Satisfactory Academic Progress

All Columbia College students must comply with the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards toward earning a diploma or certificate to maintain their status and/or to be eligible for federal financial aid programs.

“Satisfactory Academic Progress” is a measurement of a student’s successful progress in his/her studies to fulfill the requirements in the Higher Education Act (HEA) of the U.S. Department of Education. All students are measured in two categories of standards: Qualitative and Quantitative. The academic office and financial aid office carry out the monitoring process of SAP to determine whether the students are making satisfactory academic progress. If the student fails to fulfill the minimum requirement for satisfactory academic progress, warning, probation, and termination letters are issued by the program director and information is forwarded to the financial aid office. SAP evaluation is conducted at the end of each 10-week session, meaning satisfactory progress of a student is evaluated every ten weeks.

Student SAP Status

Students must meet the minimum SAP standard to remain in good standing toward their completion of the program. If a student does not meet the standard, he/she will be placed on the status which needs special advice and/or restrictions. Students who fail to attain the SAP can still enroll in the program and receive federal financial aid unless he/she is dismissed from Columbia College.

Good Standing

Students are in good standing if his/her cumulative grade point average (CGPA) meets the minimum standard.

Warning

Students are placed in warning status in the first session CGPA falls below 2.0. Students who are in academic warning are also placed in Financial Warning but maintain financial aid eligibility. The student in warning status is encouraged to meet the program director for his/her course schedule and registration for the following session. If the student successfully achieves a satisfactory CGPA in the warning session, his/her status is restored to good academic standing and is allowed to continue the program toward a degree or certificate.

Probation

Students are placed on probation status in the second consecutive session CGPA falls below 2.0 without any improvement. The student in probation status is strongly encouraged/recommended to meet the program director for his/her course schedule and registration for the following session and have a follow-up meeting every three weeks. If the student successfully achieves a satisfactory CGPA, his/her status is restored to good academic standing and is allowed to continue the program toward a degree or certificate.

Dismissal

Students are placed on dismissal status in the third consecutive session CGPA falls below 2.0 without any improvement. The student in the dismissal status can no longer enroll at the College or receive federal financial aid. Students who do not complete the program within maximum timeframe are also placed on dismissal status regardless of his/her CGPA

Reviewing Eligibility for Financial Aid

The financial aid office determines a student’s financial aid eligibility at the end of each session (10 weeks) based on satisfactory academic progress status. Students who fail to attain either the qualitative or quantitative standards will be subject to warning, probation, and loss of financial aid eligibility with dismissal. This decision is notified within a week by the Financial Aid office. During warning or probation period, students can still receive federal financial aid for the incumbent payment period. They must meet the qualitative and quantitative standards by the next evaluation period to be placed in good standing to maintain eligibility.

If a student who receives federal financial aid does not meet either the qualitative or quantitative standard at the end of his/her second academic year, he/she will lose eligibility for financial aid. The student cannot enroll unless he/she wishes to study without federal financial aid.

Unsatisfactory Academic Progress Appeal

A student may submit an appeal for an Unsatisfactory Academic Progress status in writing to the school’s Academic office. A copy of the request is forwarded to the Financial Aid Office if the student was receiving financial aid. A meeting between the Academic Dean and the Financial Aid Officer to discuss this appeal will be held within 5 business days after receipt of the appeal. The student’s grade reports and attendance records will be examined at the meeting. If the school made an error for any reason, the student’s satisfactory academic progress evaluation will be corrected.

Columbia College may consider a student with special circumstances as making satisfactory progress even though he/she fails to meet the requirements due to:

The death of a family
An injury or illness of the student or
Other special circumstances

In the written document, the student needs to explain the reason he/she could not meet the required standard to continue at the College and maintain eligibility for financial aid. It is required for the student to submit documented evidence to prove he/she is under mitigating circumstances.

Mitigating circumstances include, but are not limited to:

Copy of death certificate
Medical certificate from a physician
Bank statement or financial documents (not for international students)
Supporting statement from faculty, program director, and school official
Other supporting documents

The Academic Dean will make the following decisions on each appeal in a timely fashion:

The appeal may be fully accepted and financial aid eligibility fully reinstated. This is the case in which the student’s appealing for his/her circumstance was granted or if it is a result of an administrative or recording error made on the student’s academic record.
If the case is an appeal regarding dismissal by mitigating circumstances, the student will be placed on probation and financial aid eligibility is restored. Under probation, the student needs to meet the program director for counseling and approval for registration for the following session. The student also must meet the SAP requirement to be in good standing.
The student’s appeal may be denied thus making him/her ineligible for federal financial aid. In this case, the student must be readmitted without financial aid after one session. The student can try a second appeal process, but the student must enroll without financial aid before the decision for the second appeal is made.
IMPORTANT: Generally, students cannot use the same reason for the appeal process for dismissal status.

