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Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards for 2019-2020

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​To keep getting financial aid every semester, you must move forward in your program of study. For a quick overview of the standards you are required to maintain, see ​our Satisfactory Academic Progress flowchart.

Dallas College is required by law to formulate standards to measure a student’s progress toward completion of a program of study while receiving financial assistance through federal, state or institutional student aid programs by applying both qualitative and quantitative measurements to academic work (34 CFR 668.34). To comply with applicable laws and accreditation standards, Dallas College has developed a policy describing Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for both applicants and recipients of student financial aid.

The following SAP policy measurements become effective July 1, 2019. These measurements shall be used to determine student eligibility for all need-based and federal Title IV financial assistance unless the terms of a particular grant or funding source state otherwise. All current and returning students, after a lapse of one period of enrollment or longer, will be re-evaluated under the current SAP policy. Satisfactory Academic Progress is measured at the end of each period of enrollment. Some financial aid programs have specific requirements. In those instances, the program requirements will supersede the general SAP policy stated here.

Each financial aid applicant must select a primary program of study on eConnect (login required) prior to receiving financial aid payments. A student can receive a retroactive financial aid payment for a prior period of enrollment within the payment period or award year only if he or she has chosen a primary program of study prior to the end of the particular period of enrollment. Financial aid funding may not be allowed if the student changes his or her primary program of study for the purpose of extending financial aid eligibility. All previously repeated college-level courses will be calculated in the Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations.

Transfer students must submit official transcripts from all previous colleges attended. All official transcripts that have not been evaluated must have a print date within the last three years prior to being evaluated or the student will be required to submit a current transcript. All previous college transcripts must be received and evaluated by the deadlines listed below. Failure to meet these deadlines may delay the awarding process. Students seeking financial aid assistance are encouraged to prepare to pay tuition and fees with personal funds until all transfer requirements have been met.

The deadlines for submitting transcripts for the next term are:

  • Fall: May 1, 2019
  • Spring: Oct. 1, 2019
  • Summer: March 1, 2020

A cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale or higher must be attained by the end of the student’s first period of enrollment at Dallas College. This average must be maintained at the end of each subsequent period of enrollment for a student to continue to receive financial aid. Students who do not meet the minimum CGPA requirement will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one period of enrollment, with the exception of those students who exceed the maximum time frame as discussed in this policy. If a CGPA of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale or higher is not reached by the end of the warning period, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.

To avoid exceeding the maximum time frame required to complete a program of study using financial aid, students are expected to maintain a specific completion rate that is known as the “pace of progress.” At the end of each period of enrollment, students must have a cumulative passing rate of at least 67% of all classes attempted. Grades of W, WX, E, F and I will be counted as hours attempted but will not be counted as hours successfully passed. Repeating a course will be counted in the completion rate and against the overall maximum time frame required to complete the program of study. Transfer hours accepted toward the student’s primary program of study will be counted as both attempted and completed when calculating the pace of progress. With the exception of those students who exceed the maximum time frame, students who do not maintain the minimum 67% pace of progress will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one period of enrollment. If a 67% cumulative pace of progress is not reached by the end of the warning period, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.

A student may apply for and, if eligible, receive financial aid for attempted credit hours that do not exceed 150% of the minimum number of hours required to complete the student’s primary program of study. All hours attempted toward the completion of a program of study will be counted regardless of whether financial aid was received or not. Credit hours transferred to Dallas College are counted when calculating the 150% maximum time frame. Once SAP is calculated, students who have attempted 150% of the minimum number of credit hours needed to complete their primary program of study will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. Students who are placed on Financial Aid Suspension may have exhausted their financial aid eligibility to complete the program and may not receive financial aid benefits to complete their primary program of study. Previous hours attempted by a student who has been cleared for a “fresh start” by Dallas College will continue to count toward the student’s 150% maximum time frame.

Examples:

  1. For a student completing an associate degree program that requires 60 hours, the student must complete the degree within 90 attempted hours. The student will lose eligibility for additional financial aid to complete the program after 90 attempted hours.
  2. For a student completing a certificate program that requires 32 hours, the student must complete the certificate within 48 attempted hours. The student will lose eligibility for additional financial aid to complete the program after 48 attempted hours.

Once a student reaches or is within 12 college-level credit hours of the maximum time frame, a review of the student’s current primary program of study will be evaluated, one time only, for additional program hours. A student may have only one program evaluation for additional hours. All previous program evaluations will be considered in the maximum of one program evaluation, which means that if a student has an evaluation of program hours in one discipline, they may not switch disciplines to garner additional aid eligibility.

Only hours that cannot conceivably be included toward the student’s primary program of study may be excluded from the student’s maximum time frame calculation. The institution must always include any courses applicable to the student’s primary program of study on file when evaluating eligibility for financial aid purposes. Therefore, any courses that apply to your current program of study will be used in calculating your Satisfactory Academic Progress, including those hours that could be considered elective. The purpose of a review is to better align the student’s chosen program with the student’s educational goals and is not to grant additional financial aid eligibility.

To be eligible for an academic reset, the student must be meeting both the pace of progress and cumulative GPA requirements set forth in this Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

An eligible student may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 attempted credit hours of developmental/remedial course work. Once the 30-credit-hour maximum is reached, additional developmental credit hours will not be used to calculate the award amount. Students taking ESOL classes, counted as developmental hours, may submit a written request to the Financial ​Aid Office to exclude ESOL classes from the 30-hour maximum. All developmental and ESOL course attempts and grades are used in the measurement of the pace of progress as well as the cumulative GPA.

Financial Aid OK — Under Financial Aid OK status, a student is considered financial aid eligible, is regarded as meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and can continue to receive financial aid.

Financial Aid Warning — Under Financial Aid Warning, a student is not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards for pace of progress or cumulative GPA and may continue to receive financial aid for one period of enrollment.

Financial Aid Max — Under Financial Aid Max status, which is a Financial Aid Suspension, a student is not considered financial aid eligible and is not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards. However, the student may be eligible for an academic reset. Max status is assigned only when the student meets both the pace of progress and cumulative GPA, yet has attempted college-transferable hours in excess of 150% of the published length of the primary program of study.

Financial Aid Eval — Under Financial Aid Eval status, the determination of whether a student is meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and, therefore, whether the student is considered financial aid eligible, must be reviewed. Some reasons that this may occur include the student has reached the maximum time frame or the student has not attended the colleges of Dallas College​ in the past few years.

Financial Aid Suspension — Under Financial Aid Suspension, a student is not considered financial aid eligible and is not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards for the next period of enrollment.

Period of Enrollment — A period of enrollment is equal to one term or semester, with Summer treated as one term for this purpose. For this purpose, Winter term is included as part of Spring term, and May term is included as a portion of the Summer term.

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