Satisfactory Academic Progress
Standards for Financial Aid Recipients
All students at Northcentral Technical College must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress in order to receive financial aid. NTC is required by federal regulation (34CFR,Part 668.7(a)(5) to establish, publish and apply reasonable standards for measuring whether students receiving aid under any Title IV program are maintaining satisfactory progress in their course of study. This standard will be applied to all program students attending Northcentral Technical College . These standards apply to a student's entire academic record (including summer terms) at NTC regardless of whether or not the student has received financial aid for previous semesters. Qualitative (GPA) and quantitative (67 percent completion percentage) standards contained in the college's policy must be cumulative and include all periods of enrollment.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress by receiving individual course grades of A,B,C, or S. Grades of D, F,U, I,IP, NS, DR, or W (withdrawal) in a course, will be treated as credits attempted but not successfully completed. Audited courses (AU) are not included in the calculation.
Financial Aid Academic Progress Standards
Northcentral Technical College Academic Progress Standards for Financial Aid recipients applies to all students who are accepted into an undergraduate program pursing an associate degree or diploma. Students are required to complete a minimum of 67% of all credits attempted each term (including summer term) with a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0. These standards apply to a student’s entire academic record at NTC whether or not the student has received financial aid for a previous semester.
Financial Aid Academic Probation
Students will be placed on financial aid probation if they do not meet satisfactory academic progress (earn a GPA for a term falls below 2.0, or they do not successfully complete at least 67% of all credits attempted--withdraws, drops, NS all count against a student’s successful completion for financial aid purposes). Students will be required to meet with an NTC Academic Advisor for help in creating an academic plan to ensure success for the next term enrolled (which may include a reduced credit load). Students will be prevented from registering for the next term until this requirement is met. Students will be removed from probation at the end of the following term if they attain a term GPA of 2.0 or higher and successfully complete at least 67% of all credits attempted, with a minimum enrollment of six credits during the term. Students may apply for and receive financial aid, if eligible via the FAFSA, while on probation.
Financial Aid Academic Suspension
If a student is on financial aid probation and they do not meet satisfactory academic progress (earn a term and/or cumulative GPA of less than 2.0 in their next term or fail to complete at least 67% of all credits attempted), their financial aid will be suspended. Once a student is suspended they are ineligible to receive financial aid and have 30 days from the date of their notification letter to file an appeal.
To reinstate financial aid eligibility, students may:
• choose to pay for the next semester courses (to include six or more credits) and upon meeting satisfactory academic progress, they will no longer be on financial aid suspension but will be placed on probation for the next semester they attend NTC.
OR
• if the student has missed the 30 day window and/or they are unable to pay for their next semester courses, they may file an appeal once they have had at least one subsequent semester of no enrollment at NTC. Students who miss the 30 day window will only be allowed to submit this appeal once.
Financial Aid Appeal Process
Students may choose to appeal if they are on suspension if they believe their circumstances merit consideration.
Students on suspension who believe their circumstances merit reconsideration, may appeal their suspension within 30 calendar days of the date of their suspension letter using the Satisfactory Academic Progress forms at:
The forms must be received within 30 calendar days of the date of their suspension letter. If an appeal is received after this time frame, the appeal will be denied.
Level 1: For the student’s first appeal, the Director of Financial Aid will issue a written result to the student outlining the decision within 14 calendar days.
Level 2: For the student’s second appeal, the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Committee will meet to review the appeal. A written result will be sent to the student outlining their decision within 14 calendar days.
Level 3: If the student is dissatisfied with the result at Level 2 and they have additional evidence that was not previously presented at Level 1 or 2 they may request a Level 3 Review with the Vice President of Student Services. The additional information regarding their appeal must be submitted within 5 calendar days after the written result from Level 2 was issued. Students will be notified of the decision within 7 calendar days.
For any appeal that is approved, the student will be on probation for the next semester they attend NTC and be required to meet with their Academic Advisor/Counselor to develop an academic improvement plan. Upon meeting satisfactory academic progress during the probationary semester, the student will no longer be considered to be on probation.
Maximum Length of Financial Aid Eligibility
Student eligibility for aid is related to the number of required credits to earn their degree. Maximum eligibility for financial aid is determined by taking the number of required program credits X 150%. (Example: an associate degree requires the completion of 72 credits, 72credits X 150% = 108. If the number of credits the student has attempted exceeds 108, the student will have exhausted their eligibility for state and federal aid.) All cumulative credits attempted are counted, including accepted transfer credits, and consortium credits, regardless of whether financial aid was received for the credits, or the course work was successfully completed. All credits attempted at NTC will be counted; even though a period of time (years) may have elapsed between enrollments and regardless of whether the student received financial aid for the terms and credits measured.
