The
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires students to
maintain satisfactory progress toward their degree in order to
receive financial aid. At Mount Mercy College, these standards
are established for students who are receiving or applying for
financial aid from one or more of the various federal, state,
or institutional scholarship, grant, work, or loan programs.
Mount
Mercy College's Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards for financial
aid apply to all students who want to establish or maintain financial
aid eligibility. These standards apply to a student's entire academic
transcript, including terms for which financial aid was not applied
or disbursed.
The
Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards require that students
successfully complete a specific number of credit hours each academic
school year and maintain a minimum required grade point average
as defined by the standards. These are minimum standards that
must be attained. Specific aid programs or departments may require
more than these minimum standards.
The
academic progress of financial aid recipients is monitored a minimum
of once each academic year. Students should contact the Financial
Aid Office with questions regarding the intend and/or interpretation
of these standards.
Completion
Rate Requirements
Full-time
students (students attempting 12 credit hours or more each semester)
must progress according to the following schedule:
| |
Minimum
Yearly
Credit Hours |
Minimum
Cumulative
Credit Hours |
| Year
1 |
20 |
20 |
| Year
2 |
20 |
40 |
| Year
3 |
20 |
60 |
| Year
4 |
20 |
80 |
| Year
5 |
20 |
100 |
| Year
6 |
23 |
123 |
These
credit hours must be earned during the academic year (fall, J-term,
and spring), however, if a student is short of these required
hours, they may be earned during the following summers session(s).
Failure to achieve this standard by the end of the summer will
result in financial aid probation for one semester. If progress
is not made during the probationary period, aid will be suspended.
Financial aid suspension is not the same as academic suspension,
which is handled by the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Probation
will be granted for one semester only.
Part-time
students must successfully complete one-half of the credit hours
they attempt. Combined students (students blending terms of full-time
and part-time enrollment) must achieve a cumulative total that
satisfies the combined full-time and part-time standards.
Grade
Point Average (GPA) Requirements
Students
must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA. The minimum GPA requirements
are as follows:
| Hours
Completed |
Cumulative
GPA |
| 1
- 15 |
1.6 |
| 16
- 30 |
1.7 |
| 31
- 45 |
1.8 |
| 46
- 60 |
2.0 |
| 61
- graduation |
2.0 |
Students
who do not have the minimum cumulative GPA are granted one probationary
semester in which to raise their cumulative GPA to the minimum.
Failure to achieve this standard at any point following the probationary
semester results in the loss of financial aid eligibility until
the cumulative GPA meets the minimum standards.
Courses
with a grade of Incomplete must be completed in the following
semester. the Incomplete is not factored into academic progress
until the faculty member assigns the grade.
Transfer
Students
Transfer
students will be assumed to be maintaining satisfactory academic
progress at the time of admission. Transfer credits and GPA that
are accepted at Mount Mercy College are counted toward the total
attempted credits/cumulative GPA in determining satisfactory academic
progress compliance.
Repeated
Coursework
When
students repeat a course, the most recent grade received is used
in the calculation of the cumulative grade point average. The
credit hours for the class are not counted in the minimum credit
requirement.
Non-credit
Coursework
Non-credit
coursework is not counted in the minimum credit requirement.
Re-establishing
Eligibility
Students
who have lost financial aid eligibility due to a deficiency in
completed hours or a low GPA can regain eligibility by achieving
the minimums established in this policy. It is the student's responsibility
to notify the Financial Aid Office when this has been accomplished
in order to request the aid be reinstated.
Appeal
Process
Extenuating
circumstances that result in a student failing to achieve the
minimum completed credit hours and/or GPA requirements are evaluated
by the Financial Aid Committee. Appeals should be sent in writing
to:
Director of Financial Aid
Mount Mercy College
1330 Elmhurst Dr. NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
