A. DEFINITION OF SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS

Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress according to the following regulations in order to continue funding at Volunteer State Community College:

1. A student must pass two-thirds (.667) of the hours originally attempted each semester and earn a semester grade point average of at least 2.0 for the total hours attempted. A grade of A, B, C, D, or P will be required for successful completion. Grades of W, I, K, YC or F will not be considered as successful completion.

2. A student who does not meet the above requirement will be placed on financial aid probation. During the semester of probation, the student will receive regular financial assistance and will be expected to re-establish satisfactory progress.

3. If a student has not re-established satisfactory progress after the one semester of financial aid probation, all forms of financial assistance to the student will be suspended.

4. A student may be reinstated on financial aid by (1) personally paying the educational expenses for a minimum of six credit hours during one full semester and (2) reestablishing satisfactory progress as defined in Item 1 of these regulations.

5. A student who passes zero credit hours with a zero grade point average during any semester will be removed from financial aid without a probationary period. This student
may be re-instated on financial aid after meeting the conditions of Item 4 of these regulations. If the zero hours passed and zero grade point average were the result of an official withdrawal from the College, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation.

6. A student must maintain a minimum collegiate cumulative GPA according to the following chart.

Any term that a Student's collegiate cumulative GPA falls below the required average, the student will be removed from all forms of assistance. A student cannot be reinstated until their collegiate cumulative GPA is raised to meet the above requirement.

B. TIME LIMIT FOR AID

A student will be allowed to receive financial assistance until he/ she has attempted a maximum of 150% of the hours required to complete his/her Degree or Technical Certificate. At VSCC that represents 103 collegiate hours for a degree seeking student and 64
collegiate hours for a student seeking a Technical Certificate (not
including current term). The hours that a student transfers in, which
apply toward their degree/technical certificate, will be subject to 103
or 64 hour time limit. Likewise, once a student has attempted more
than 30 hours of Remedial and Developmental coursework, any
additional R & D coursework will not be considered in their Title IV
eligibility fund calculations.

C. ATTENDANCE

Attendance is mandatory. A student who stops attending prior to a specified date each term or who never attends, will be deemed as a "non-attender" and will be required to repay a portion or all of their federal funding. For students taking video courses, you must attend the orientation and turn in your first assignment in order to
be considered in attendance. Likewise, students taking RODP courses must engage processing on the WEB CT in order to establish attendance. Students who do establish attendance but stop attending prior to the end of the semester and do not officially withdraw are deemed as "unofficial withdrawals" and will be billed according to Return of Title IV funds policy.

D. NOTIFICATION AND APPEAL

Any student being placed on financial aid probation or being terminated from aid will be notified by mail. Any probation or termination of financial assistance, may be appealed first to the Director of Student Financial Aid, then to the Vice President of Student Services and finally in writing to the Honors and Financial Aid Committee. The student must be able to prove extenuating circumstances for an appeal.

E. PRIOR ACADEMIC RECORD

Your total prior academic record will be reviewed and the above Standards of Academic Progress will be applied prior to your eligibility determination.

Federal and State Financial Aid Programs
Federal Work-Study Program

The Federal Work-Study Program is a federally funded program to provide funds for the employment of students who demonstrate need as determined by FAFSA. To participate in this program, students must be accepted for admission to VSCC and maintain satisfactory academic progress.

The FWS program provides jobs for students with financial need,
allowing them to earn money to help pay educational expenses. The
average work load is 10 hours or less per week.