Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Trident Technical College wants you to succeed as a student. To attend and complete college, many students use one or more types of financial aid (FA). To be eligible for FA funds at TTC, you must make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward your academic program. SAP is measured at the end of each semester using the following three factors.
1. Grade Point Average (GPA)
You must maintain a 2.0 cumulative TTC* grade point average (GPA).
*TTC GPA does not include grades of transfer courses.
2. Pass Rate
You must pass at least 67% (rounded) of all cumulative hours attempted. This number is called your Pass Rate. Passing means a grade of A, B, C or D and credit hours earned. Grades of F, I, W, U and AU do not count as passing. All transfer hours accepted at TTC count in both attempted and completed hours for Pass Rate. The grades for these courses do not transfer in and are not included in your cumulative TTC GPA (see above).
To calculate your Pass Rate:
Divide the number of Cumulative Completed Hours by the number of Cumulative Attempted Hours.
Example 1: 6 cumulative hrs. completed ÷ 14 cumulative hrs. attempted = .4286 or 42.86% (below requirement)
Example 2: 45 cumulative hrs. completed ÷ 67 cumulative hrs. attempted =.6716 or 67.16% (meets requirement)
Example 3: 20 cumulative hrs. completed ÷ 30 cumulative hrs. attempted = .6667 or 66.67% (rounded up to meet requirement)
3. Maximum Hours*
For each FA-eligible program of study, TTC must set the maximum number of hours for which you are eligible to receive federal student aid. The maximum allowed is 150% of the credit hours required for your program of study transfer hours.
- If you have declared more than one program of study, the Maximum Hours rule will be applied to the program with the highest number of required credit hours.
- The total attempted hours which could apply to your program of study will be counted toward Maximum Hours. This includes all transfer hours developmental and bridge courses.
- You can only change your program of study three times before becoming ineligible for federal student aid.
Examples:
Program | Credential | Required Hours | Maximum Hours for Aid |
Nursing (ADN) | Associate | 68 | 102 |
Hospitality and Tourism Management | Associate | 69 | 103.5 |
Aircraft Maintenance Technology | Associate | 92 | 138 |
Avionics Maintenance Technology | Certificate | 40 | 60 |
Practical Nursing (PN) | Diploma | 46 | 69 |
Incompletes, Withdrawals, Repetitions and Transfer Hours
GPA – For financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards, incompletes, withdrawals, and repeats are considered as they are used in cumulative TTC GPA calculations by the Registrar’s office. GPA is not recalculated for SAP. Transfer grades are not included in the TTC cumulative GPA.
Pass Rate – Incompletes and withdrawals are treated as attempted, not passed. These hours will lower the student’s pass rate. Repetitions will always be included in attempted hours, but will only be included in passed hours the first time they are passed. If a class is repeated to earn a higher passing grade, the hours earned will not increase.
Hours that transfer in are included in both the attempted and completed total hours for the TTC pass rate.
Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Statuses
Satisfactory – You met the GPA, Pass Rate and Maximum Hour requirements. You are eligible to receive financial aid.
Warning GPA – You did not meet the cumulative TTC GPA requirement. You are eligible to receive financial aid for one more semester.
Warning Pass Rate – You did not successfully complete at least 67% of the total cumulative credit hours attempted. You are eligible to receive financial aid for one more semester.
Warning GPA and Pass Rate – You did not meet the cumulative TTC GPA requirement; and, you did not successfully complete at least 67% of the total cumulative credit hours attempted. You are eligible to receive financial aid for one more semester.
Ineligible GPA – You did not meet the cumulative GPA requirement following the Warning GPA semester. You are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. You may be eligible to complete the appeal process. If your appeal is approved you will receive financial aid, as long as you meet the approval criteria. Or, you may pay for classes out-of-pocket until you regain satisfactory status.
Ineligible Pass Rate– You did not successfully complete at least 67% of the total cumulative credit hours attempted following the Warning Pass Rate semester. You are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. You may be eligible to complete the appeal process. If your appeal is approved you will receive financial aid, as long as you meet the approval criteria. Or, you may pay for classes out-of-pocket until you regain satisfactory status.
Ineligible GPA and Pass Rate – You did not meet the cumulative GPA requirement; nor successfully complete at least 67% of the total cumulative credit hours attempted following the Warning GPA and Pass Rate semester. You are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. You may be eligible to complete the appeal process. If your appeal is approved you will receive financial aid, as long as you meet the approval criteria. Or, you may pay for classes out-of-pocket until you regain satisfactory status.
Ineligible Maximum Hours – You have exceeded the number of credit hours allowed for your program of study. You are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. You may be eligible to complete the appeal process. If your appeal is approved you must follow a graduation plan in order to receive financial aid.
Ineligible Pass Rate and Maximum Hours – You did not successfully complete at least 67% of the total cumulative credit hours attempted; and, you have exceeded the number of credit hours allowed for your program of study. You are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. You may be eligible to complete the appeal process. If your appeal is approved you must follow a graduation plan in order to receive financial aid.
Ineligible GPA and Maximum Hours – You did not meet the cumulative GPA requirement; and you have exceeded the number of credit hours allowed for your program of study. You are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. You may be eligible to complete the appeal process. If your appeal is approved you must follow a graduation plan in order to receive financial aid.
Ineligible GPA, Pass Rate and Maximum Hours – You did not meet the cumulative GPA, Pass Rate or Maximum Hours requirements. You are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. You may be eligible to complete the appeal process. If your appeal is approved you must follow a graduation plan in order to receive financial aid.
To view your current SAP status, please log in to the Financial Aid Self-Service Module in the my.tridenttech.edu student portal. The Financial Aid Self-Service Module is an interactive way for you to navigate the financial aid process. It gives you an interactive checklist, and allows you to review and accept awards, view your financial aid standing (SAP) and much more.