Satisfactory Academic Progress

Policy Statement
The Department of Education requires that all students receiving aid from federal financial aid pro-grams, which includes the State LEAP Grant, must maintain satisfactory academic progress. This should not be confused with the Cochise College academic continuation policy or the requirements for other scholarship and grant programs. Monitoring for satisfactory academic progress includes three elements:

1. Minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA)
2. Minimum number of credit hours completed   semester or academic year
3. Maximum number of credit hours after which a degree/certificate must be granted. 

These three standards measure both qualitative and quantitative progress. Students are ineligible for federal and state financial aid if these standards are not met. 

The goal of the Financial Aid Office is to assist students in obtaining their academic goals and to ensure that these compliance standards are applied in a consistent and fair manner. We work closely with academic counselors to assist students in meeting the requirements of academic progress. We encourage students who are having problems meeting the academic or attendance standards to notify the Financial Aid Office.

Academic progress will be monitored for all financial aid recipients at the end of the fall, spring, and summer terms. No aid will be disbursed for the following term until this progress evaluation is complete.Students who do not meet the progress standards will be notified and given an opportunity to submit an appeal.

Qualitative Standards
Students must maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.

Quantitative Standards
Minimum number of credit hours per academic term: To maintain progress, financial aid recipients must complete at least 75 percent of the academic units for which they receive financial aid.

 Enrollment Status                     Units per term     Units per Academic Year  

Full-time (12 credit hours/term)             9                              18

3/4 time (9-11 credit hours/term)           7                              14

Half-time (6-8 credit hours/term)           5                                9

Students who receive a student loan are required to maintain half-time status. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the Financial Aid Office if half-time status is not maintained. Subsequent loan disbursements will be cancelled. Lenders are regularly notified of any change in enrollment. The following grade codes do not count toward the minimum credit hours requirement: 

W (withdrawal)
ID (instructor drop)
RD (roster drop)
AU (audit)

Students are eligible to receive financial aid to cover failed courses that are required for their degree or certificate program. In those cases where a department has established a grade requirement for successful completion of a course or courses, and a grade other than F is considered failing, students will be allowed to retake the course and receive financial aid. Financial aid will not cover retakes of classes merely to raise the grade. Federal aid will not repay for classes in which the grade received is W, RD, ID, or AU unless there were well-documented extenuating circumstances.

Maximum number of credit hours: The total number of credit hours a student earns measures the maximum time frame for completion of a degree or certificate. This includes transfer hours accepted for the degree or certificate. The maximum number of credit hours equals the required credits for the degree or certificate times 150 percent. Once a student reaches the maximum credits allowed for the degree or certificate, aid eligibility ends.

Program                                    Program  Requirement        Maximum Credit Hours

Associate Degrees                                 64                                   96
Aviation Maintenance Technology            87                                 130
Avionics                                                 68                                 102
Professional Pilot                                    80                                 120
Certificate                                              24                                   36

Students who reach 96 credit hours (even if enrolled in another degree program) will be required to have a restricted enrollment letter. Only classes on the restricted enrollment letter will then be approved for payment with financial aid funds. Restricted enrollment letters are obtained by making an appointment with an academic counselor. In order to have additional degree or certificate programs approved for financial aid the student must submit a written justification for needing the program. These requests will be submitted to the Financial Aid Committee for consideration.

Continuance of Eligibility
Students who meet all the standards are eligible for further federal and state financial aid consideration for subsequent terms.

Failure to Maintain Satisfactory Progress
Students who fail to meet the 2.0 CGPA must use their own financial resources until a 2.0 CGPA has been attained or an appeal or probationary term has been approved. Transfer grades are not calculated into the GPA. Students who fail to complete the required minimum number of credit hours for which they were funded will be required to make up the deficient hours without financial aid or have either an approved appeal or probationary term. Once a student has raised their CGPA or made up the required units, the student must submit an academic progress appeal in order reinstate aid eligibility. This appeal alerts the Financial Aid Office that the student has completed all the requirements needed to regain eligibility. Students who have exceeded 96 credit hours will be required to submit a restricted enrollment letter for an evaluation of further eligibility.  

Right to Appeal
Students who experience extenuating or mitigating circumstances during the term are encouraged to file an academic progress appeal. An appeal form with supporting documentation must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office. Mitigating and extenuating circumstances may include the illness of student or family, a death in the family, or a serious personal problem. A letter from an attending physician, counselor, or hospital record; copy of a death certificate; divorce or separation papers; court documents, and police records are examples of acceptable documentation. 

All students with a GPA below 2.0 will be encouraged to meet with an academic counselor. The counselor may require the student to meet certain requirements (attend the math or English laboratory, meet regularly with counselor, etc.) in order to assist the student in regaining an eligible GPA.

Students who do not have specific extenuating circumstances may submit an appeal and request a semester of probation with financial aid. No more than two probationary periods will be granted. Students granted a probationary period will have conditions attached that must be met. Some of the conditions might be to complete all paid units in the subsequent term, to raise GPA to 2.0, to meet with an academic counselor for evaluation of progress, or to reduce enrollment in the next term if completing units is a chronic problem.

Students who are on restricted enrollment can take additional classes not required to complete their degree program but will be responsible for paying for these classes.

Once a student has been suspended from financial  they must either use their own resources until a 2.0 CGPA is reached or until they have satisfactorily completed a minimum of six credit hours in one term before applying for reinstatement of aid eligibility. No additional probationary terms will be approved once a student has been suspended. The student must then meet all progress requirements for subsequent terms to retain financial aid eligibility.