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FINANCIAL AID SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POLICY


Financial Aid Satisfactory Standards must meet the criteria set by Section 484 of the Higher Education Act (HEA), Title IV Regulations, published in 668.16 of the Federal Register.

 

ELIGIBILITY

To become eligible to receive financial aid from Victor Valley College, students must:

  1. Submit a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the Department of Education (DOE) to establish eligibility; and
  2. Submit completed Student Aid package to the Financial Aid Office; and
  3. Enroll in an eligible program to complete an Associate’s Degree, a certificate program of at least 6 months in length, and/or transfer requirements; and
  4. Declare a major and obtain an education plan as approved by a Victor Valley College counselor, which also must be on file in the Financial Aid Office.

To continue to meet eligibility requirements to receive financial aid from Victor Valley College, students must:

  1. Complete 67% or more of attempted cumulative attempted units  in an eligible program; and
  2. Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher; and
  3. Maintain education plan requirements as defined in the VVC catalog; and
  4.  Attempted less than six semesters (full time equivalent).


FINANCIAL AID DISMISSAL

Students who do not meet the SAP standards listed above will be subject to dismissal from receiving further financial aid (other than the BOGG Fee Waiver.)  SAP standards are checked and verified once annually when the student submits their financial aid paperwork for the following academic year.
Generally, a student who is dismissed from financial aid must meet SAP standards by completing at least a successful semester without financial aid, and meet all SAP eligibility criteria to regain eligibility.  Once the student has regained eligibility, they may petition for reinstatement.

 

APPEAL PROCESS

Federal regulations limit financial aid to the maximum time frame of no more than 150% of the particular program as stated in the Victor Valley College catalog. To continue to receive financial aid from Victor Valley College, students must submit a petition/appeal form to the Financial Aid Office if the student has:

  1. Received financial aid for six semesters (full time equivalent) in an eligible program; or
  2. Attempted 90 units; (excluding up to one year of remedial coursework) or
  3. Completed a degree.
  4. Not maintained SAP standards (2.0 overall cumulative GPA and 67% of cumulative attempted units.)
  • All attempted units that are accepted toward the student’s major are counted in the total, whether or not financial aid was received. Units from other schools that are accepted toward the student’s current program are also counted in the total. One year of remedial coursework is counted to include; ESL, and any pre-college level math or English course.
  • Important Information: If at any point in time it is determined that the student cannot complete their course of study within the 150% timeframe, they will be immediately disqualified from future financial aid (with the exception of the BOG-FW), for the remainder of their program, even if currently meeting the SAP standards.
  • For students changing programs, your petition will be considered for up to a maximum of two program changes.

Students may only submit an appeal for the following reasons:

  • Student has mitigating circumstances or extenuating circumstances (beyond the student’s control) that prevented him/her from meeting SAP standards (documentation substantiating statements must be submitted.) Examples can include but are not limited to: change in family circumstances, medical conditions requiring doctor’s care.
  • Change in major or program of study or coursework for transfer to a 4-year college or university.* (Note: Only students completing a program at VVC, and completing transfer requirements in order to transfer to a 4 year institution will be considered for reinstatement.  A student coming to VVC from a university, taking classes, and then returning to a university would not be eligible for Title IV funds at VVC.)
  • Student has reached 90 attempted units, but a portion of the unit total is comprised of remedial coursework, the student is working on transfer units, or the student has a change in program.

To petition for reinstatement of financial aid, students who have been disqualified from receiving financial aid must:

  1. Obtain an updated education plan from a Victor Valley College counselor.
  2. Submit a completed Petition Application with the updated education plan and supporting appeal documentation (i.e. medical or personal crisis) to the Financial Aid Office.

The Financial Aid Appeals Committee will review the completed Petition Application packet after which the student will be sent a copy of the Committee’s decision. If the Committee approves the appeal, the Financial Aid Office will verify the student’s progress at the end of each academic year.
Notification of the appeal outcome is posted on the “My Documents” tab in WebAdvisor.  The student will also receive a hard copy in the mail.
The decision of the Financial Aid Appeals Committee is final.

Revised 07/17/2008, effective 08/01/2008