Do you qualify

To be considered for financial aid, students must:

• Demonstrate financial need.  Some loan programs do not have a need requirement;
• Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, pass a test approved by the U.S. Department of Education or complete a high school education in a home school setting that is treated as a home school or private school under state law.
• Be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program working toward a degree or certificate;
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
• Have a valid Social Security Number;
• Register with the Selective Service if required (you can use the paper or electronic FAFSA to register);
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress standards set by the school you are or will be attending.
• Certify that you are not in default on a federal student loan and that you do not owe money on a federal student grant.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

2007 - 2008 Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Financial Aid Eligibility

Federal regulations require a student to work toward the completion of a degree or certificate when receiving financial aid. Federal regulations state that an academic progress policy must include a review of periods of enrollment, whether or not aid was received. For purposes of financial aid eligibility at Oakland Community College, students must meet the following standards:

Eligibility

A. Must have completed with a passing grade: A, B, C, D: 67% of all OCC credits attempted.
 

B. Must have an OCC overall GPA of at least 2.00 after 15 attempted credits of enrollment at OCC, or have    not attempted any credits at OCC.
C. Students who have attempted between 1-15 credits with an overall GPA below a 2.0 and/or who have earned less than 67% completion rate, will be considered for 2 probationary semesters of financial aid.
D. Student must be working toward a degree/certificate at OCC in order to receive financial aid.

Maximum Eligibility

Any student who has attempted 150 percent of the published (See OCC catalog) length of their specific program (as measured in credit hours) is not considered to be making academic progress, and therefore, is ineligible for financial aid funds. (Example: Liberal Arts 62 credit hours x 150% = 93 credit hours) Transfer credit hours, applicable to the program, are counted toward the maximum eligibility.

Attempted credit hours include earned marks of A, B, C, and D, and unearned marks of F, CP, W, WF, WP, and I. Classes elected for Audit, K, Z or N marks, or credits earned through CLEP testing will not be considered when determining eligibility for Financial Aid.

Probation

Students who fail to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress may be placed on Probation for 1 or 2 semesters. During this probationary period, students may be eligible to receive grants, work-study and/or loans. A determination of continued eligibility will be made after official grades have been posted. Students will not be awarded Financial Aid for any future semester past this probationary period until they meet the conditions of probation or the Eligibility requirement (see above).

Appeal Process

A student who does not meet the eligibility requirements due to special or extenuating circumstances may appeal. All appeals must be in writing and include appropriate supporting documentation explaining the reasons for the unsatisfactory academic performance. A committee will review each appeal and make decisions on a case-by-case basis. The submission of an appeal does not guarantee reinstatement of financial aid.

Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility

A student who has been terminated from Financial Aid may be reinstated when the student has taken, without financial aid funds, enough credits to meet the Eligibility requirement. The student will be reinstated without probation. Classes taken at institutions other than OCC will not be taken into consideration.

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