2018-2019 Addendum

Note: Addendum effective as of December 1st, 2018

Satisfactory Academic Progress

According to regulations governing the federal financial aid programs, a student must be enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree or certificate and must be making satisfactory academic progress according to the standards and practices of the institution in order to continue to be eligible for the federal programs (Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, Federal Direct, Federal PLUS, and Federal Work-Study), as well as all state and institutional programs. All students participating in federal aid programs must comply with the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as outlined in the Southeast Tech academic catalog for full-time and part-time status and regardless of program of study. SAP is defined as progressing in a positive manner toward fulfilling requirements for the degree or certificate in a given program of study.

Please note that other entities providing funding for students may require the student to maintain a certain number of credits and/or cumulative grade point average (GPA). This includes, but is not limited to, funding from Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Labor and Regulation, Tribal Funding, Southeast Tech Foundation Scholarships, and scholarships from outside organizations.

SAP is the measurement of a student’s performance (credits completed and cumulative GPA) in meeting the institutional degree or certificate requirements.

Southeast Tech manages SAP for both academics and financial aid. The same SAP standards are applicable to both areas. Thus, if a student is suspended for academics, he/she is also suspended for financial aid.

Minimum Standards

• A student must successfully complete 67.0% of credits attempted.
  • Credits completed = all coursework where credit is earned with a grade A, B, C, D, CR, or P.
  • Credits attempted = all coursework where credits were completed PLUS all coursework with a grade of AU, I, F, W, and NC.
• A student must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0.
• A student must complete his/her program within the maximum timeframe (150% of credits needed).

Note: A student must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher to graduate.

Review Period

Southeast Tech reviews SAP at the end of each academic term.

A student will be placed on Warning who:

• Fails to maintain these standards at the end of the review period.

A student on financial aid warning is required to take an academic recovery course at Southeast Tech.

A student will be placed on Suspension who:

• Fails to remove himself/herself from Financial Aid Warning even though he/she has completed a term of acceptable academic work.
• Does not satisfactorily remove himself/herself from Financial Aid Warning and does not complete a term of acceptable academic work.

Suspension means that a student is no longer allowed to enroll at Southeast Tech or receive federal financial aid.

A student is eligible for Reinstatement of Aid after suspension who:

• Has satisfactorily completed acceptable academic work to meet the minimum standards of SAP. The option to transfer in a successful semester from different school may only be used once while a student is attending Southeast Tech.  All coursework must apply towards the student’s program(s).
• A student placed on warning or probation is required to take Southeast Tech’s academic recovery course.  The academic recovery course credits cannot be used in the calculation for full-time or part-time status for financial aid purposes.

Academic Circumstances that Affect A Student’s Status:

Incomplete // “F” Grades // Withdrawals:

Incomplete grades, “F” grades, and withdrawals will reduce the completion ratio, because they are counted as attempted but not earned credits.  They also count against the maximum attempted hours for a student’s degree (150 percent rule).  If an Incomplete grade is not completed within the required timeframe and becomes an “F,” or if a student withdraws from a class, or a receives a failing grade in any required class, the student will usually need to repeat the class.  The repeated credits will be used to determine the amount of successfully completed classes.  If an Incomplete grade changes to a grade after the SAP review has been completed, the grade change will be reflected as necessary.  An Incomplete grade that is later completed for a grade can potentially increase a student’s GPA and/or increase the successful completion percentage.

Change of Program (without graduating from a program) or Adding an Addition Program(s):

If a student changes or adds additional programs, the prior credits and grades that do count toward the new program are included in the SAP evaluation.

Remedial Coursework:

Non-credit remedial coursework does not count toward quantitative or qualitative standards.  For-credit remedial coursework does count toward quantitative and qualitative standards.

Repeated Coursework:

A student may repeat a completed course one time and receive federal aid for the retake.  Individual programs may have course requirements that are stricter than the Department of Education requirements for satisfactory progress.  Repeated coursework does count toward maximum timeframe (150 percent rule) and toward GPA requirement of satisfactory progress.

Withdrawals:

Withdrawals will count toward attempted credits and toward maximum timeframe (150 percent rule). 

Dismissal and Return:

 A students who is suspended or choose not to attend because of SAP failure will not be automatically eligible for financial aid upon his or her return. A student must meet both qualitative and quantitative standards of SAP. Absence does not restore eligibility for financial aid or academic acceptance. It remains the responsibility of the student to be knowledgeable of his or her SAP status when returning to school after dismissal or choosing not to return because of SAP failure.

Summer Term Courses:

All hours attempted and completed in the summer term are treated as any other semester hours in determining SAP status. SAP will be checked following the summer term.

Maximum Financial Aid for Program(s):

The maximum timeframe a student can receive federal aid for each undergraduate program in credit hours is a period no longer that 150 percent of the published length of the program in credit hours.  For example, a degree program requiring 64 degree credits to complete the degree has a maximum of 96 credit hours attempted in which the student can receive federal aid. 

Coursework that a student transfers to Southeast Tech will be evaluated and included on the transcript only for credits that apply toward the student’s Southeast Tech degree.  Transfer credits must meet the minimum academic standard of the degree.  Transfer credits will count toward earned and attempted cumulative credits in relation to the 150 percent maximum timeframe rule.

