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Satisfactory Academic Progress

Community College of Rhode Island
FINANCIAL AID OFFICE
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP)

Federal regulations require students to demonstrate Satisfactory Academic Progress toward an eligible degree or certificate program in order to qualify to receive financial assistance. Satisfactory Academic Progress includes both quantitative (i.e. number of credits earned divided by the number of credits attempted) and qualitative (i.e. grade point average in the Academic Standards Policy) measures.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for financial aid applicants is reviewed at the end of each semester regardless of whether the student received financial aid for the semester(s) being reviewed. SAP will be measured at the end of all semesters including the summer session.

Requirements:

Students must maintain a cumulative financial aid grade point average of 2.0 to retain eligibility for financial assistance. The “financial aid GPA” includes all grades from developmental coursework; the CCRI institutional GPA excludes developmental coursework.

Students must earn at least a cumulative average of 67% of all courses attempted. For example, students who have attempted 9 credits, must earn 6 credits to maintain a 67% completion rate. Students who have attempted 24 credits cumulatively, must earn 16 credits cumulatively. Transfer credits accepted by CCRI are included when calculating completion rate.

Students must be able to complete their program of study within 150% of the timeframe allowed. For example, students enrolled in a 60 credit degree program must complete their program before exceeding 90 attempted credits. Transfer credits accepted by CCRI are included when calculating maximum timeframe. Up to 30 credits of developmental courses and all English as a Second Language (ESL) coursework are excluded from the calculation.

All courses withdrawn from are considered credits attempted but not earned.

Attempted credits are all credits registered for at the end of the add/drop period. To earn credits, a student must receive a final grade of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D+, D, S, or P. Students who receive a final grade of F, I, IC, NA, NR, W, WP, or WF will not earn credits for their courses.

The College’s Academic Renewal/Forgiveness Policy does not apply to the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements for Federal Financial Aid eligibility.

The Financial Aid Office is not notified when grades are changed after the final grading period. Once the student's aid has been recalculated, any grade changes to reverse a calculation must be submitted to financial aid no later than August 31st of the current award year. It is the responsibility of the student to request a re-evaluation of their eligibility.

Repeating Coursework

Once a student receives a "D" or better grade, they can repeat the course a second time. If a student receives a grade the second time, the following applies:

1. Letter grade of A, B, C, D or F, Financial Aid will not pay for a third attempt.
2. "W", "WF", "WP", "NA" course is considered attempted and not completed. Financial Aid will pay for additional attempts until a student receives a grade of A, B, C, D or F.

Student is not to have completed a course until they have a grade of "D" or better. Therefore, students initially receiving "W's" and "F's" are eligible for Financial Aid until they receive a "D" or better.

Once a student receives a grade of "D" or better, option 1 or 2 may apply.

Consequences for not meeting the requirements:

Students who do not meet the requirements will be notified via email following the semester that their progress falls below the standards. Students may also view their current SAP status on the Financial Aid page of MyCCRI.ccri.edu.

If a student fails to meet the SAP policy described above, the student may be granted a “Warning” semester during which time aid can be received. If at the end of the Warning period the student still does not meet the cumulative SAP measures, the student will become academically ineligible for financial aid for the next semester.

A student will become academically ineligible and placed on financial aid suspension if not making SAP following a warning period. This will result in the ineligibility for all federal, state and institutional financial aid. Once placed on financial aid suspension, a student may regain financial aid eligibility by completing a cumulative average of 67% of all attempted credits with at least a 2.0 cumulative financial aid grade point average at CCRI.

When a student becomes academically ineligible, they have the right to appeal the suspension of their financial aid based on mitigating circumstances (please see Financial Aid Appeal Instructions ). All appeals must be submitted in writing and documentation must be provided when applicable. Situations such as serious illness and family emergencies may be considered as mitigating circumstances.

Students who are placed on probation after exceeding the 150% timeframe will be given a plan of study by an Academic Advisor. During the probationary period, the student must earn all credits attempted with at least a 2.0 financial aid GPA, and must continue to enroll in only those courses outlined in the plan of study and/or courses specifically required for graduation from their current program of study. Students must re-appeal at the end of each semester. 

67% Chart:
The chart below shows credit hours attempted with the corresponding required number of successfully completed credits with a 2.0 GPA necessary to maintain satisfactory academic progress. For example, if you attempted 65 credits, you must successfully complete 44 credits with a 2.0 GPA or higher to meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements.

This page developed and maintained by Office of Enrollment Services. Send comments and suggestions to .