Where we foster excellence in education that challenges students of every background to develop their intellect, character, and abilities; to assist students in achieving their educational and career goals; and to be responsive to the greater community.
Regulations require schools participating in the financial aid programs to establish academic progress standards that measure a student’s progress towards an educational goal. As a financial aid recipient, it is your responsibility to understand the IVC Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
Financial aid is limited to a certain number of units based on your current declared program of study. All students are encouraged to have an educational plan completed, with the assistance of an academic counselor, in order to ensure you are taking the courses required to complete your program within the standards listed below.
Effective Date: This policy applies to all financial aid recipients beginning with the Fall 2024. These standards will be applied to federal financial aid as well as Cal Grants and SSCG and supersede any prior year SAP standards. The California College Promise Grant (CCPG) fee waiver is not subject to these regulations. All academic coursework attempted through Summer 2025 will be evaluated using these standards whether or not you received financial aid for those semesters.
SAP EVALUATION AND NOTIFICATION
Annual Evaluation: We will formally review your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) annually at the end of the summer term. Your cumulative review will be effective for the following Fall, Spring and Summer terms. If you do not meet SAP standards you will be notified via your IVC student email and WebSTAR.
Informal Evaluations: Between your annual evaluations, we will conduct informal evaluations. If there are any issues with your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), you will be notified via your IVC student email and WebSTAR. If you receive a notification about SAP deficiencies, we recommend the following actions:
Note: Programs of one year or less (24 units or less) must be reviewed at the end of each term to make sure they are meeting SAP standards.
SAP STANDARDS
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be evaluated at the end of Summer 2025 (except for students in programs of one year or which must be evaluated at each term). Students with fewer than twelve attempted units are considered NEW students and will not be held to the SAP standards. In order to maintain eligibility for financial aid, you must meet the following standards:
Grade Point Average (GPA): You must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 on all attempted units (including units accepted for transfer).
Completion Rate (PACE): You must complete at least 67% of your attempted units (including units accepted for transfer). Only units receiving grades of A, B, C, D, CR or P will be considered completed units.
Maximum Timeframe (MTF): You must complete your declared program of study within the MTF standard which is 150% of the number of units required to complete the program. Unit requirements are available in the College Catalog and the Degree Works tool which are available online. Once you exceed the unit limit or we determine you will be unable to complete your major within the unit limit, you will be disqualified. For example, most Associate degrees at IVC require 60 units, this allows an MTF unit limit of 90 attempted units for financial aid. Certificate programs will have lower MTF unit limits depending on the published length of the program. Some programs requiring more than 60 units will be allowed a higher MTF unit limit.
Units attempted at IVC (see exclusions listed below) and units accepted for transfer will count towards your MTF unit limit. You are strongly encouraged to enroll only in courses required to complete your IVC program of study. If you need help determining required courses you should meet with an academic counselor to create a Comprehensive Student Educational Plan (CSEP) or utilize the Degree Works tool.
Remedial/Prerequisite/Preparatory and ESL courses are excluded from the MTF limit.
RELATED INFORMATION
Remedial/Prerequisite/Preparatory Coursework: Financial aid is limited to 30 attempted units of remedial, prerequisite and preparatory coursework. ESL courses are not subject to this limit.
Repeat Coursework: Repeated will be counted toward completion rate and maximum timeframe standards. Only the highest grade will be counted toward GPA. In addition, you may only receive financial aid for one repeat of a previously passed course.
Transfer Coursework: Units accepted for transfer on your IVC transcript at evaluation will be included in your SAP calculation. Transfer courses that do not apply to your program of study will be discounted at appeal.
Dual/Concurrent Enrollment: Courses taken during high school are financial aid ineligible, but they will be used in future SAP calculations per regulations.
Credit By Exam: Courses taken in this manner cannot be considered in determining financial aid eligibility.
Academic Renewal: Academic Renewal is not recognized for financial aid purposes. The original earned units and grades are always counted as units attempted, in the GPA calculation, and toward maximum timeframe as appropriate.
Grade Changes: Grade changes will be reflected in the next regular SAP evaluation. SAP evaluations that were accurate at the time they were performed will not be updated. You may request a retroactive recalculation only in case of an error.
Major Changes: Although you may change your major multiple times during your time at IVC, only 2 prior majors will be considered for discounting of units for financial aid SAP Appeal purposes.
DISQUALIFICATION
You will be disqualified from financial aid if you meet any of the following conditions at the end of Summer term (or any semester for student enrolled in programs of one year or less):
You will be notified of the disqualification via your IVC email account and WebSTAR.
If you have special circumstances which prevented you from meeting the SAP standards,
you may appeal. Otherwise, SAP status will be re-evaluated at the next regularly
scheduled evaluation. Students who meet SAP standards at that point will be reinstated.
APPEALS PROCESS
If you have been disqualified and you have special circumstances that prevented you from meeting the SAP standards, you have the opportunity to submit an appeal to the Financial Aid Office. Examples of circumstances include BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
Steps for Submitting SAP Appeal:
Assistance with Appeals:
SAP Appeal Workshops are available at the beginning of each term. These workshops are extremely helpful in successfully guiding you through the appeal process and are provided in both English and Spanish.
We also have a helpful guide on SAP Appeal Steps here
SAP Appeal Deadlines:
The deadline to submit completed SAP Appeals for each term is listed below:
|
Term to be reinstated |
Deadline |
|
Fall |
November 15, 2024 |
|
Winter/Spring |
May 16, 2025 |
|
Summer |
July 7, 2025 |
Appeals will be reviewed within 45 days and cannot be approved retroactively to apply
to terms prior to the appeal submission date.
APPROVED APPEALS
If your completed appeal is approved you must schedule an appointment with a Financial Aid Counselor to develop a SAP Academic Plan. The SAP Academic Plan will outline the conditions of your approval for future financial aid eligibility in order to meet the meet the minimum standards at some point in the future. If it is determined that it is possible to meet the minimum standards, you will be placed on Probation Status and awarded aid according to the terms and conditions on the Academic Plan. You will remain on probation and continue to receive financial aid so long as you are adhering to the terms and conditions of your academic plan, this will be reviewed at the end of each term. Due to the short time between terms, there may be a delay in notification of eligibility. If eligible, disbursements may also be delayed.
You will receive a copy of your Academic Plan and will only be paid for courses required
to complete the program of study listed on your plan. If you fail to meet the terms
of the Academic Plan you will once again be disqualified from financial aid and notified
via your IVC email account and WebSTAR. You will be able to submit another appeal
for future aid consideration if you experienced another special circumstance.
DENIED APPEALS
If your appeal is denied, you will be ineligible for financial aid. Your SAP status will be re-evaluated at the next regularly scheduled evaluation.
Second Review: You may request a second review. The second review shall be conducted by a reviewer who did not participate in the first review and will be considered a final decision. There is no higher appeal process. The vast majority of SAP appeals are approved, and students go onto complete their programs. However, some appeals we are unable to approve, under the federal regulations that guide our operations.