To remain eligible for financial aid at Snow College, a student must make reasonable academic progress towards their degree or certificate.  Satisfactory academic progress is a Department of Education requirement and is measured by a number of factors.

Cumulative Grade Point Average

(Qualitative Measure)

Students must maintain a grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.00 (C) or better to remain eligible for aid.  At the end of each semester the Financial Aid Office will assess students’ progress by looking at grades. After grades are in we will run a report for all students.  This is done so that we monitor students who are not on financial aid but may become eligible for financial aid in the future.  If during any semester a student’s G.P.A. is less than 2.00 (C) they will be put on probation.  A student will be granted one probationary semesters before they are suspended.  (If there is semester where a student’s cumulative G.P.A. falls below a 1.00 (D) the Financial Aid Office reserves the right to suspend the student without a probationary period.).

At the end of two years a student should have the cumulative grade point average consistent with the Institution’s requirement to graduate.  That requirement is a “C” or 2.00 grade point average. Students not having the required “C” average will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine if graduation is possible and if financial aid eligibility should continue.

There is the possibility that some students may be ineligible for aid, based on academic progress, even before they apply. (We will look at complete enrollment histories to establish eligibility regardless if the student has applied for financial aid in the past.  There is no academic amnesty for Financial Aid Funding.)

Pass/Fail Classes:  A passing grade will be counted as a 2.00 (C) GPA for financial aid purposes.

Repeated Classes:

Students may repeat classes to improve their grades; however, the class will count on their quantitative measure of satisfactory progress as well as count towards their maximum time frame.

Financial Aid will only pay for a repeated class twice if the class received a passing grade.

(Exceptions to the qualitative measure policy will be reviewed based on an appeals process under the umbrella of professional judgment.  Students with legitimate appeals may be given exceptions on a case-by-case basis.)

Reinstatement:  If a student is suspended for failure to meet the Qualitative Measure of SAP at student must raise his cumulative grade point average to the minimum of 2.00/C to be reinstated.

Cumulative Credit Hours

(Quantitative Measure /Pace)

Students are expected to earn credits in the classes that they attempt. If a student fails to pass the classes that they attempt, they will be placed on probation.  A student has one probationary periods to earn credits that they have been funded for. The Financial Aid Office will evaluate their earned credit hours to determine if they should still continue to be funded. That evaluation will be based on a minimum completion of a 70 percent per enrollment period.

Credits are earned by passing a class with a “D” grade or higher. If a student fails a class, withdraws from a class, is unofficially withdrawn from a class, or is given an incomplete in the class, the credits will not be earned.

(For the quantitative measure the following grades are considered unearned credits: UW unofficial withdrawal, W official withdrawal, I incomplete grade, F failing grade.) (In the case of an incomplete, for financial aid purposes, classes must be completed in the semester the money is disbursed.)

Full time students must complete more than half of their attempted credit hours in any semester.  Less than full time students must complete half of their attempted credit hours in any semester.  Failure to do so you may result in suspension without a probationary semester.  If during any semester of enrollment a student does not meet the Quantitative Measurement/Pace the student may be suspended from aid even though they may not currently qualify.

(Exceptions to the quantitative measures policy will be reviewed based on an appeals process under the umbrella of professional judgment.  Students with legitimate appeals may be given exceptions on a case-by-case basis.)

Should a student who has received federal funds choose to withdraw from school during the course of a semester a Federal Repayment of Title IV Funds calculation will be made and the withdrawing student may be required to repay a portion of the federal assistance received back to the Department of Education.

Reinstatement:  If a student is suspended for failure to meet the Qualitative Measure of SAP at student must raise his earned credit hours to a 70 percent completion rate to be reinstated.

Maximum Time Frame

Students may only receive financial aid for a limited time.  Eligibility for financial aid is terminated after a student has attended six (6) full-time semesters or earned 95 credit hours.  Federal Law prohibits funding over 150 percent of the time that it “normally” takes to complete an Associate’s Degree.  The “normal” time frame to complete an Associate Degree at Snow College is two years, four (4) semesters, or 63 credit hours.

Students fluctuating from one status to another, full-time, three-quarter time, half-time, will be calculated on a yearly average.

Remedial Courses

Some student may be required to take remedial coursework to meet the minimum requirements for graduation.  Those remedial courses are counted in the 150 percent / 95 attempted hours for the maximum time frame.

