Financial Aid

Eligibility for Aid

Ineligibility | Course Selection & Financial Aid | Waivers & Emergencies

Maintaining Your Financial Aid

In order to maintain eligibility for financial aid, students must meet the following minimum requirements.

Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress Guidelines
Federal regulations require that financial aid recipients show satisfactory academic progress towards their degree or certificate objective. Satisfactory academic progress includes both a qualitative and a quantitative measure. SAP is reviewed annually at the end of the spring semester; students who withdraw during the summer or fall semesters and do not return for the spring may be reviewed at the end of the fall semester.

Quantitative progress standards measure a student's progress in a degree program and set a maximum time frame in which a student must complete a degree. The qualitative measure examines the student's GPA and total credit hours earned to determine if a student is adequately progressing towards the degree or certificate.

Quantitative Progress Standards
Credit Progression: Students must make satisfactory academic progress towards their degree. All students must meet the cumulative standards. Satisfactorily completed credits are those for which grades of A,B, C, D, H, P and S are earned. Non-credit course work and transfer course work applicable to the degree (limited to the number of credits accepted into the degree) is also included in this calculation. Incomplete grades are included in attempted hours and excluded from earned hours until the course is graded; if an instructor provides documentation that the course will be completed with a passing grade, the credit may be included in earned hours.

Credits Attempted	Credits Earned
6-30	40% of Attempted Hours
31-60	55% of Attempted Hours
61 or more	67% of Attempted Hours

Maximum Hours: Students who have attempted 150% of the number of credit hours required by the degree or certificate will be ineligible for financial aid. Non-credit course work will not be included in the calculation of maximum hours; failing grades, withdrawals, and course repetitions are included in attempted hours. Students are permitted to repeat failing and ‘D’ grades and maintain federal financial aid eligibility. Students who have exceeded the 150% ceiling may ask to have their file reviewed to determine federal financial aid eligibility. The following course work can be excluded from the calculation of maximum hours: coursework not applicable to the current degree program due to changes in major, transfer credit not applicable to the degree program or beyond the number of credits acceptable for transfer into the degree program, previous degrees, and developmental coursework.

Qualitative Progress Standard
Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point index. Refer to Standards for Academic Probation and Dismissal for detailed information.

When students lose federal financial aid eligibility, they lose it for a period of one year or until they make up their academic deficiencies. One exception to this policy is for First Time, Full Time Freshmen. Students who are first time, full time freshmen may have their federal eligibility reinstated after a one semester (spring or fall semester, not summer) loss of financial aid. Upon reinstatement of federal aid, students are expected to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards after a period of one year. Returning students must file an Appeal for Reinstatement of Aid upon readmission in order to have financial aid reinstated.

New York State Pursuit and Progress

Program pursuit is defined by the State Department of Education as receiving a passing or failing grade in a certain percentage of a full-time course load. This percentage increases from 50 percent of the minimum full-time load in each term of study in the first year for which an award is made, to 75 percent of the minimum full-time load in each term of study in the second year for which an award is made, to 100 percent of the minimum full-time load in each term of study in the third and each succeeding year for which an award is made. Minimum full-time load at Jefferson Community College is 12 credit hours.

Academic Progress is defined by the State Department of Education as a standard of satisfactory academic progress including the successful earning of a minimum number of credits with a minimum cumulative grade point average at the conclusion of each semester. The following chart displays, for each financial aid payment sought, how many credits a student must accumulate toward graduation and the grade point average to be eligible for the payment.

Students not meeting these requirements will be denied state aid for one year or until they make up their academic deficiencies. For students who have already utilized the equivalent of four TAP payments (24 payment points) and have less than a 2.0 cumulative grade point average, sitting out one year will not reinstate their eligibility for TAP and APTS. The student may not apply for a waiver of the 2.0 requirement.

Special Circumstances Affecting Financial Aid Eligibility
Repeating Courses: When a student has earned a passing grade (D or better) in a course, and decides to repeat the course, the repeat cannot be included in the calculation of full or part time status for New York State aid. There are four exceptions to this rule:

1. When a passing grade is achieved, but the grade is not acceptable to the program in which the student is matriculated.


2. When a passing grade is achieved, but the grade is not acceptable for the student to move on to the next course in the sequence.


3. When two courses must be taken concurrently and a passing grade is achieved in only one of the courses. If the student is required to repeat both courses, both may be included in the calculation of enrollment status.


4. When a course may be repeated and credit is earned toward the degree each time the course is taken.

Developmental Courses: Developmental courses (non-credit remedial) are not included in the assessment of Progress for New York State aid. Students must complete a minimal number of college level credits each semester to retain state aid eligibility (see chart above).

Incomplete Grades: In the evaluation of financial aid eligibility at the end of the semester, incomplete grades will not be counted as completed hours, but will count as attempted hours. The student is responsible for notifying the Financial Aid Office that the incomplete grade has been changed and requesting a re-evaluation of Title IV and NYS aid eligibility.

Appeals for reinstatement of financial aid: If a student does not meet the standards for Title IV or NYS Aid, the student may appeal for reinstatement of aid due to mitigating circumstances. These reasons must be well documented in writing with determination by the Financial Aid Petitions Committee.

Total Withdrawals
Students who officially or unofficially withdraw from all of their courses are subject to the Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy. The student's eligibility for federal aid is recalculated for any student who completely withdraws, stops attending classes, or is dismissed during the semester. This ruling affects federal financial aid only including the Pell Grant, FSEOG, and student loans.

This policy governs the amount of federal student aid the student has earned; our institutional refund policy governs what charges a student may owe (see Tuition Refunds). This policy may result in a student having to repay portions of their federal financial aid. A student earns full financial aid at the 60% point of the semester.

Financial Aid Probation
Students who have previously lost financial aid and are eligible for reinstatement may be placed on Financial Aid Probation. Students with GPAs below 2.0, low course completion rates, and multiple dismissals or withdrawals, will be considered for probation. Students will be notified of the probation status in writing. Probation may include delayed disbursement of student loans and financial aid refunds, and periodic attendance verification.

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