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SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGESS POLICY

Federal regulations require all institutions of higher education that participate in Title IV student financial aid programs to establish and publish a satisfactory academic progress policy. Students must adhere to the standards outlined within the policy in order to continue to receive financial assistance.

Eligibility for awards in the following federal, state and institutional programs is dependent upon a student’s ability to meet the standards of satisfactory academic progress:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
• Federal College Work Study
• Georgia HOPE Scholarship
• Georgia Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Grant (LEAP)
• Georgia HERO Scholarship
• Georgia Governor’s Scholarship
• Georgia Service Cancelable Loans
• Middle Georgia College Institutional Scholarships
• Federal Stafford Loan
• Federal PLUS Loan

Satisfactory academic progress is defined as the advancement of a student toward his/her degree objective in a manner consistent with the prescribed policy of the institution. Academic progress is measured both qualitatively (grade point average) and quantitatively (percentage completion and maximum time frame). Progress review is conducted at the conclusion of the spring semester.

Grade Point Average

Students enrolled at Middle Georgia College are required to maintain a minimum grade point average to maintain eligibility for financial assistance. Thresholds have been developed in conjunction with attempted hours.

Semester Hours Attempted At Middle Georgia College	Minimum Acceptable Grade Point Average
0 - 12	1.0
13 - 23	1.3
24 - 35	1.4
36 - 46	1.5
47 - 57	1.6
58 and over	1.7

Please note that academic grade point average standards are higher than those imposed by the satisfactory academic progress policy within the financial aid department. For a full account of academic requirements, please contact your academic advisor.

Percentage Completion

Students enrolled at Middle Georgia College are required to complete a minimum percentage of attempted coursework. Thresholds have been developed in conjunction with attempted hours:

Total Attempted Hours	Required Percentage Completion
0 - 20	60%
21 - 40	65%
41 - 59	70%
60 and above	75%

A student who fails to successfully complete the required number of credit hours will have his/her financial aid suspended. Please note that grades of W, F and/or I will negatively impact a student’s percentage completion rate.

Transfer, consortium, repeated and withdrawn hours count as attempted hours.

Maximum Time Frame

Federal regulations require an institution to establish a maximum time frame in which a student receiving Title IV assistance is expected to complete a program of study. Middle Georgia College has set a maximum time frame standard of 150% of the hours required to complete a specific degree. Most degree programs at Middle Georgia College require 67 hours for completion. Using the 67 hour example, a student may attempt up to 100 hours and continue to receive financial assistance. Attempted hours beyond the 100 hour threshold will not be eligible for financial aid.

The following hours are all counted toward the maximum time frame requirement:

• Dropped Courses with a Grade of W
• Repeated Hours
• Consortium Hours

The first 30 hours of learning support hours do not count against the maximum time frame requirement.

Students who fail to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements will be initially placed in a warning status. Failure to meet the requirements after the conclusion of the warning term will result in financial aid suspension.

A student who is placed on academic suspension will lose financial aid eligibility. If permitted to re-enroll, the student must re-establish eligibility by raising his/her cumulative grade point average.

If a student's failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress is due to mitigating circumstances such as illness, injury, conflict in job or death of a family member; he/she can request an appeal by completing the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form.

For a more detailed explanation of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, please refer to the financial aid section in the 2006-2008 Middle Georgia College Catalog.