Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Description
Valor Christian College is required to establish, publish and apply reasonable standards for measuring whether a student is making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in their educational program. This section is in alignment with Federal Regulations 668.16 (e); 668.34. Standards for measuring SAP apply to students receiving Title IV and HEA program funding and to those students who are not receiving any form of financial assistance. Furthermore, all SAP standards apply to athletic students, full-time and part-time students and students enrolled in all programs. Please note that there are cases in which more than one standard may apply such as athletics and Veterans Benefits. When more than one standard is applicable, the student must meet the more stringent standard in order to be in compliance.
SAP Standards for Title IV and Non-Title IV Students
There are two components to Satisfactory Academic Progress which are the Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) and the Completion Ratio (Pace). In order to maintain SAP the minimum requirements for both components must be met or exceeded.
Valor Christian College requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 in order to graduate. The College has established an academic policy which includes a graduated Cumulative GPA that allows a student to achieve the minimum requirement. The minimum cumulative grade point average is determined by the number of semester hours attempted. In order for a student to maintain SAP, they must maintain no less than a minimum GPA that corresponds with the appropriate number of attempted credit hours, see below:
Valor Christian College Cumulative GPA Standards
1 - 29.5 semester hours 1.80 cumulative GPA
30 - 44.5 semester hours 1.90 cumulative GPA
45 - 59.5 semester hours 2.0 cumulative GPA
60 semester hours and thereafter 2.0 cumulative GPA
Grades for courses accepted for transfer from other institutions are not recorded on the transcript and are not included in the Cumulative GPA calculation.
All students are expected to maintain SAP. Student athletes must meet the minimum GPA required by the athletic conference in order to participate as an athlete as well as maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress with Valor Christian College. No student on academic probation can participate in sports or extra-curricular activities.
Valor Christian College Cumulative Pace Standards
There is a government mandated maximum timeframe in which a student can complete his or her educational program and still be eligible for Title IV and HEA program funding. The maximum time frame to finish a certificate or degree program cannot exceed 150 percent of the published length of the educational program, as measured in credit hours. In order to ensure that students enrolled at the varying enrollment levels (full-time, part-time, half-time, and less-than-half-time) are meeting the Cumulative Pace Standard a Cumulative Completion Ratio of 67% is required. To calculate the Completion Ratio divide the number of completed hours by the number of attempted hours. When calculating the student’s Cumulative Completion Ratio, the College does not include remedial courses in the calculation. Transfer courses are included in the Cumulative Completion Ratio calculation as attempted and completed courses.
Financial Aid Warning
At the conclusion of each financial aid payment period a complete Academic report of all students will be reviewed by the Academic and Financial offices. It is at that time that the grades of every student of the College will be evaluated. Based on the evaluation one of the following four actions will be taken.
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Students who have not met SAP requirements, whose grades are such that it is possible for them to regain compliance with SAP by the end of the subsequent semester, and are not already on Financial Aid Warning will receive a Financial Aid Warning letter and will be able to continue to receive Title IV and HEA program funds for the subsequent semester.
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Students whose grades are such that it is not possible for them to regain SAP by the end of the subsequent Financial Aid Warning semester will be sent a Denial of Financial Aid letter notifying them that they are no longer eligible for financial aid due to their failure to meet the minimum SAP standard.
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Students who have failed to meet SAP at the end of their semester on Financial Aid Warning will be sent a Denial of Financial Aid letter notifying them that they are no longer eligible for financial aid due to their failure to meet the minimum SAP standard.
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Students who were already on Financial Aid Warning who have regained compliance with SAP will be sent a letter notifying them that they are no longer on Financial Aid Warning.
Students denied financial aid for failure to meet SAP may appeal the denial see “Appeal of the Denial of Financial Aid” below. If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and be eligible for financial aid.
Appeal of the Denial of Financial Aid
Valor College is aware that a student may experience unusual and/or unexpected circumstances that are beyond the student’s control and which may result in academic performance that does not reflect the desire and academic abilities of the student. Such circumstances may include death of a parent, spouse, severe prolonged illness, catastrophic events, and unavoidable—unforeseen demands for travel or overtime by one’s employer.
The student whose failure to meet the minimum GPA, Pace or the conditions of an Academic Plan as a direct result of such an event may appeal the denial of financial aid due to the circumstance that was beyond the student’s control. The appeal must be presented to the Financial Aid Office in writing with documentation. The Financial Aid Committee will review the appeal and determine if it warrants overriding the denial of financial aid. All decisions by the Financial Aid Committee are final and will be communicated to the student by the Financial Aid Office. If the appeal is successful, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and will be eligible for financial aid.
Students may also appeal a subsequent denial for failure to meet the required conditions while on Financial Aid Probation or for failure to meet the terms of an Academic Plan but the appeal cannot be due to the same circumstance or event nor can it be for a similar circumstance or event. In addition to the above appeals a student may also appeal the denial of financial aid due to a determination that the student cannot meet the maximum completion time frame of 150% of the published length of the program.
