All students who receive federal or state financial aid must be enrolled in a program leading to a degree or an eligible certificate program. Students must meet federal and institutional standards for academic progress in order to establish and retain aid eligibility. Students receiving athletic or other institution administered awards must also meet the satisfactory academic progress standards that have been established by the awarding entity. 

Academic progress for federal and state financial aid programs is based on three measures: Cumulative Grade Point Average, Pace of Progression based on credit hours completed compared to attempted, and a Maximum Timeframe for degree completion. While the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy is a minimum requirement to maintain financial aid eligibility, students are encouraged to work closely with academic advisors and college personnel to achieve their educational goals. Good financial planning includes selecting meaningful coursework, completing all registered classes with satisfactory grades, and seeking your degree in a timely manner.

To monitor the satisfactory academic progress (SAP) of students applying for or receiving Title IV funds, East Central Community College (ECCC) will evaluate SAP for all students at the end of each payment period and communicate with students in writing, via mail or email. All calculations will be based upon the cumulative academic record as transcribed by the college at the time of SAP evaluation. The following measures will be used:

(1) Grade point average- Achieving and maintaining at least a 2.00 grade point average (GPA) if attempted hours is 60 or more, 1.75 GPA if attempted hours is 31-59, and 1.50 GPA if attempted hours is 1-30.

(2) Pace of progression- Passing a required number of hours (66.7% of all hours attempted) (i.e. Take total hours attempted and multiply by 66.7% and round UP to the nearest whole number)

(3) Maximum timeframe- Total overall hours must not exceed 150% of the published length of a student’s degree program.

Satisfactory Academic Progress standards apply to the following Title IV federal financial aid programs:

  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Federal Supplement Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
  • Federal Work Study
  • Federal Direct Loan Program
  • Federal PLUS Program