Financial Aid Policies

Cumulative GPA: A student must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0.

Pace: The student must progress through his/her educational program at a pace of 67% or higher. Pace is calculated by dividing the cumulative number of successfully completed credit hours by the cumulative number of attempted credit hours. Attempted credits include any course taken for credit, with the exception of courses dropped during the free drop period (the first week of classes during fall and spring semesters; the first three days for summer sessions and quarter classes) and those taken for Audit. Accepted transfer credits count as both accepted and completed in the pace calculation. Remedial credit hours and all repeated credit hours are included in the calculation of the cumulative completion rate.

Rate of Program Completion (Maximum Time Frame): Students are expected to complete their program of study within a reasonable time period. A student's maximum time frame is based on total credit hours attempted at WNCC (plus any transfer credits) and the student's degree objective. These limits apply regardless of whether or not the student has changed majors or received federal funding. Attempted credits include remedial credit hours, repeated credit hours, and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. The student's eligibility will end when the student has attempted 150% of the credits required for his/her specific program of study or if the satisfactory academic progress review determines the student cannot mathematically complete his/her program within the maximum time frame. For example, if a program requires 64 credits, the student may attempt no more than 96 credit hours before completing the degree or losing financial aid eligibility. This status may be appealed. Students must progress through their program at a “pace” rate of 67% or higher each period of enrollment to ensure program completion within the maximum timeframe.

Students may appeal to seek approval for funding when a change in major or degree has occurred or to seek funding for an additional eligible degree or certificate. Under all circumstances, all transcripted credits, including transfer credits, are included in the calculation of maximum time frame regardless of whether the student received financial aid for those credits.

Official transcripts from all previous institutions attended must be submitted to the WNCC Registrar prior to disbursement of federal aid to determine credits for the maximum time frame calculation.

Warning: A student will be placed on financial aid warning if he/she:

1. Fails to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0, and/or
2. Fails to meet the 67% pace requirement.

The student may still receive federal financial aid while on warning status. The student's future financial aid eligibility is dependent upon how well the student does during the warning semester. If the student meets the 67% pace requirement and has a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher at the end of the warning semester, the student will be restored to satisfactory status. If, however, the student again fails to meet one or both of these requirements, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension. No federal financial aid will be disbursed for the semester following a warning semester until the Financial Aid Office reviews final grades for the warning semester.

NOTE: This may or may not impact your eligibility for scholarships. Check the information you received at the time the scholarship was awarded for specific eligibility criteria. If you fail to meet the necessary scholarship criteria, your scholarship will not be renewed.

Suspension Following Warning: A student will be placed on financial aid suspension if he/she fails to meet the academic progress requirements at the end of a warning semester.

A student whose financial aid eligibility has been suspended has two options for regaining his/her eligibility.

1. A student may qualify for reinstatement of financial aid eligibility by enrolling at his/her own expense and once again meeting all the necessary academic progress requirements outlined above. This may take one or more semesters, depending on how long it takes the student to be in compliance with this policy. Financial resources other than federal financial aid must be used to pay for educational expenses during these terms.
2. If circumstances beyond the students control prevented him/her from making the progress required, the student may file an appeal for reconsideration. Appeals may be submitted for extenuating circumstances, such as:  medical problems (family illness); family emergency (death of a family member); or other documented extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control. An appeal must be in writing, and must include supporting documentation of the extenuating circumstances and an Academic Plan developed with the student’s academic advisor. Appeal forms are available from the Financial Aid Office or online.  Appeals should be submitted as soon as possible following notification of suspension, but no later than mid-term of the semester for which the student is requesting aid. A student whose appeal is approved by the Appeal Committee will be placed on financial aid probation status for the subsequent semester of enrollment. The student will continue to maintain federal financial aid eligibility by meeting all satisfactory academic progress requirements outlined above or by meeting the terms outlined in the students Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress agreement and the Academic Plan submitted with the student's appeal. A student who does not meet the terms of the agreement or Academic Plan loses federal financial aid eligibility. Denied appeals may be re-appealed by the student to the Financial Aid Director.

Credits successfully completed: For this policy, successful completion is defined as earning a grade of D- or higher, or a grade of P. Grades of AU, CR, I, E, F, NP, and W are not considered successful completion under this policy. In courses graded on a Pass/No Pass basis, students are assessed using either a competency-based rubric or a percentage converted to a letter grade where a grade of C or higher is considered passing.

There is a limit of appeals allowed; further appeals will be accepted at the discretion of the Appeal Committee and only if the criteria established in the Academic Plan and the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress or MAX Continuation of Funding agreement conditions are met.

All SAP-related notifications are emailed to students’ WNCC email address, the College’s official means of student communication.

Incompletes: A student who is placed on warning or suspension solely because of incomplete credits may request that the Financial Aid Office review his/her status once the course has been completed and a passing grade issued. This review will not take place until the revised grade has been changed in the WNCC computer system.

Remedial Work: Students may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 credits of remedial courses. All remedial courses, including English as a Second Language courses, are included in the student’s GPA, Pace, and maximum time frame calculations.

Repeats: All repeated courses are included in the student's cumulative attempted credit hours. A repeated course counts only once toward completed credits. Federal financial aid may not cover repeated courses. The grade from the last attempt of a repeated course is included in the student’s cumulative GPA.

Academic Amnesty: Please note that Academic Amnesty does not affect a student's financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress status. Students who apply for and receive Academic Amnesty to have credits attempted and grades earned in previous semesters excluded from the calculation of the student's GPA are not automatically returned to satisfactory standing. Federal aid program regulations make no provisions for the concept of academic amnesty or academic renewal. Therefore, a school must always include all attempted courses in evaluating a student's Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Special Circumstances refer to financial changes to the household which affect the financial data reported on the student’s FAFSA. Because the FAFSA uses prior-prior tax information to determine student federal aid eligibility, the FAFSA result may not be a fair reflection of the student and family’s current financial situation.

Eligible circumstances may include, but are not limited to:

• Unemployment or a reduction in hours or wages
• Loss of benefits such as Social Security or child support
• Retirement
• Separation or divorce of parents
• Death of parent or spouse
• Excessive unreimbursed medical expenses

Circumstances that are not eligible:

• Routine personal living expenses (car payments, insurance, credit card bills, mortgage/rent)
• Unusual personal living expenses (wedding costs, legal expenses)
• Reduction in overtime pay
• Bankruptcy
• One-time income from gambling earnings

Required appeal form:  Appeal Form for Income Change

Unusual Circumstances refer to conditions that justify a student being considered independent for FAFSA purposes when the student would normally be required to provide parents’ information but is unable to.

Eligible circumstances may include:

• Family abuse or neglect
• Parental abandonment or estrangement
• Human trafficking or refugee or asylee status
• Other situations where contact with parents is non-existent

Circumstances that are not eligible:

• Parents’ refusal to contribute to student’s education
• Parents unwilling to provide information for FAFSA completion
• Parents do not claim student as dependent for tax purposes
• Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency
• Incarceration

Required appeal form: Appeal Form for Dependency Override

Special Expense appeals are used by the student to request their Cost of Attendance budget be increased to allow for educational expenses incurred outside of the normal components used in the standard Cost of Attendance. Approval may not result in additional grant eligibility, but may increase Federal Direct Loan eligibility.

Eligible circumstances may include:

• Disability expenses
• Educational expenses of a parent in college
• Child or elder care expenses
• Computer purchase
• Transportation expenses

Required appeal form: Appeal Form for Special Expense