Satisfactory Progress

Satisfactory completion means a student has received a minimum grade of D or P. Grades of I (incomplete), F (failure) and W (withdrawal) are not considered successfully completed classes. Repeat courses will be counted in attempted and completed credits. The Financial Aid Office has the right to refuse aid to students who abuse the inclusion of repeat courses to obtain funding. Inappropriate selection of courses is not an acceptable reason for not maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Students should contact an advisor.

Probation is a warning that the student has not met Satisfactory Academic Progress for the previous semester. Students on probation can still receive aid. Failure to meet SAP while on probation will lead to suspension from financial aid for future semesters.

Minimum GPA and Credit Completion: Students must maintain at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA. The minimum standards per semester are outlined below:

Enrollment Status Funded:	Credits Completed	Progress
12+ Credits (Full time)	12 or more	Satisfactory
	6-11	Probation
	0-5	Suspension
9-11 Credits (3/4 time)	9 or more	Satisfactory
	6-8	Probation
	0-5	Suspension
6-8 Credits (1/2 time)	6-8 0-5	Probation Suspension

Categories of Students
First time freshman (classified as students with a total of 16 attempted credits or less) will be allowed one semester of automatic probation if their grade point average is within .25 of the required grade point average for their type of funding.

Rules have been established in the administrative computer system regarding the Satisfactory Progress Report that is ran at the end of each term to identify students for which this policy applies. The students receive a letter explaining that they have been awarded automatic probation, however, by the end of the second semester of attendance, they must meet the required grade point average in order to continue to receive funding.

Treatment of Remedial Courses & English as a Second Language Coursework
No more than one year’s worth of reduced credit remedial coursework will be included in a student’s enrollment status or cost of attendance. ESL courses do not count against the one-year limitation. Remedial coursework is included in attempted credits when considering a student’s duration of eligibility.

Treatment of Incompletes, Withdrawals, & Repetitions
Grades of I (incomplete), F (failure) and W (withdrawal) are not considered successfully completed classes. Repeat courses will be counted in attempted and completed credits. WWCC students are allowed to repeat a course one time and receive funding. The Financial Aid Office will not include a course taken for the third time in a student’s cost of attendance or for awarding purposes. Inappropriate selection of courses is not an acceptable reason for not maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Students should contact an advisor.

An incomplete course must be completed the following semester unless the student requests an extension.

Students transferring to Western Wyoming Community College will have all attempted hours and transfer credits included in the maximum time frame of 150%. Once the student meets the 150% maximum time frame, a letter is sent to the student notifying them that they have reached the maximum duration of eligibility and that they have the option to appeal. If the student submits an appeal, a degree audit will be done to determine the required courses that the student needs to complete the Associate’s Degree or Certificate. 150% of that number will be the maximum number of hours that will be funded at WWCC.

Students changing majors and requesting an extension of aid eligibility will be required to provide a written appeal to the FA office providing notification of the major change and do an official change of major with the office of Registration and Records. The Director will verify this information utilizing the administrative computer system. In order for an extension of aid to be granted beyond the 150% timeframe, the change of major must be a well defined change (EX: Nursing to OIS). If it is determined to be a well defined change of major by the FA Director, a degree audit will be run, all developmental courses will be discounted and 150% of the number of required courses for the new major will be extended to the student. Students can change their major no more than three times and appeal for an extension of aid (ie., one declared major and two major changes).

Students seeking second associate degrees and requesting financial aid assistance will be required to provide a written appeal to the FA office. Appeal requests will be considered if the second degree is in a clearly defined different area of study. For example, if the first AS was in Biology and the second Associates degree is in Education, then an extension of aid will be granted one time only. If it is determined to be a clearly defined second associates degree by the FA Director, a degree audit will be run, and 150% of the number of required courses for the second associates degree will be extended to the student.

Students that have exceeded the 150% timeframe will be considered for an extension of aid eligibility if there has been a stop out period of three years or greater. A degree audit will be run to determine the courses still required for the degree and that number will be taken by 150% as the maximum number of hours to be funded at WWCC.

Appeals
WWCC has an appeal procedure for students who fail to make satisfactory academic progress. Students may appeal in writing to the financial aid office. It is the student’s responsibility to know if their grade report, when compared to the SAP standards will cause immediate suspension of their financial aid. It is not the responsibility of the Financial Aid Office to notify the students. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the student to notify the Financial Aid Office when conditions have been met to again receive financial aid (generally a successful semester at the student’s expense) or to initiate an appeal.

Students are informed of the appeal process by the Western Wyoming Community College Satisfactory Academic Policy form that is included with each award letter that the school sends to students. This form requires their signature and one copy is retained by the student and the other copy is returned to the financial aid office for inclusion in the student’s file.

WWCC students must appeal in writing to the Financial Aid Director. The appeal form that a student must fill out details their academic plan for the academic year. They must also accompany the form with a letter explaining the extenuating circumstances which prevented their ability to meet the SAP standards and also any documentation (medical, legal, etc) that would substantiate their case.

The Financial Aid Review Board is a committee made up of the Financial Aid Officer, Vice President for Student Success, two Professional/Administrative employees and two faculty. In the event that an appeal is denied by the FA Director, the student has the option of meeting with the FARB. The student appears in person and explains that circumstances surrounding their failure to meet the institution’s SAP standards. The FARB has the authority to override the Director’s decision of denial in such cases. Students can meet only once with the FARB during their time at WWCC.

The number of times a student can submit an appeal (e.g., second appeals are/are not considered)

The deadline by which an appeal must be received is noted in the suspension notice sent to students at the end of each semester.

The FA Director and/or the FARB may choose to apply specific conditions to the approval of a students appeal.

Some mitigating circumstances by which an appeal might be approved include a family member’s death, illness, living conditions not conducive to academic success which are out of the student’s control, etc.

The outcome of a student’s appeal, whether accepted or denied, is communicated to the student via a physical letter sent to the student’s physical address. The Director updates the administrative computer system regarding the SAP outcome. A copy of the letter which is sent to the student is also retained in the student’s physical file.

Documentation
Third parties may sometimes be used to document the mitigating circumstances surrounding a satisfactory academic progress appeal, therefore, forms of acceptable documentation that may be submitted in support of an appeal might include but are not limited to:

Regaining Eligibility
Students not making satisfactory academic progress may re-establish eligibility on their own, either because their appeals were denied or because they did not avail themselves of the appeal processes. In this case, a student must pay for 1 semester (or more) at their own expense until they match the number of credits for which they were originally funded and correct the deficiency (earn a semester GPA of 2.0 or greater).

Once the student has corrected the deficiency it is their responsibility to communicate this information to the financial aid office. This is done by writing a letter to the director notifying him/her that the deficiency has been corrected. Upon receipt and verification of the information, the student’s eligibility will be reinstated for the upcoming semester on satisfactory terms.