Satisfactory Academic Progress
Financial Aid
Takena Hall, Room 117
541-917-4850
Tuesday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Wednesday: 9:00am - 2:00pm
Thursday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Friday: 9:00am - 3:00pm
What Is Satisfactory Academic Progress?
Federal regulations require LBCC to establish a satisfactory academic progress (SAP) policy to ensure all students receiving financial aid are making reasonable progress towards completing their degree. Students who fail to make progress toward the completion of their education will not be able to receive financial aid.
Satisfactory academic progress is defined as passing a required number of hours (pace), and achieving a required grade point average (GPA) during a reasonable period of time (maximum time frame). The student's academic records are reviewed at the end of each term in which the student is enrolled to determine compliance. Federal regulations require that a student’s entire academic history be considered, even if the student has never received financial aid. State and non-federal programs and scholarships may have different standards for evaluating satisfactory academic progress.
These standards apply only to a student’s eligibility for federal financial aid. Refer to Academic Information and Regulations for academic policies that apply to all students (regardless of whether they are receiving financial aid).
Students are notified of their SAP standing after SAP is calculated. This includes good standing, warning, termination, and probation. Students are sent a courtesy notification if they are close to being below GPA and pace. All communications are sent to students' LBCC email.
Pace Requirement
Pace is the rate at which a student completes their program. Pace is calculated by dividing the cumulative number of credit hours completed by the cumulative number of credit hours attempted. In order to graduate within the maximum time frame allowed, students must maintain a pace equal to 70% of their cumulative hours attempted. Only courses for which the student received credit count towards completed hours. Passing grades are A, B, C, D, and P (pass).
Example: if a student has attempted 15 credit hours and has received credit for nine hours, the student’s pace would be 60% and would not meet the minimum requirement.
Overall GPA Requirement
Students must have an overall (cumulative) GPA of 2.00 at the end of each term. If all institutional courses have a grade of P (pass) or are not graded, the student may ask LBCC's financial aid office for a SAP status reevaluation.
Maximum Time Frame Requirement
Students may not exceed 150% of the published credit hours it takes to complete their degree and remain eligible for financial aid. Students who can no longer complete their academic program within the maximum time frame are not eligible for aid. The maximum time frame goes into effect at the point when it becomes mathematically impossible to successfully complete the degree before using up 150% of credits. This often occurs before the student actually reaches the maximum time frame. Therefore, a student can fail the maximum time frame requirement prior to reaching the actual maximum time frame hours.
Example, an Associate of Art Oregon Transfer degree requires 90 credit hours to complete, which means a student would have a total of 135 credit hours to complete their degree. If the student has attempted 125 credit hours at the beginning of the term and has enrolled in their final nine hours to complete their degree, the student would be eligible for aid since they will not exceed 150% of the published length of the program.
To determine the credit hours required for a specific program of study, refer to our programs. The maximum time frame is not increased for changes in major, double majors, second degrees, or adding a certificate in another subject area. Students who have completed all the courses required for their degree or certificate but have not yet received the degree or certificate are no longer eligible for financial aid for the degree or certificate. Repeated coursework and preparatory/prerequisite coursework are included.
Appeal Process
If academic deficiencies are the result of extenuating circumstances, you may appeal to the Financial Aid Appeal Committee (FAAC) in accordance with the following guidelines. If an appeal is needed, it will be made available via your Webrunner. Select the "Financial Aid" tab and then "Financial Aid Dashboard." All available forms are located within the dashboard.
- Extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to, the death of a family member, illness or injury, severe medical complications, or other circumstances beyond the student’s control. Appropriate third-party documentation of the circumstance must be provided to the FAAC.
- If you choose to attend a term without knowing your financial aid eligibility, you are responsible for all charges on your account and understand all courses for the term as of the add/drop deadline will be considered in the SAP calculation.
- Appeals must be accompanied by an educational plan from DegreeWorks. Educational plans are completed with an academic advisor and are developed to assist you in achieving academic success. You and your advisor will develop a plan that ensures that you are able to meet SAP standards by a specified time.
- The appeal must include a statement as to why you did not meet SAP and an explanation of what will change to allow you to meet SAP standards at the end of the next evaluation period.
- If you have reached the maximum time frame due to switching majors, second majors, or additional certificates, you will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis through the appeal process.
- The outcome of an appeal will depend on the nature of the circumstances, the quality of the documentation provided, and how well you have displayed the ability to progress toward degree completion within a reasonable time frame.
- Incomplete appeals will not be reviewed. The committee will automatically deny any appeal that does not have supporting documentation.
- You will receive an email with your SAP status at the end of a term. If an appeal is needed, specific directions are included in the email, indicating if you need to submit a SAP appeal.
- You may also check to see if an appeal is needed by logging into Webrunner, selecting "Financial Aid," then "Financial Aid Dashboard." Under "General Links," click on “Financial Aid Forms and Appeals.” If an appeal is needed, the instructions and forms will be available. If you click this link and do not see an appeal, then no appeal is needed.
