Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Policies and important info

All categories of student financial aid are measured by academic progress criteria. Federal regulations require that institutions monitor all financial aid recipients to ensure that students are maintaining a minimum standard academic achievement. Academic standards vary between federal, state, and institutional financial aid funds, but all require a minimum number of hours completed with a minimum grade point average. To continue to receive funding from the Federal Student Aid programs (Pell Grants, other Federal grants, and Federal Direct Loans) students must meet the Kilgore College Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.

Kilgore College Financial Aid Office will determine which students have not met requirements of the SAP Policy at the end of each term (fall, spring, summer). Students on Warning or Suspension will see this status in their AccessKC and AccessKC Aid student portals.

Grade Point Average (Qualitative) Standards
1. Students must maintain a 2.0 Financial Aid cumulative grade point average each term
Course Hour Completion (Quantitative) Standards
1. Students must complete 67% of the term hours enrolled in to maintain progress.
Maximum Time Frame Completion: (Pace)
1. Students enrolled at Kilgore College are expected to work toward a specific degree or certificate and to complete that goal within a certain reasonable timeframe.
2. Once the student has reached or exceeded the 150% timeframe, he/she will be placed on suspension and no longer be eligible for financial aid

Institutional scholarships, state grants, and other non-federal student aid programs have specific academic requirements for each individual program. It is the student’s responsibility to read and understand the academic and hourly requirement criteria for each award shown in the student’s financial aid award package.

SAP

Grade Point Average (Qualitative) Standards

Students must maintain a 2.0 Financial Aid cumulative grade point average for all college level courses combined with any remedial or COLS classes. Scholarships carry specific GPA requirements.
Grades of A, B, C, D, F, and I will count toward the Financial Aid Cumulative GPA.
Grades of W and IP will not count toward the Financial Aid Cumulative GPA.
Grades of “IP” are considered passing grades by Financial Aid.
Remedial course work will be included in the Financial Aid Cumulative GPA.
Academic work will be checked at the end of each semester (Fall, Spring, Summer) and will include all flex and mini semester course work.
Prior periods of enrollment will be evaluated for SAP prior to awarding.
All grades are factored in whether financial aid paid for the classes or not.

Course Hour Completion (Quantitative) Standards

Students must complete 67% of all hours of enrollment to maintain progress. Scholarships maintain specific hourly requirements.
The number of hours in which a student is enrolled on the official census day for each course determines the number of hours needed for completion.
Completion rates will be checked at the end of each semester and will include all remedial, flex and mini semester course work. This rate is based on all hours of enrollment at Kilgore College.
Grades of A, B, C, and D are considered as completed grades, and will be included in the calculation of the number of hours completed.
Grades of W, F, I, and IP are considered attempted hours and are used for this determination.
Hours which transfer into Kilgore College will be counted toward the student’s completion rate.
All hours are factored into the rate whether financial aid paid for the classes or not.

Maximum Time Frame Completion (Pace)

Students enrolled at Kilgore College are expected to work toward a specific degree or certificate and to complete that goal within a certain reasonable timeframe.
All periods of enrollment are counted toward the 150% timeframe, whether or not financial aid paid for those hours.
Students who enroll in courses not included in their declared major course of study or certificate program will not receive financial aid for those courses.
Developmental hours will not count toward the 150% completion rate.
Students who change their program of study may use up eligibility for federal aid prior to completion of their degree or certificate.
A student’s attempted credit hours cannot exceed a maximum of 150% of the hours required to complete a declared major course of study, or certificate program.
Once the student has reached or exceeded the 150% timeframe, he/she will be placed on suspension and no longer be eligible for financial aid. Students will receive a Warning semester first and the second semester the student will be placed on suspension.

Financial Aid Warning

Students who do not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. The student will be eligible to receive financial aid for the subsequent semester while on Financial Aid Warning status.
Students on Financial Aid Warning may be subject – but not limited to - a combination of the following institutional requirements:
- Mandatory counseling sessions with the Financial Aid Retention Counselor
- Tutoring logs showing time spent in The Zone or Math/English/Reading Labs
- Limited hours of enrollment, based on student’s ability to be successful
- No access to online registration
- No access to self-registration
- Specialized academic plan, with emphasis on re-evaluated degree/certificate plan
- Signed contract with Retention Counselor
- Suggested limit of hours of employment
- Repeat of classes with failing academic grades
- Any additional requirements deemed necessary for academic completion and student success

Financial Aid Suspension

Students who do not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress while on Financial Aid Warning status will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. While on Suspension, a student is no longer eligible to receive federal financial aid.
To reestablish financial aid eligibility, a student must enroll in sufficient hours to raise their cumulative GPA and completion rate to the minimum standards of the Satisfactory Academic Policy. This may be done with personal funds or other funding provided by the student. After completion, he/she must bring this to the attention of the Financial Aid Office in order to be re-evaluated for federal aid eligibility.

