Once school begins, you'll want to maintain good grades. Federal regulations require that students make reasonable academic progress in order to continue receiving financial aid.

GPA used to calculate satisfactory academic progress will be Kirkwood GPA and not transfer GPA.

Federal regulations stipulate that students must complete their educational program in a reasonable length of time which is defined as no more than 150% of the credit hours required for graduation in that program, regardless of major changes.

SPECIFIC POLICIES:

Attempted credit hours will be determined at the end of the drop period each term. These are the hours showing on the printed version of the academic transcript.

Evaluation of progress is always of the cumulative record. The first term that the student’s academic transcript does not meet the standards of satisfactory academic progress the student is placed on financial aid probation. If progress in the probationary term is adequate to bring the cumulative record up to the standard, the probation status is removed. If progress in the probationary term is not enough to bring the cumulative record up to standard, but meets the standard for the term, probation is extended until the cumulative record meets the standard. For example, if a student had attempted 33 credit hours in the past and is currently registered for 12 credit hours the student must complete 60% of their classes or 7.5 credits with at least a 2.0 GPA to maintain the standard for the term.

Those students who do not maintain the standards of satisfactory academic progress after their probationary term will be notified that their financial aid has been suspended. They will not receive additional financial aid until they have completed at least one additional term of half time work, and maintained the standards of the policy. The student must notify the financial aid office that this has been accomplished, and then financial aid can be reinstated on a probationary status. Progress will continue to be monitored and probation extended as long as the student maintains satisfactory academic progress each term, until the cumulative record meets the standard, when the probationary status can be removed.

Courses that are withdrawn for medical reasons will not be included in the attempted credit hour total. Students will be allowed to withdraw for medical reasons twice. Subsequent medical withdrawals will be included in the GPA, attempted credit hour total and completion rate calculation.

Students have the right to appeal the satisfactory academic progress policy if they feel they had extenuating circumstances that prevented them from meeting the standards of the policy. Appeals must be in writing and include documentation of the circumstances that led to the student’s academic performance. Appeals should also address changes that have been made to ensure academic success in the future. Students are advised to contact the financial aid office if they have questions regarding satisfactory academic progress.