Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

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. This policy is separate from the college’s general academic probation policy. A student’s financial aid academic progress will be reviewed at least once per academic year. This normally occurs after the winter semester or when the initial FAFSA is received for the academic year. For purposes of financial aid eligibility at Oakland Community College, students must meet all of the following standards:

Eligibility: 

  1. Must have completed with a passing grade: A,B, C, D: 67% of all OCC credits attempted.  A review is made when students have attempted 11 or more credit hours, and
    Credit hours for which the student is enrolled: Pace of Progression (Completion % Calculation) Credit hours in which the student must earn a passing grade:
    12 12 X .67 8
    15 15 X .67 10
    18 18 X .67 12
    21 21 X .67 14
    24 24 X .67 16
  2. Must have an OCC overall GPA of at least 2.00 after 12 or more attempted credits of enrollment at OCC, or have not attempted any credits at OCC, and
  3. Student must be working toward a degree/certificate at OCC in order to receive financial aid.  A financial aid academic plan may be required and must be followed by the student. High school dual enrollment, high school guest, and college guest students are not eligible for financial aid, and
  4. A class taken and passed with a grade of D- or better may be taken ONLY one more time with financial aid funds.
  5. Students may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 remedial/developmental credits (see list below). ESL coursework does not count toward 30 remedial/developmental credits.
APM-8110 (3 crs) ASC-1070 (2 crs) CHE-0950 (4 crs) CNS-1100 (1 cr) CNS-1160 (2 crs)
ENG-1060 (6 crs) MAT-1070 (3 crs) MAT-1100 (4 crs) MAT-1125 (4 crs) MAT-1150 (4 crs)

Maximum Eligibility:

Any student who has attempted 150 percent of the published (See OCC catalog) length of their specific program/major (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 are counted toward the maximum eligibility.

Attempted credit hours include earned marks of A, B, C, and D, and unearned marks of F, N, I, W, WS (formerly WF or WP), and CP. Classes elected for Audit, or credits earned through CLEP testing will not be considered when determining eligibility for financial aid. Students who received N grades (non-attendance) will have their financial aid recalculated. Example: A student enrolls and receives financial aid based on 12 credits. The student does not attend a 4-credit hour class and remains enrolled in 8 credit hours. The financial aid will be recalculated based on the remaining 8 credit hours and the student will be billed. A student who fails to meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements will be notified by OCC email. The email will direct the student to a copy of their academic record. It will also inform them regarding the procedures required to submit an appeal.

Upon reaching 73 credit hours, students are approaching unsatisfactory academic progress and will need to appeal to be considered for future financial aid.

Appeal Process

A student who does not meet the eligibility requirements due to special or extenuating circumstances may appeal. Extenuating circumstances considered for an appeal include personal illness or accident, serious illness or death of an immediate family member, or other circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the student. All appeals must be typed using the form that can be found on the website under Financial Aid Forms, 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. Students are allowed only two approvals of unsatisfactory progress while attending OCC. Approval of the appeal is not guaranteed. All decisions are final. The submission of an appeal does not guarantee reinstatement of financial aid. Your appeal letter must:

  • Explain the circumstances that caused you to fail to make satisfactory academic progress each semester.
  • Describe the actions taken by you to prevent future recurrences of the lack of satisfactory academic progress.
  • Justify your attempt to take over 150% of the credit hour required for your program and explain taking the additional courses and state your expected educational objective.

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 requirements. The student will be reinstated without probation. If a student has been awarded financial aid on probation and successfully completes all of their classes, their aid may be extended for the following semester. OCC and transfer credits will both be considered in the calculation of credit hours attempted and completed; however, grades from other institutions will not be taken into consideration.

Students may be awarded using one of the following options:

  • Financial Aid Academic Plan (FAAP) – Student is actively on an academic plan and continues as long as he/she has earned a 2.0 GPA and 100% Pace of Progression for that semester.
  • Financial Aid Academic Plan Maximum (FAAP-Max) – Student must enroll only in classes required for the degree program. Any classes for which you register that are not required for the degree program will result in financial aid being canceled for all classes. Student must earn a 2.0 GPA and 100% Pace of Progression.
  • Students awarded financial aid based on an academic plan (FAAP or FAAP-Max) status will be awarded aid on a provisional basis.
  • Students’ SAP status will include AP, APM, OK, or Unsatisfactory, only.

Deadline Date

Appeals must be submitted by the following dates:

  • Fall Deadline: September 30
  • Winter Deadline: January 31
  • Summer Deadline: May 31

Disclaimer:  SFRS has the right to terminate financial aid at any time based on academic history/performance.