Appeal Due Dates
Submission by the priority deadline ensures that you will receive a notification of your appeal status by Friday of the first week of term. It is your responsibility to know your eligibility before the add/drop deadline on the Monday of the second week.
| Appeal Term | Appeal Priority Deadline | Term Begins |
|---|---|---|
| Summer 2024 | June 24, 2024 | June 24, 2024 |
| Fall 2024 | Sep. 18, 2024 | Sep. 30, 2024 |
| Winter 2025 | Dec. 20, 2024 | Jan. 6, 2025 |
| Spring 2025 | Mar. 31, 2025 | Mar. 31, 2025 |
Appeals submitted after the priority deadline and before the Friday of the fifth week
of the term will be reviewed for the current term. If an appeal is submitted after
that point, it is at the discretion of the FAAC to review it for the current term.
If you choose to attend a term without knowing your financial aid eligibility, you
are still responsible for all charges on your account.
Financial aid is not awarded retroactively for a prior term in which your SAP status was terminated.
All decisions made by the FAAC are final. If you have an extenuating circumstance or documentation that was not initially presented, you may submit an additional appeal. Contact us for further guidance.
Terms and Definitions
- Good: students who are meeting SAP standards and are eligible to continue receiving aid.
- Warning: students who were meeting SAP standards in their prior term but are no longer meeting SAP standards in the current term are granted a period of one term of aid eligibility to bring their SAP status into compliance.
- Terminated: students who are no longer eligible for aid for failing to meet SAP standards (pace, GPA, and/or maximum time frame) or approval conditions.
- Probation: students who have appealed for their aid and have received approval.
- Standard probation may be granted for students that are below minimum standards and are required to complete 100% of the courses enrolled for the term and have a term GPA of 2.0. The academic record will be reviewed at the end of each term in which the student is enrolled to determine compliance. If the student has failed to meet the terms and conditions of their appeal approval agreement, their status will be terminated. If the student has met the approval conditions, the conditions will be renewed for the next term and the student will remain eligible for federal aid. Students that have met SAP requirements (70% pace and cumulative 2.0 GPA) will have their status reinstated to a Good status.
- Non-standard probation is granted for students that have specific approval conditions.
Approval conditions may include but are not limited to:
- 100% completion of enrolled courses
- Term GPA of 2.0
- Enrolled only in courses required to complete your degree indicated on the education plan
- The academic record will be reviewed at the end of each term in which the student is enrolled to determine compliance. If the student has failed to meet the terms and conditions, their financial aid status will be terminated. If the student has met the approval conditions, the conditions will be renewed for the next term and the student will remain eligible for federal aid.
- Ineligible for aid: students who have exhausted all appeal processes and are no longer eligible for federal student aid.
- Courses must be dropped prior to the add/drop deadline to prevent them from being included in attempted hours.
- Courses withdrawn from after the add/drop period will count toward attempted hours.
- Repeat courses for which the student has previously earned credit will not count toward hours completed. However, they will count toward hours attempted even if credit was not previously earned. The grade with the greatest points or if the same grade is received, from the most recent attempt at the course will be the grade that counts in the GPA calculations.
- Credit hours for courses for which an incomplete or deferred grade is granted will not count as hours completed but will count as hours attempted. Upon completion of the course(s), SAP calculation will be performed at the end of the term that the completion occurred. If the incomplete grade is resolved between terms, the hours will be included with the prior term calculation.
- The number of transfer hours accepted at LBCC will be used to calculate the students remaining eligibility under the 150% calculation and will be included in the calculation of pace.
- All attempted remedial credits will be included when evaluating SAP. A maximum of 45 remedial credit hours may be funded. Remedial coursework refers to courses that are below the 100 level.
- Students who enroll in a second degree program are still held to the 150% maximum time frame requirement, except in the case of an approved appeal. The maximum time frame requirement is not increased for changes in major, double majors, second degrees, or adding a certificate in another subject area.
- Any consideration allowed for academic renewal or academic amnesty will not be applicable when reviewing SAP for financial aid eligibility. This includes overall GPA requirements and pace.
- Students under academic suspension are not eligible to receive financial aid and are not eligible to appeal for financial aid until they have been reinstated to the college. Reinstatement to the college does not guarantee financial aid eligibility or appeal approval.
- A financial aid warning period will be granted for students, who, upon review, do not meet pace or GPA requirements and whose prior term status was in good standing. The financial aid warning period will extend through the end of the term for which it is granted. If students are not in compliance with pace and/or the overall GPA requirements at the end of their financial aid warning period, financial aid eligibility will be terminated.
- A financial aid warning period is not granted to students who do not meet maximum time frame requirements. Financial aid eligibility for students exceeding 150% of the credits required for the program in which they are currently enrolled will be immediately terminated.
- Failure to meet approval conditions imposed by the Financial Aid Appeal Committee (FAAC), default on a federally funded student loan(s), or failure to repay a federal aid overpayment will result in automatic termination of aid eligibility.
- A student can re-establish eligibility by enrolling for and successfully completing courses without the assistance of financial aid funds. Once a student has reached the minimum standards required by this SAP policy, aid eligibility may be reinstated. All aid eligibility requirements must be met.