Credits while not receiving Title IV:

All credits appearing on a student’s transcripts will be counted in calculations for determining SAP status, including those that may have been during terms in which the student was not receiving Title IV Aid.

Appeal of Financial Aid / Academic Suspension

Appeal of Financial Aid / Academic Suspension can be granted only in instances in which extenuating circumstances occur.  Some examples of circumstances can include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Death of a Family Member (the name and city of residence of the deceased AND a statement of the student’s relationship with the deceased are required)
2. Illness or Injury to the Student / Medical (an explanation of the nature of the illness or injury and the dates the student was affected by the illness or injury AND documentation from a medical professional / establishment or insurance provider are required)
3. Other Mitigating Circumstances  (a detailed explanation of the specific traumatic event or unexpected circumstance that the student did not have control over and what the student has done to overcome the event or circumstance such that he/she can go on to meet the standard of Satisfactory Academic Progress AND supporting documentation from a third party [i.e. physician, social worker, counselor, police] are required)
4. Proof of Academic Success: (a student has completed at least 6 credits successfully with a GPA of 2.0 or higher in the most recent semester of attendance – failed or dropped courses during that time will count negatively in the appeal)

Lack of awareness of withdrawal policies, requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress, or unpreparedness for college coursework will not be accepted as reasons for the purpose of an appeal.

The circumstances should be clearly documented. When a student desires to appeal the Financial Aid Suspension, he/she must submit a formal appeal to the Financial Aid Office prior to the first day of the semester the student is returning to attend Southeast Tech. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the form is submitted prior to the deadline; failure to do so will result in the appeal not being heard. The meeting of the Appeal Committee for the purpose of hearing appeals will be held on an as-needed basis. The student will be notified immediately of the decision of the Committee, including any stipulations or recommendations accompanying the reinstatement of financial aid. A letter reiterating the Committee’s decision will be sent to the student after the decision has been made.

A student may only appeal suspension once during his/her entire time of attendance at Southeast Tech. If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on probation.  A student is required to take an academic recovery course at Southeast Tech.

During probation, which lasts one term, a student is expected to successfully meet the terms outlined in the SAP plan.  A student may continue in subsequent semesters as long as he/she continues to meet the terms of the SAP plan.  A student will need to meet the 2.0 cumulative GPA requirement and successfully complete at least 67% of his/her credits attempted to be eligible to graduate. A student may receive federal aid while on Financial Aid Probation if otherwise eligible.

Reinstatement of financial aid does not imply waiver of any other school policy, rule, regulation, procedure, etc.

TUITION REFUNDS – TERMINATING ENROLLMENT

Southeast Tech realizes that students may find it necessary to terminate their education prior to the end of a given academic term. The institution is required to establish a fair and equitable refund process. Regardless of whether or not a student is receiving financial aid, Southeast Tech follows the refund schedule published below. The refund applies only to tuition and applicable program fees and excludes laptops, tools, uniforms, and bookstore charges.

The refund policy applies to all students who completely withdraw from Southeast Tech. The process is effective for all terms, including the following: Fall semester; Spring semester; Summer semester; and late start, evening, and online courses. The refund policy applies to all students including full-time students and part-time students.

Students must complete a termination form and submit it to the Registrar’s Office in order to terminate enrollment. The date the form is received by the Registrar’s Office will be regarded as a student’s last day of attendance.

Students completely withdrawing from all coursework during the Add Period will receive a 100 percent refund on tuition and fees, with the exclusion of some certification and testing fees.

Students completely withdrawing from all coursework after the Add Period has expired will have refunds of tuition and fees calculated based on the date the termination form was received in the Registrar’s Office. Students who utilized financial aid (i.e., Title IV, state aid, and other applicable funding) will also be subject to a Return of Funds calculation (See the Calculation of Refunds and Earned Financial Aid section for more information).

Note: Terminating students who have received earned grades (A, B, C, D, F, or P) for any courses during the semester and courses they have withdrawn from prior to terminating enrollment are not eligible for a refund for these courses.

If the proper termination paperwork is not completed, students are still responsible for full payment of the courses and all courses will be graded accordingly. Students completing and submitting the proper termination paperwork in the timeframe indicated in the “Schedule Changes - Course Adds/Drops/Withdraws” section will receive withdrawal grades (“W”) for all courses for the semester. Letter grades will be issued for all course withdrawals outside the timeframe in the “Schedule Changes - Course Adds/Drops/Withdraws” section.
 

Administrative withdraws* or unofficial withdraws do not fall under this refund policy. Administrative withdraws are initiated by Southeast Tech personnel due to students lack of attendance for on-campus courses and non-activity in online courses. Students receive all failing grades from administrative withdraws and receive no refund.
 

*Students who are unable to continue with late-start courses due to failing prerequisites during the first portion of the semester may petition for a refund of the courses they were not allowed to attend due to not meeting grade requirements. The petition may be requested by students and their academic advisors only for the case of prerequisite requirements and only for those courses listed as such in the catalog. The petition is subject to review and decision by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.