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If you receive federal or state financial aid, then you must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward the completion of an eligible program of study. Financial aid eligibility is determined in compliance with federal and state regulations as well as institutional policies and does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, age, disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, or other legally protected basis. If you wish to file a grievance, then you should follow the directions outlined in Folsom Lake College's catalog.

The SAP policy applies to both Title IV and non-Title IV financial aid, which includes the following forms of financial aid:

  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
  • Federal Work-Study
  • Federal Direct Loans
  • California State Cal Grant
  • All State-funded programs

The SAP policy applies equally to all students, regardless of your level of enrollment or academic program – that is, full-time enrollment, part-time enrollment, and all educational programs offered through Los Rios.

If you fail to make SAP, then you will receive a written notification from the Financial Aid Office explaining which specific SAP requirement you did not meet. This can be qualitative (GPA), quantitative (Pace), and/or Maximum Time Frame.

Standards

At the end of each semester, students are evaluated based on the following standards:

Course Repetition and Academic Renewal

To determine your GPA, the most recent grade for a repeated course and all grades for academic renewal courses will be used. All units (both current and prior) from repeated and academic renewal courses are counted toward the 150% maximum timeframe of units you are permitted to attempt. You are not eligible to receive aid for more than one repetition of a course that has been previously passed.

The regulations allow you to repeat a passed course once and a failed course until it is passed. As long as the units are repeated per federal regulations, they are counted as attempted units in the calculation of the progress percentage.

Warning

If you fail to meet SAP due to the GPA and/or pace requirements, then you may be placed on Financial Aid Warning for one semester. During the warning period, you may be eligible to receive financial aid. Cumulative GPA and/or pace must meet SAP requirements for the warning term or you will be dismissed.

How to Regain Financial Aid

If you lose financial aid because you have not met SAP standards, then you can regain your financial aid in two ways: by meeting SAP standards based on your own actions or by appealing.

Meet SAP Standards Based on Your Own Actions

Meeting SAP standards based on your own actions means taking the initiative to correct SAP deficiencies and make sure you meet each of the SAP criteria. If you re-establish your financial aid eligibility by meeting SAP standards while you are on probation status, then you are no longer required to meet your probation requirements.

Once you have met the SAP standards, contact the financial aid office to have your financial aid eligibility re-evaluated.

Appeal Process

You may be able to appeal to continue to receive financial aid.

Deadlines

Submit your appeal and supporting documentation by the appeal form deadline (see financial aid deadlines). You have one opportunity per term to submit a complete appeal. Revisions and/or additional documentation are not accepted at a later time.

Appeal Outcomes

Approved Appeals and Probation Status

If you are approved on an appeal, then you will be placed on probation and your academic performance will be reviewed at the end of each term. If you fail to meet the requirements of your probation, then you will be denied aid and will need to appeal again the following term.

Probation Requirements
  1. You take courses that apply to your degree or certificate program.
  2. You successfully complete at minimum 66.67% of all courses attempted in each term following the appeal approval.
  3. You complete all coursework with a term GPA of 2.0 or higher in each term following the appeal approval.
  4. You are within the maximum timeframe allowed in any prior appeal.

If you comply with the requirements of your probation, then you may continue to receive aid for the following term.

Denied Appeals

If your appeal is denied, you may request a second review. Please notify Folsom Lake College's Financial Aid Office regarding your request for a second review.

If your appeal is denied and you correct the deficiency for which you were initially denied – but then you are dismissed for a different deficiency in the same award year – then you may be able to appeal again. If you are approved on an appeal, then you will be placed on probation and your academic performance will be reviewed at the end of each term. If you fail to meet your probation requirements, then you will be denied aid and will need to appeal again the following term.

If you comply with the requirements of your probation, then you may continue to receive aid for the following term.

Disqualification

If you have attempted 150 or more units, 70 or more units for a transfer program, or have a bachelor's degree or higher, then you are not eligible to appeal the denial of aid regardless of the reason. This total attempted units includes units transferred from other colleges and completed at other Los Rios colleges. If you have been approved on appeal before reaching 150 units, then you may continue to receive aid until the end of your program as long as you meet the requirements of your probation. If you fail to meet the probation requirements and are beyond 150 units, then you are no longer eligible for appeal.