Financial Aid Probation
When students are placed on Financial Aid Probation due to a successful appeal of the denial of financial aid for failure to meet SAP requirements, one of two options will be utilized:
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If the student can regain compliance with SAP by the end of the semester, the student will be required to enroll in the number of courses necessary to regain compliance by the end of the semester.
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If the student cannot regain compliance with SAP by the end of the semester, the student will be required to set up an Academic Plan that will allow the student to regain compliance with SAP at a specified date.
Grades will be evaluated at the end of the subsequent semester and one of the following four actions will be taken:
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If the student regains compliance with the SAP requirements, the student will be sent a letter notifying the student that the student is no longer on Financial Aid Probation.
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If the student did not regain compliance with SAP requirements, the student will be sent the Denial of Financial Aid letter and will not be able to receive Title IV or HEA program funding from the College.
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Probation is for one term/payment period only. If a student is placed on probation with an academic plan, and at the end of that term he/she is meeting requirements of the academic plan, then the student no longer is considered on probation.
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If the student fails to meet the conditions of the student's Academic Plan, the student will be sent the Denial of Financial Aid letter and will not be able to receive Title IV or HEA program funding from the College.
If at any time it is determined that the student does not have enough semesters left in the student’s degree program to regain compliance with SAP before the completion of the student’s degree program, the student is no longer eligible for financial aid.
Financial Aid Suspension/Dismissal
When a student fails to regain compliance with SAP after the Financial Aid Warning, does not appeal the Denial of Financial Aid, or the student’s appeal of the Denial of Financial Aid is not approved, the student is placed on Financial Aid Suspension which means that the student cannot receive Title IV or HEA program funding from the College, however the student can still attend the College for one subsequent semester. At that time, a student is given the option to meet with an academic officer to set up another Academic Plan to get them back on track. At the close of the semester in which the student is on Financial Aid Suspension, the student’s grades and Academic Plan are once again evaluated. If the student did not meet SAP requirements but did meet the student’s Academic Plan, the student may continue to attend the College however, the student cannot receive title IV or HEA program funds. If the student met SAP and Pace requirements the student may appeal their Financial Aid Suspension to the Financial Aid committee. If the student did not meet the student’s academic plan or SAP and Pace requirements, the student will be dismissed from the College. The Vice President for Academic Affairs will notify the student of their dismissal in writing.
Circumstances for Re-admittance after Dismissal
Following academic dismissal, a student may reapply for admission to the college after having completed at least one semester of Satisfactory Academic Progress at another Institution of Higher Education. The Admissions Committee will review the application and make a determination and notify the student in writing within 30 days.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Students tend to ask how withdrawals, course repeats, incompletes, remedial courses, transfer credits, grades of F, W, IN, and changes of major, affect SAP. Below, we have outlined the answers to these frequently asked questions:
Withdrawals (W, VW)
Once a student withdraws from a course, the course is factored into the number of credits that are attempted (Pace/Completion Ratio). If the student withdrawal is completed according to Valor College withdrawal policy, a grade of F is not assigned to the course and the withdrawn course is not included in the Cumulative GPA calculation.
Course Repeats
Course repeats affect SAP standing. Once a student repeats a course, the new grade is factored into the Cumulative GPA and the previous grade is removed from the Cumulative GPA calculation, however, both courses are included in credits attempted (Pace/Completion Ratio) and are reflected on the student’s transcript.
Incompletes (IN)
Incompletes are not calculated in the GPA nor are they counted toward Pace until the actual grade is submitted.
Failing Grades (F, WF)
Failing grades are included in the Cumulative GPA and count as attempted not completed for Pace.
Remedial Courses
Remedial courses will count toward Cumulative GPA requirements; however, they will not count toward graduation requirements or toward Pace.
Transfer Credits
The credits for courses accepted for transfer do not affect the Cumulative GPA. The credits for courses accepted for transfer will be counted toward Pace.
Change of Major
Changing a major results in a new degree plan. Only the courses taken at VCC that fit the new degree plan are included in the new Cumulative GPA. Only the courses taken at VCC that fit the new degree plan and transfer courses that fit the new degree plan are included in the new Pace calculation for SAP. The request for a change of major will be reviewed by the institution. If the finding of the review is that the change of major is an attempt by the student to avoid losing eligibility for financial aid or an attempt by the student to avoid Academic Dismissal, the change of major will be denied. Should a change of major request be denied, the student may submit a written appeal with third party documentation as appropriate of the reason for the appeal to the Financial Aid Office or Vice President of Academic Affairs. The appeal will be reviewed by the Academic Affairs Committee. The decision of the committee will be provided to the student in writing. All decisions by the Academic Affairs Committee are final. Changing a major does not affect the amount of grant aid and/or loan aid used to date nor does it affect the maximum amount of grant and/or loan aid available for an undergraduate degree. Changing a major or changing a major more than once may result in the student not having enough financial aid eligibility remaining to complete the new degree.
Office of Academic Affairs
Valor Christian College
P.O. Box 800
Columbus, OH 43216-0800
Phone: (614) 837-4088