Qualitative Standard

The Qualitative standard is the level of academic performance and is a requirement to maintain his/her student status at Columbia College. The minimum required level of academic performance is a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.0 (C) on total enrolled clock hours or credit hours. Letter grades of A, B, C, D, F, and grades on repeated courses are counted in the CGPA calculation as a

qualitative standard. Failed courses (F), Withdrawals (W), Incompletes (I), audited course (AU), and courses transferred from another institution prior to the student’s attendance at Columbia College (T), are not counted in the CGPA. However, the grade “I” can be changed to A, B, C, or D if the student makes up the deficiency in the course upon the instructor’s permission, and the converted grade will be counted in CGPA.

Quantitative Standard

The Quantitative standard is about the maximum timeframe. To ensure every student completes within a timely manner, the College defines a maximum timeframe, which is 150% of normal program length for all programs. It means that the students must progress through the program at a pace that will ensure successful completion within 1.5 times of the program length as measured in session. Student vacation is not counted in program length or maximum timeframe.

The additional period can be used to make-up non-completed hours and credits or other required academic work for graduation. Students may not receive federal financial aid for the extended enrollment period. Letter grades of A, B, C, D, and T are counted in the earned clock hours/credits as a quantitative standard. The letter grades F, W, I, and AU and repeated courses are not counted in the earned clock hours/credits. The grade “I” can be changed to A, B, C, or D if the student makes up the deficiency in the course upon the instructor’s permission, and the converted grade will be counted in earned clock/credit hours.

Maximum Time Frame

Students must progress through the program at a pace that will ensure successful completion within 1.5 times the program length as measured in the session clock hour system.

Associate Degree Program	Completion Requirement	Maximum Time Frame
Business Administration	70 weeks	105 weeks
Information Technology	70 weeks	105 weeks
Culinary Arts	70 weeks	105 weeks
Dental Lab Technology	70 weeks	105 weeks
Massage Therapy	70 weeks	105 weeks
Early Childhood Education	70 weeks	105 weeks
Technical and Business English	70 weeks	105 weeks

Certificate Program	Completion Requirement	Maximum Time Frame
VESL	60 weeks	90 weeks
Cosmetology	60 weeks	90 weeks
Culinary Arts	60 weeks	90 weeks
Dental Laboratory Technology	60 weeks	90 weeks
Massage Therapy	30 weeks	45 weeks

* Coursework only. Student vacation period is not included.

** Student is charged for the exceeded clock hours or credits based on the regular tuition rate.

Extended Enrollment Status

If a student fails to make satisfactory academic progress within the normal length of the program, the student may be placed on extended enrollment status. Students cannot receive financial aid, and regular tuition will be charged. If a student retakes the course to improve his/her CGPA, the final grade will be based only on the most recent course grade, meaning all previous grades will be excluded.

Transfer Credits

1. Within the College

If a student changes the program or seeks additional degree/certificate after completion of one program, the attempted credits and CGPA will be counted from the beginning of his/her enrollment at the College toward new program. The credits from the identical course in previous program can be fully credited toward the completion of a program so the student will have an adjusted amount of financial aid for new program support.

2. From Other Institutions

Transfer credits may be awarded for courses taken from previous institutions which are nationally or regionally accredited or equivalent. College transfer credits are recognized for up to 50% of each category (major and general) of the graduation requirement, all of which are completed with a grade of C or better and must coincide with the College’s course description and outline.

With the credits earned in domestic institutions, students or prospective students can apply the credit transfer by submitting sealed official transcript(s). The student who earned the credits from the international institution, he/she must get a course evaluation from the agencies recognized by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (www.naces.org) or the Association of International Credential Evaluators (www.aice- eval.org) to prove the credits from the previous institutions are equivalent to U.S. nationally or regionally accredited ones. Additional documentation such as course descriptions might be requested for the recognition process.

Students or student prospects in cosmetology and massage therapy programs with official transcript from the previous domestic institution and license in other states may transfer up to a maximum 50 percent of the clock hours required for graduation.

Once the credits from other institutions are transferred, the normal length and maximum timeframe might be diminished based on the amount of the credit transfer so the student will receive an adjusted amount of federal financial aid. The grade ‘T’ is awarded to all transferred courses and is not counted toward qualitative standard measured by CGPA but is counted as earned credits/hours.

Graduation Requirements

To earn a diploma/certificate upon successful completion of the course at Columbia College:

Students must complete all the required courses and credits/hours within the maximum timeframe.
Students must finish the entire program of study with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0, C, regulated by satisfactory academic progress.
Students must be in good financial standing with the school (pay full tuition and other required fees)
Students receiving federal financial aid must have exit counseling.
Graduation exam may be assessed in the programs which require licensure examination for job placement – Cosmetology and Massage Therapy.

Policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)