Federal regulations require that students maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (S.A.P.) in their course of study to continue receiving Federal Title IV Financial Aid. Failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress results in the cancellation of a student’s Title IV financial aid, but does not prohibit the student from continuing enrollment with his/her own resources or non-federal financial aid.
Federal Title IV Financial Aid includes:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
• Federal Work Study Program
• Federal Direct Loans

Student’s entire academic record is reviewed annually after the spring semester of each academic year as required by federal regulations before awards for the ensuing academic year are made. (S.A.P. standards apply to both full-time and less than full-time students.) S.A.P notifications are sent to BRCC email accounts.

Any student whose *CGPA = Cumulative Grade Point Average falls below 2.0 will lose eligibility and given the option to appeal. The appeals process has been detailed below. A student can receive financial aid during a probationary period, but must adhere to the Academic Probation Suspension policy as set forth in the catalog or at www.mybrcc.edu. If the CGPA is below the minimum in the table, the student is no longer eligible for financial aid. These hours include transfer hours.

Attempted Credit hours
Between                      End             *CGPA
6                                  29                 1.50 Minimum *CGPA
30                                95                 2.00 Minimum *CGPA
Students must demonstrate a progression during matriculation by earning at least 50 % of all courses attempted up to 67% of all courses attempted. Courses earned include grades of ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, or ‘D’. Courses attempted include any course in which grades of ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘F’, ‘W’ or ‘I’ is given.

TRANSFER STUDENTS: Transfer students must have an official transcript on file with the Office of Enrollment Services. Transfer students will be evaluated on the BRCC hours plus the transfer hours which will be added to the attempted and completed hours and will be considered in the S.A.P. computations.

MAXIMUM TIME FRAME: Baton Rouge Community College offers two-year degrees that require approximately 60 semester hours to graduate. Applying the 150% rule, the maximum credit hours a student can attempt at BRCC and receive federal funding are 96 semester credits (excluding Developmental courses up to 30 credit hours). Once the student earns approximately 60 credits, the student is considered to have earned the equivalent of an Associate Degree. Students must complete 67% of courses attempted. Students who wish to earn a second Associates Degree may request that their eligibility be extended to a maximum of 120 attempted semester hours or approximately 90 earned hours, whichever comes first. Students must present a written statement from their department head confirming that they have met all requirements for the first degree. Additional courses beyond the first degree are limited to the courses required for the second degree. INCOMPLETE COURSES: Any course in which an ‘I’ grade is given counts in hours attempted. However, it is not included as earned until such time as the course is complete and an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, or ‘D’ grade is given.

DEVELOPMENTAL COURSES: Students may receive aid for developmental studies, regent’s remediation and College Preparatory Curriculum if they are accepted for enrollment in an eligible program. Students may not receive aid for more than 30 total semester hours combined. Failure to exit these courses within 30 semester hours will result in the Suspension (loss) of all financial aid until such time as these courses are exited.

ACADEMIC AMNESTY: Academic Amnesty/Bankruptcy does not apply toward federal student aid programs. When evaluating S.A.P. courses that apply (whenever taken) toward the program of study must be counted. However, students may use the mitigating circumstances of academic amnesty to support a financial aid appeal.

WITHDRAWALS: Any course in which a grade of ‘W’ is given is counted in hours attempted. Be aware that excessive withdrawals from classes could result in the loss of eligibility for financial aid. Additionally, students may be required to repay unearned aid for complete withdrawals and will lose their eligibility if they fail to do so.

• In the event that a student withdraws from the college in any given semester, a return of Title IV calculation will be required if a student withdraws before he/she reaches the 60% point in each payment period of enrollment. After the 60% point in a period of enrollment a student has earned 100% of the Title IV funds.
• Title IV aid is awarded under the assumption that a student will attend as a full-time student for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When he/she drops the financial aid will adjust (therefore; if a student has received a refund (based on Federal Aid he/she will then owe the funds back to BRCC). When a student withdraws from all courses before the 60% point he/she may not be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds originally scheduled. Any unearned funds must be returned. Failure to adhere could jeopardize a student’s ability to receive financial assistance at any institution of higher learning.

APPEALS PROCESS: A student who fails to establish good academic standing or to make satisfactory academic progress (S.A.P.) becomes ineligible for financial aid. If the student has mitigating circumstances beyond his/her control that affected his/her ability to meet S.A.P. standards, the student may appeal the loss of his/her eligibility. The law gives some examples where allowances might be made for mitigating circumstances:

• student becomes very ill or is severely injured (Must provide a statement from physician on official letterhead verifying illness with aligning dates included. Do not submit bills.)
• A student’s immediate family member dies (Must provide death certificate and/or obituary.

Immediate family members are parents, grandparents and siblings.)
To appeal the loss of eligibility, a student must complete a Baton Rouge Community College “Financial Aid Appeal Form” and submit it with appropriate documentation to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee. The documentation must be directly related to the events that affected the student’s ability to meet S.A.P standards. The appeal should also include the steps the student is taking to ensure progress in the future. The student will be notified by mail on the outcome of the appeal. If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on Academic Probation and it will list specific requirements the student must meet to continue to receive financial aid. Additionally, the student may have to submit an Academic Plan to the Committee for approval. If a student’s appeal is denied, the student may regain eligibility by meeting the conditions listed in the following section. Since there is no guarantee that financial aid will be awarded, students should pay their tuition and fees in order to secure their enrollment in selected classes. Students will be reimbursed after the appeal is approved.

REINSTATEMENT OF FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY: If a student fails to meet standards of academic progress and does not have mitigating circumstances; or the student fails to meet the conditions of an appeal, the student may apply for his/her aid reinstated after:

• Enrolling in at least 6 credit hours of courses required for a degree and
• Paying his/her fees without the use of Title IV financial aid and
• Complete all courses attempted with at least a ‘C’ grade in each course

(Grades of ‘W’, ‘I’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ need not apply for reinstatement.)
Once the student has met all three requirements, he/she may submit an appeal form, based on the semester’s final grade report. All requests for reinstatement will be reviewed and a decision will be made by the financial aid appeals committee. (Appeal forms can be pulled from the BRCC Website, under Financial Aid). The Financial Aid Appeals Committee meets the 1st Wednesday of each month. If your appeal is not received 10 working days before the monthly meeting, your appeal will be reviewed in the following monthly meeting. Please allow up to two weeks for the appeal committee to respond in writing to a decision on your appeal.

IMPORTANT: All students will be held responsible for this information. It is the students’ responsibility to monitor their grades and completion ratio.