Financial Aid Suspension Appeals

Students wishing to appeal their suspension status must complete and submit the following documents:
- Financial Aid Suspension Appeal Form
- Typed statement of explanation for the reason of the appeal
- Unofficial Kilgore College Transcript
- Official documentation of events which prevented academic progress during the semester in which the suspension occurred.
- Official Degree Audit from the Kilgore College Counseling Center (excessive hours appeals)

Types of Extenuating Circumstances include:
- Injury or Illness of the student of immediate family member - immediate family members consist of your children, parents, siblings, or guardian. A detailed explanation with specific dates will be required, along with documentation from doctor or hospital records.
- Death of an immediate family member - immediate family members consist of your children, parents, grandparents, siblings, or guardian. A death certificate, obituary, and proof of the relationship will be required along with a detailed explanation of how their death affected you academically.
- Major Pregnancy related issues - these issues must be serious conditions and you will be required to bring in documentation from your OB/GYN confirming the diagnosis and proof that you were placed on bedrest or needed an extended hospital stay due to problems during labor and delivery.
- Other extenuating circumstances - any other serious problem that can be proven with documentation. A detailed explanation of what the circumstances were and why they affected you academically will also be required.

Appeals will be evaluated by an Appeals Committee.
Appeals that are granted will require an appointment with the Financial Aid Office to sign a contract outlining the terms of the appeal.
Students whose appeals are granted will be considered to be on Financial Aid Probation.
The Appeal Contract may likely be composed of the same institutional requirements as those described under the Financial Aid Warning (Item #4) plan.
Students must strictly follow the terms of the Appeal Contract. If changes are requested, the Financial Aid Office must be consulted prior to the change, or the contract becomes invalid and the student returns to financial aid suspension.
Examples in which the terms of the contract are inadvertently changed:
- The student drops or enrolls in a class that is not a part of their degree plan.
- The instructor drops the student for non-attendance.
- The student tests out of the class, the class is then dropped.
- The student does not attend the tutoring lab, as per the terms of their appeal contract.
- The student withdraws from a class.

Financial Aid Suspension Appeals Due to Excessive Hours

Students may find themselves on suspension due to exceeding the 150% timeframe regulation.
Students who exceed the 150% limit will be able to submit an Excessive Hour Appeal.
Those students will need to submit a degree audit, showing the specific amount of hours needed to complete a specific program of study.
They will be required to sign an Excessive Hour Appeal Contract, which will limit the enrollment to program specific hours and aid that will pay for those hours.
Students must have any enrollment change to the Excessive Hour contract approved by the Financial Aid Office.

Transfer Students

Students with no history at KC will be assumed to be making satisfactory academic progress at the time they transfer into Kilgore College, unless they are flagged by the Department of Education for Unusual Enrollment. If they are flagged with unusual enrollment, official transcripts from previous colleges will be required. Upon review of the official transcripts, if the student is determined to have not completed hours or the overall GPA of all transcripts is below the minimum of a 2.0 cumulative, the student will be placed on Suspension.
Hours that transfer into the major course of study will be counted toward the 150% timeframe eligibility regulation, along with any hours of enrollment at Kilgore College.
Transferring students need to be aware that the federal regulations concerning the Pell LEU and Loan Aggregate Limits still apply to any award package at KC.
If the college transcript(s) are not on file with the KC Registrar’s Office, the student will be considered a first-year student for loan purposes.
Hours that are accepted and transferred into Kilgore College will be counted in the completion rate.

Scholarships/Non-Federal Funds & Academic Progress

Most scholarship and non-federal aid funds carry specific academic and enrollment requirements for renewed funding to a student account.
Students receiving institutional, departmental, or state funds should check with the Scholarship Coordinator in regard to Letters of Agreement, showing the terms of scholarship eligibility.
Scholarship eligibility is evaluated at the end of each long semester (Fall, Spring, Summer), after which students who have lost eligibility will receive a notification advising of this status.
Scholarships do not have a Warning or Probation Status – (as with federal aid funds). Students who do not achieve the academic or enrollment criteria for renewal will not be awarded those funds for the subsequent semester (even if the Letter of Agreement shows the scholarship is awarded for one academic year).
Scholarships that are “performance-based” will carry different terms for renewal.

View Scholarships at KC.

Veterans Benefits & Academic Progress

Students receiving any type of veterans education benefits are encouraged to comply with satisfactory academic progress standards.
Federal veterans benefits (GI Bill, Post 9/11, Vocational Rehabilitation, etc.) do not have specific satisfactory academic progress policies. Students may continue to use these benefits even if on suspension for financial aid.

Hazlewood Legacy recipients must meet the GPA requirement of the institution’s satisfactory academic progress policy in a degree or certificate program as determined by the institution’s financial aid policy and, as an undergraduate student, not be considered to have attempted an excessive amount of credit hours.
- Hazlewood Act

View the Veterans Benefits at KC.