Standards of Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Click here to complete the Financial Aid Waiver Request.

Below are the Standards of Academic Progress for Financial Aid.

Federal Standards of Academic Progress

Cumulative Attempted Credits	Total Earned/Passed Credits	Cumulative Minimum GPA
3	0	0.00
6	3	1.50
12	6	1.50
18	10	1.65
24	14	1.65
30	18	1.65
36	25	1.65
42	29	1.80
48	33	1.80
54	37	2.00
60	42	2.00
66	46	2.00
72	50	2.00
78	54	2.00
84	58	2.00
90	63	2.00
96	67	2.00
99	69	2.00

Example: Having attempted 87 credit hours (including those withdrawn from), it is expected you would have passed at least 58 with a GPA of at least 2.0. If you have passed 48 with a GPA of 1.62 you would no longer be meeting Federal Standards of Academic Progress.

Students are responsible to maintain eligibility for financial aid funding. If a student is having academic difficulties, there are alternatives: ask instructors for help, contact the Learning Commons for information on tutors, or talk to an academic advisor.

Colleges are required to look at three areas to determine if a student can continue to receive financial aid, including Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct Stafford student loans, Perkins loans, and grants (Pell, SEOG Work Study). The three areas are:

The Qualitative Standard: This is the Grade Point Average (GPA), which is determined at the end of each semester.
The Quantitative Standard (Pursuit of Program): Students must earn passing grades toward their degree or certificate according to the chart above.
Maximum Time Frame: In order to retain eligibility for federal financial aid, students must complete their programs of study within a maximum time frame of 150% of the length of the program.

Please note: The Total Credits Attempted include all courses, including failures and withdrawals. The GPA is calculated according to the College’s published academic policies.

All transfer hours accepted at MVCC are also included in calculations.

If you are not meeting the guidelines, the following will occur:

Financial Aid Warning: If you have failed Federal Standards, but it is your first semester enrolled as a matriculated student, you may receive an automatic “First Federal Waiver.” If you receive notification from the Financial Aid Office of this warning, your federal aid will be reinstated for one semester. After this, you may need to file an appeal if you are not meeting Federal Academic Standards.
Financial Aid Probation (Approved Appeal Required): If you do not meet the standards of academic progress, you will be placed on financial aid probation. If you receive notification from the Financial Aid Office that you have failed Federal Standards, you can file an appeal requesting that federal financial aid be reinstated for the upcoming semester. The appeal must include the circumstances that prevented you from succeeding, the semester in which this occurred, and what has changed that will lead to your success. The College reserves the right to request an academic plan for students who are requesting an appeal, or to limit the number of credit hours a student can enroll in. Please note approval is not guaranteed.

Requesting a Federal Financial Aid Appeal:

To request a financial aid appeal, you must complete the form found here: Financial Waiver Request. Financial aid appeals can be considered when a student does not succeed because of unusual/extenuating circumstances that caused an extended and prolonged disruption to the semester, including, but not limited to:

The death of a relative of the student
An injury or illness of the student or close family member
Other special circumstances out of the student's control

If a student continues to make progress but still fails to meet the standards of progress, additional waivers will be considered.

The Financial Aid Appeals Committee will meet and decide based on the information you include on your waiver request. The determination will be updated on your MyMV account under the "Financial Aid—Satisfactory Academic Progress" tab.

Maximum Time Frame:

Associate degree students will be eligible to receive federal aid through the semester in which they attempt their 99th credit hour as long as academic progress has been consistent.

Certificate program students will be eligible to receive federal aid through the semester in which they attempt credit hours equal to 150% of the length of the program.

Students who exceed the maximum time frame as stated above are no longer eligible to receive federal financial aid funds (loans or grants) and cannot be appealed unless there are mitigating circumstances. Situations that would be considered include:

Students in a dual degree program who can demonstrate they will complete both degrees within two semesters, as evidenced by the student’s advisor
Students who can demonstrate the degree will be completed the following semester and must be verified by the individual student’s advisor

Please note: The above circumstances do not guarantee the approval of an appeal.

New York State Standards of Academic Progress

Standards prior to 2010-2011:

Payment number	1	2	3	4	5	6
Must have accrued this many credits	0	3	9	18	30	45
Minimum GPA	0	0.5	0.75	1.3	2.0	2.0
Must have finished this many semester’s credits	0	6	6	9	9	12

Current Standards (beginning 2010-2011)

Payment number	1	2	3	4	5	6
Must have accrued this many credits	0	6	15	27	39	51
Minimum GPA	0	1.3	1.5	1.8	2.0	2.0
Must have finished this many semester’s credits	0	6	6	9	9	12

Example: Going into your fifth payment, your GPA is a 2.15 and you have passed 55 credits; however, you would have needed to complete 9 credits of the last semester you received TAP. You finished 3 credits that semester, which is why you are no longer meeting State Standards of Academic Progress. Or, going into your second payment, you would need to have earned at least 6 credits with a GPA of 1.3. You passed 4 credits with a GPA of 1.25 and are no longer meeting State Standards of Academic Progress.

New York State TAP only allows ONE waiver for students who do not meet the guidelines. According to the Higher Education Services Corporation, a one-time appeal is available if the student can document that extraordinary or unusual circumstances prevented them from achieving the required standards. Examples of unusual or extraordinary circumstances are illness, injury, death of a close family member, legal issues, or circumstances out of the student's control.

New York State aid includes the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), Aid for Part-Time Studies (APTS), Part-Time TAP (PTTAP), and Veterans Assistance Programs (VVTA).