Change of Program

Those changing majors or programs may seek additional time to complete required coursework.  Snow College has established some provisions to those circumstances.

As Snow College is a two year transfer school, most courses are general education courses or elective courses. Elective courses are generally prerequisites for a particular emphasis or major. Therefore, if a student changes from the first program of study into a new program of study, the maximum allowed credits for the new program will be re-evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the student’s required coursework, a new time frame may be established based on the core classes required under the new program.  The maximum time frame for a new program should not exceed 150% of the credits required for the new program. This will allow some repetition of courses to meet grade requirements for transfer programs.

Example: Charles is a Pre- Engineering student and has been attending Snow College for 5 semesters.  Charles has completed 16 credit hours each semester and has enrolled in a mix of GE and Elective courses each of those semesters, most of his electives have been in the Pre-engineering core. Charles has decided he would like to go into business and would like to get an Associates of Science Business Degree.  Since Charles has never taken any electives in the business area he will need to take the core coursework.  Since Charles has 80 credit hours he has almost used his maximum time frame.  Charles now must complete 35 credit hours of business core to receive his degree.  We will give Charles up to 44 more credit hours to complete his coursework, or a total of 124 credit hours at Snow College.

Please be aware, changes in Pell Grant legislation only allows an individual 12 full time semesters of Federal Pell Grant. Once they have receive their maximum grant they will no longer be eligible for Pell regardless if you earned your degree or not.

(All credit earned toward your degree will be counted including concurrent enrollment credit taken in high school.)

(Exceptions to the policy will be reviewed based on an appeals process under the umbrella of professional judgment.  Students with legitimate appeals may be given exceptions on a case-by-case basis.)

Snow College has the following Associate degree Programs:

• Associate of Applied Science
• Associate of Science Business
• Associate of Arts
• Associate of Science
• Associate of Pre-Engineering

A student at Snow College wishing to obtain an additional Associate of Science Degree is limited to the above listed degrees.  Once a student has a degree at Snow College it would be in their best interest to look at a major change as opposed to a degree change.  There are not significant changes in a degree other than the core coursework, for a change in a degree we would recommend adding courses to the degree already earned and would review that request on a case-by-case basis.

Practical Nursing Certificate Programs

The program length will be calculated based on pre-requisites and core classes required for the practical nursing certificate. Some courses may have been satisfied through previous attendance.  Students that are looking to complete a Registered Nursing program may be required to take chemistry, pathophysiology and a more rigorous math. It is recommended by four year transfer schools that they finish an Associate of Science Degree. Those additional classes will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  Core classes are 33 credits hours, pre-requisites are 33-34 credit hours depending on where a student gets their C.N.A. licensure.

Snow College has the following Bachelor Degrees Programs:

• Bachelor of Commercial Music
• Bachelor of Computer Engineering

Students participating in the Bachelor programs will be give 190 credit hours until they reach their maximum time frame.  Any additions or modifications will need an appeal to the Snow College Financial Aid Office.

Transfer Programs

Students may transfer to Snow College wanting to receive a degree or other eligible credential. Students transferring will be looked at on a case-by-case-basis, as there are residential requirements to get a degree, usually 20 credit hours of Snow College credits.  Financial Aid will review a student’s maximum time frame based on their degree plan.

Additional Degrees

Since Snow College’s primary objective is to provide Associate Degree and Certificate Programs, we will rarely if ever allow the pursuit of a second degree.  The exception to this policy is to allow a student who has received a certificate of completion and/or an Associate of Applied Science to pursue an Associate of Science or Art degree in any of the other disciplines.  A student who has an Associate Degree can pursue a Bachelor Degree if accepted into the program.

Appeal Process

Student have the right to appeal when they do not meet any of the Satisfactory Academic Progress components. When a student is suspended because they have not met the Qualitative Standard/Grades, the Quantitative Standard/Pace, or the Maximum Time frame they can appeal to reinstate their aid. Appeals should have legitimacy, something of an unusual circumstance, something beyond a student’s control, something that prevented a student from meeting one or all of the requirements of Satisfactory Progress.

A student can fill out the appeal form, attach all supporting documentation and return it to the financial aid window or mail it to the Snow College Financial Aid Office.

If an appeal is approve a student will be notified of any responsibilities that student has to do to continue their financial aid funding.

Appeal Form