learning support course.  A grade of D* or F* will be considered unsatisfactory.  Grades received for learning support courses are included in the 67%hours attempted completion rate, but not in the GPA calculation.

Example: A student completes his first year at Augusta Technical College with the following grades:

30 cumulative attempted credits with

18 credits of passing grades (these credits count as attempted and completed)

12 credits of failing grades (these credits count as attempted but not completed)

The student’s completion rate is 60.00% (total completed divided by total attempted – 18/30 = 60.00%)

The student in this example did not meet the quantitative (completion rate) SAP standard and is at risk of losing financial aid.

If the student had completed 21 credits with passing grades, they would have met the quantitative SAP standard.  (21/30 = 70.00%)

Incomplete Grades

Incomplete grades are designated as an “I” (Incomplete) or “IP” (In Progress) are not calculated in the GPA but are calculated in the attempted hours completion rate.  Once the “I” or “IP” grades are updated to actual grades, the cumulative GPA will be checked at that time.  If a student does not meet the standards after recalculation and has received funds for classes, the funds will have to be repaid by the student.

Treatment Transfer Hours

Transfer students accepted by Augusta Technical College, but not previously at Augusta Technical College, will be classified as maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress for the first term of attendance.  After the first term, the student’s grades will be measured in accordance with Augusta Technical College’s Satisfactory Academic requirements. Students who previously attended Augusta Technical College, transferred to another school, then returned to Augusta Technical College, will have all of their course work reviewed.  If a student fails to meet the qualitative or quantitative standards at the end of a term, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Warning.  The student will continue to receive aid while on Financial Aid Warning. However, if the student does not meet the qualitative and quantitative standards by the end of the warning term, he/she will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.  The student can continue taking courses while on suspension at the student’s expense.

Policy for Reinstatement of Eligibility for Financial Aid

Financial Aid Appeal Process

Students that did not meet the qualitative and/or the quantitative components will be notified via their Augusta Technical College’s student Smartweb email account of their failure to make satisfactory academic progress at the end of Fall Term and Spring Term after grades have been posted.  If the student was placed on Financial Aid Suspension and feels there were extenuating circumstances beyond his/her control that kept him/her from maintaining satisfactory progress, he/she may appeal in writing by completing the Financial Aid Appeal form (supporting documentation must be attached).  Examples of extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to: death or extended illness of a family member, illness or injury of student, house fire, or victim of a violent crime. Work conflicts are not ex­tenuating circumstances.  Appeals must be submitted by the first day of the semester for which the student is requesting reinstatement of financial aid.  Only completed appeals will be considered submitted.

Outcome of Appeals

The Academic Counselors, Financial Aid Director, Financial Aid Navigator, and/or Vice President of Student Affairs are charged with making the final appeal decision.  Please note the decision is final and cannot be appealed to a higher authority at the college or to the Department of Education.

Financial Aid Appeal Results

Academic Plan/Guided Pathways

Students that have their appeal approved and are placed on Academic Plan for their next term of enrollment will be required to meet a term GPA of 2.5 and a term completion rate of 100%.  Students approved under the Academic Plan/Guided Pathways will be eligible to receive financial aid for up to 3 terms or when graduation requirements are met as long as they meet the requirements of the plan for each term.  The Academic Plan is designed to assist students in meeting the standards within 3 terms of enrollment or when graduation requirements are met. Please meet with your Program Advisor each and every term to receive assistance with registration/course selection and your Program of Study’s Guided Pathway.

If a student takes all Learning Support courses during any semester under an Academic Plan, they must pass each Gateway Courses/Learning Support Courses with a “C*” or better.   

Denied

If your appeal is denied you will remain in Financial Aid Suspension Status and will not be eligible for any Financial Aid until the standards are met.

Withdrawing From or Dropping Classes

Federal financial aid (Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Georgia's HOPE Scholarship, HOPE Grant, Zell Miller Grant, and Zell Miller Scholarship programs do not consider hours dropped during the drop/add period (usually the first three days of the semester) as registered hours for students. All HOPE funding for tuition of dropped classes is refunded to the Georgia Student Finance Commission.

If students withdraw from classes after the first three days of the academic term, HOPE will cover tuition provided students attended class or attempted to contact their instructors during the first full week of the semester. The Financial Aid Office will recalculate the amount of Pell Grant and FSEOG awarded based on the Federal Return of Title IV Funds  policy. Please consult with a financial aid counselor prior to withdrawing from a class. Withdrawing affects students' satisfactory academic progress.

Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy

The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 changed the formula for calculating the amount of aid a student and school can retain when the student totally withdraws from all classes. Students who withdraw from all classes prior to completing more than 60% of an enrollment term will have their eligibility for aid recalculated based on the percent of the term completed. For example, a student who withdraws completing only 30% of the term will have "earned" only 30% of any Title IV aid received. The remaining 70% must be returned by the school and/or the student. The Office of Financial Aid encourages you to read this policy carefully. If you are thinking about withdrawing from all classes PRIOR to completing 60% of the semester, you should contact the Office of Financial Aid to see how your withdrawal will affect your financial aid.

1. This policy shall apply to all students who withdraw or drop out from Augusta Technical College, and receive financial aid from Title IV funds:
   • The term "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: Federal Pell Grants, Federal SEOG.
   • A student's withdrawal date is:
     • the date the student began the institution's withdrawal process (as described in the Augusta Technical College catalog) or officially notified the institution of intent to withdraw; or
     • the midpoint of the period for a student who leaves without notifying the institution; or
     • the student's last date of attendance at a documented academically-related activity.
2. The percentage of Title IV aid earned shall be calculated as follows:
   • Number of days completed by student/Total number of days in term*
   • The percent of term completed shall be the percentage of Title IV aid earned by the student.
   • Students are responsible for any portion of their institutional charges that are left outstanding after Title IV funds are returned.
   • *The total number of calendar days in a term of enrollment shall exclude any scheduled breaks of more than five days.

Worksheets used to determine the amount of the refund or Return to Title IV aid are available upon request in the Office of Financial Aid.