Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Federal regulations require that students receiving Federal financial aid must make satisfactory progress as defined by the college. Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute has elected to apply the standards set forth below to all students who receive aid from any of the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study Program, North Carolina Community College Grant, and North Carolina Education Lottery.
Financial aid satisfactory academic progress is determined by three standards of measurement: qualitative, quantitative, and maximum time frame.
Grade Point Average (GPA) Rule
- The qualitative measurement for financial aid shall be a cumulative grade point average of 2.0.
Completion Rate (PACE)
- The quantitative measurement will be a completion rate of two-thirds of all (cumulative) attempted credit hours. Students must successfully complete 67 percent of all hours attempted to meet the minimum requirements. Successful completion is defined as receiving a grade of A, B, C, or D. All classes dropped/withdrawn from outside the official drop/add period will be included in the completion rate calculation.
Maximum Time Frame
The maximum time frame allowable will be 150 percent of the required credit hours in the recipient’s current academic program.
Example: if a program of study requires 64 credit hours to complete a degree, the student may attempt a maximum of 96 hours before the student exceeds his or her eligibility for financial aid (64 X 1.5 = 96).
Up to 30 credit hours of required remedial course work will not be calculated as a part of the attempted hour count. Students who reach maximum time frame SAP status, are not eligible to receive additional federal or state aid unless they successfully appeal their Satisfactory Academic Progress status.
NOTE: There is a life-time limit (LEU) to the amount of federal and state aid for which students can receive. Students are eligible to receive the Federal Pell Grant for the equivalent of six years or 12 full-time semesters of combined enrollment at all institutions. State grants are even less. If students fail to meet one of the SAP criteria listed above, they will no longer be eligible to receive additional federal or state aid.