Students receiving financial assistance through a federal, state or institutional aid program must be making satisfactory progress towards a degree. The Office of Financial Aid monitors all students receiving financial aid through a cumulative review that begins upon entry into college.
Evaluation Period
All students will be evaluated at the end of every fall, spring, and summer semester.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
A qualitative measurement of progress is a student’s grade point average. Students who have attempted at least one semester of coursework at Emmanuel College must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA.
PACE
PACE is the measurement used to define the quantitative component of a student’s SAP.
PACE is measured using the following equation:
PACE = Cumulative Number of Hours Successfully Earned
Cumulative Number of Hours Attempted
All students must satisfactorily complete at least 67% of all attempted credit hours. Transfer credit hours accepted toward a student’s degree program, developmental coursework, and repeated coursework will be included when accessing PACE. Grades of “F,” “I,” “FR,” “DR,” and “W” may endanger a student's eligibility for aid in future terms. This means for every 12 credits of enrollment the student must complete 8 credits successfully.
Maximum Time Frame (MTF)
A student may receive financial aid up to 150% of their established program length. For example, a student enrolled in a 120 credit hour program is eligible until 180 (120 X 150%) credit hours are attempted. Transfer credit hours accepted towards a student’s degree program, developmental coursework, and repeated coursework will be included when accessing the MTF.
Developmental Course Work
Financial aid recipients may take a maximum of 30 credit hours of developmental course work consisting of English 090, Reading 097, 098 and Math 095, 099. These courses are used in determining GPA, PACE, and MTF.
Transfer Credits and Course Repeats
Transfer credit hours accepted toward a student’s degree program and course repeats are counted toward a student’s GPA, PACE, and MTF. A student may repeat a course only one additional time after it has been completed successfully.
Change of Majors
A student may change majors as many times as he/she likes but financial aid eligibility may be endangered in future terms.
Second Bachelor’s or Associate Degrees
A student may receive a second degree (bachelor or associate) at Emmanuel College. The coursework from the previous degree that does not apply to the second degree will be manually removed from the attempted and earned credit hours for financial aid purposes. (However, these hours will still be reflected on the student’s transcript.) Removal of these hours will impact the PACE and MTF calculations.
SAP Statuses
Warning – This status is assigned to a student who is not meeting the SAP requirements at the end of an evaluation period. Under this status, a student will continue to receive financial aid for one additional semester. At the end of the warning period, a student must meet the SAP requirements or their ability to receive financial aid for the next semester of enrollment will be suspended.
Suspension – This status is assigned to a student who is not meeting the minimum SAP requirements after the warning period. Financial aid will not be offered for the next semester of enrollment unless the student appeals and the appeal is granted.
Probation – This status is assigned to a student who is not meeting the SAP requirements, but has successfully appealed to qualify for aid for one additional semester. At the end of this probationary period, the student must meet SAP requirements or financial aid will be suspended for the next semester of enrollment. If suspended, the student will be given the opportunity to appeal.
Academic Plan Assigned – This status is assigned to a student who is not meeting the SAP requirements after a warning period and has successfully appealed. During the appeal process, the College determines if a student could meet SAP requirements at the end of the probationary period. If a student cannot meet SAP requirements, the appeal cannot be approved unless the College and student jointly establish an academic plan. When an academic plan is developed, it must ensure that the student will meet SAP requirements at a particular point in time. A student who successfully follows an academic plan may continue to receive aid even though SAP requirements have not been met.
Appeals Process
Appeals are accepted based on cases of extreme and unusual circumstances. Students whose eligibility for aid has been suspended may provide a written appeal to the Student Academic/Financial Aid Appeals Committee. The appeal must include the reason why the student failed to make SAP; and what has changed that will allow the student to make SAP at the end of the next evaluation period. Supporting documentation is required.
Through the appeals process, the Appeals Committee may choose to reinstate a student’s eligibility for financial aid. The Appeals Committee may seek counsel from the student’s advisor or other available resources. The reinstatement will require that students meet specific conditions in subsequent semesters or until the student meets the minimum standards of academic progress. The conditions will be based on the need of the student and will provide direction for the student to ensure the successful completion of his/her program. Students whose aid has been reinstated with conditions will be placed on financial aid probation. Aid is typically available to students with this status.
If the appeal is denied by the Appeals Committee, the student will be notified in writing by the registrar setting forth the conditions (including, but not limited to the time frame in which a student may be allowed to return) which the Appeals Committee determines must be met in order for the student to re-enroll. Once the conditions are met, the student may again appeal to the Appeals Committee for reinstatement.
Reestablishing Aid Eligibility
Eligibility for financial aid will be reestablished once a student meets the required 2.0 cumulative GPA and /or when the student successfully completes at least 67% of all hours attempted. Students are encouraged to meet with the Registrar and/or their Academic Advisor to ensure that proper action is being taken to regain eligibility. Once eligibility has been regained, the student should contact the Office of Financial Aid. The Office of Financial Aid does review students who have a SAP status of Financial Aid Suspension at the end of each semester to determine if eligibility for financial aid can be reestablished.
Impact of Grades
Grades included in Attempted Credit Hours: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, CS, D+, D, D-, DR, F, FR, I, K, and W
Grades NOT included in Attempted Credit Hours: AU, NC, and P
Grades considered Earned Credit Hours: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, CS, D+, D, D-, DR, F, FR, and K
Grades NOT included in Earned Credit Hours: AU, I, NC, P, and W
Grades used in the GPA calculation: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, DR, F, and FR
Grades NOT used in the GPA calculation: AU, CS, I, K, NC, P, and W
Math Placement Exam scores are used to assign a student to a specific mathematics course and will not be used in the Attempted and Earned Credit Hours nor the GPA.
Grades for developmental coursework taken at other colleges will be recorded on the CRIS Transcript Screen for informational purposes only and will not be included in Attempted and Earned Credit Hours or used in the GPA calculation.
