Since July 2015, the Financial Aid department at Bellevue College made changes to the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, or SAP. The SAP is essentially a list of requirements students must meet at the beginning and end of each quarter in order to continue receiving financial aid.
First, each student is required to obtain a 2.0 GPA each quarter. By extention, this means that the student must maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA at the college.
This requirement includes developmental courses, typically those with a number below 100, though some courses labeled 100 and higher might also be considered developmental.
Courses finished with an F grade or an NC status count for a 0.0 GPA. Pass or fail courses are granted a 1.0 GPA.
The SAP also puts forth a maximum time frame, or MTF, to complete the degree. Specifically, it requires any given student to complete their degree program within 150 percent of the credits required.
For example, if a student were trying to complete a 90-credit degree, they would need to do so within obtaining 135 credits. Developmental courses do not count towards this number, though, any credit with a NC status or F that would count towards the MTF number.
When a student fails to meet the standards set by the SAP, they are placed on warning status, which lasts for their next quarter of attendance.
This status is removed if someone accomplishes the SAP standards for that quarter. Through the system, it is possible for a student to be placed on warning status multiple times without losing their financial aid.
There is also a minimum credit status depending on how many credits are being funded. A student attending Bellevue College full time, or being funded for 12 or more credits, is required to take a minimum of 12 credits in a quarter or faces warning status. A student attending BC part time is required to enroll in at least six credits to avoid the warning status.
If a student fails to overcome the warning status, there is a possibility for their financial aid to be cancelled. This can happen if the GPA of any given student drops below 2.0 or if they exceed the maximum time frame without completing their degree.
Beyond this point, a student can go through probation. Probation occurs when a student appeals their cancellation. During this time, the student is required to meet the SAP standards at the end of their probationary quarter. If they fail to do so, they are cancelled again and put in an ineligible status.
A copy of the SAP can be found in the Financial Aid office on the first floor of the B building.