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Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress

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Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress

Each institution that receives Title IV funds is required by the U.S. Department of Education, Section 132 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1976, to define and enforce standards for satisfactory academic progress. Satisfactory Academic Progress measures a student’s performance in the following three areas/criteria: cumulative completion rate, cumulative grade point average (GPA), and maximum time frame.

The Financial Aid Office is responsible for establishing and monitoring a standard of “satisfactory academic progress” for continuation of financial aid eligibility. In order to be eligible to receive financial aid (federal and/or state and at times institutional aid), the student must be making satisfactory progress towards a certificate or degree as identified in the quantitative (the completion rate of credit hours attempted) and qualitative (the GPA) standards of the policy. Progress is reviewed at the time an application is processed (including Federal Pell, Federal Stafford, and Federal PLUS Loans if submitted separately) and at the end of each term.

The maximum timeframe allowed for a student to complete his/her certificate and/or degree program is 150% of the number of credit hours required for the specific program. The standard of satisfactory academic progress must include a student’s total academic history at Trinidad State regardless of whether he/she has previously received financial assistance. A complete copy of the policy is available on the CCCS website, CCCS SP 4-20d Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Students are notified of their Satisfactory Academic Progress via their student portal and student email after each semester. If a student is ineligible because of Satisfactory Academic Process requirements, they must appeal to reinstate their aid:

  1. Complete the Financial Aid Appeal form (available on the TSC website on the Financial Aid page, or in the Financial Aid Office)
    - Appeals must be completed within the current semester they are attending. 
  2. Provide a student statement explaining the situation.
  3. Provide a signed Degree Plan, received from an academic advisor.
  4. Provide a required, signed Success Plan required from your academic advisor if GPA is below 2.0 or completion rate is below 67%.