College Put Me On Financial Aid Suspension With Only TWO Classes Left To Graduating!!!

<p>My Cumulative GPA is 2.756
My Completion Rate is 70.33%
My Maximum Time-Frame is at 126.39% (of 150% maximum)</p>

<p>Their excuse? "You failed ALL of your classes the past TWO semesters". Well before any of you think that is 24 to 30 credit hours let me explain that I am going half time only taking 6 credit hours per semester, so I have only failed 12 credit hours. This last semester I failed both of my classes due to a crime being committed against me which I will not go into. I filed an appeal with financial aid and they DENIED it!</p>

<p>Without financial aid I have no way of paying for classes now or in the future. I have no one to help me. By denying my appeal they are ensuring that I have no future of any kind, because there is no way I can pay back $48,000 worth of student loans on minimum wage which will wind up being garnished thus make it to where I can not afford to keep a home or a job because the employment won't be gainful.</p>

<p>(oh, if you're confused as to how I only have two left after failing those classes it's because the program changed and no longer requires those classes now.)</p>

<p>Posting for clarity. You failed your last two courses…which was all you were taking? Did you discuss your crime situation with your advisor or the dean of students? Did you ask for an incomplete in the courses because you could not complete the work? </p>

<p>Or did you just think all would be fine?</p>

<p>At this point, the on,y thing you can do is speak to the dean of students. You will have to provide information to that person so they can determine if your aid should be reinstated. If not, you will need to get request a leave of absence, get a job, and pay for those two courses out of pocket.</p>

<p>Most schools, and the federal government, do not continue financial aid for those who fail all courses in a term.</p>

<p>Yes, I was only taking two classes. I have discussed it with financial aid, the academic dean according to the organizational chart has no control over the financial department, I would need to talk to the president of the college. I asked to be allowed to catch up on my work which my request was denied with a quote of their NO LATE WORK policy in their syllabus. I did my work the rest of the semester but still failed because of all the 0’s at the beginning I was not allowed to catch up on. I believe “Incomplete”, “Withdraw Passing” and Withdraw Failing" have been done away with here.</p>

<p>I didn’t think “all would be fine” but I did think surely they would approve an appeal since a crime was committed against me. </p>

<p>As for your last sentence, that makes no sense as most appeals are because of failing ALL classes in a term because of some major event happens to someone they’re not going to fail “some” of their classes they’re going to fail ALL of them. Example, why would someone be able to pass math from a hospital room but not English? If you’re in the hospital and cut off from the world you’re going to fail all of them. </p>

<p>^Find a job and save enough to pay for the two classes you needed to graduate.</p>

<p>If you fail even ONE class, and that puts you astray of the financial aid rules, or if you do ANYTHING that does so, you can lose your financial aid. The rules are in place and students need to go by them or, yes, it can happen just as it did for you. You can appeal, but that you are 2 classes left or even 1 is not likely to hold water in the argument. There are conditions to getting fin aid. You don’t meet them as written and as you should have well known them, then you lose the money without good reason for appeal. How outrageous the conditions are, in your opinion, is going to get you no where. </p>

<p>It’s easy to say that 4kidsdad, but the reality of the situation is there is no gainful employment in my area, I was planning to move to Austin or Dallas TX after I graduate (using some money from my last disbursement). I need $4,072 to finish, at minimum wage after bills I’d only be able to put away $100/mo towards that which is 40 months BUT I HAVE TO START MAKING STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS IN 6 MONTHS, then I would not be able to save anything for it but would be forced to be making payments that are far more than $100/mo leaving nothing for rent or the costs of employment. </p>

<p>you may need your parents to apply for a Plus Loan.</p>

<p>FYI, here is our SAP policy.</p>

<p>STANDARDS OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS
Students who receive financial aid must be enrolled in a financial aid eligible degree or certification program and are required to maintain the following standards of academic progress (SAP). Students are expected to be continually aware of their grades and progress toward completion of their program of study. This review will include all periods of students’ enrollment, even those for which students did not receive financial aid. The measures below will be used to determine eligibility for all federal Title IV aid, state and institutional aid, and for other financial assistance unless the terms of a particular grant or funding source require additional standards. Some aid programs require higher standards, such as higher grade point averages (GPA) or specific enrollment statuses. Students who fail to meet the standards of academic progress (SAP) will be notified by email at the email address on record; however, failure to receive notification will not change the SAP status.
Qualitative Progress Measure: Minimum grade point average (GPA) achieved after each semester
To continue receiving financial aid, students are expected to successfully complete their classes with passing grades. Students must have at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA (may be based on all terms of enrollment) and at least a 2.00 term GPA during each period of enrollment. All courses, including college level and developmental will be evaluated.
Quantitative Progress Measure #1: Pace of progression or completion rate after each semester
When students enroll in classes and receive financial aid to pay for those classes, they are expected to successfully complete those classes. Effective July 1, 2011, students must complete at least 67% of the credit hours in which they are enrolled in during each semester. Students must also achieve a minimum cumulative completion rate of 67% of all courses attempted during their enrollment. Only passing grades count as successful completions. Incomplete, in progress, failing grades, and drop/withdrawals are not considered completed courses, but are considered attempted courses, and will be calculated in the 67% completion requirement.
Quantitative Progress Measure #2: Maximum time to complete a degree/program
When students receive financial aid to help pay for a program of study, they are expected to complete that program within the specified time frame for that program. To ensure that students complete their program in a reasonable amount of time, a limit set by law has been placed on the number of hours that can be attempted. That limit is 150% of the minimum number of hours required to complete each program. For example, if a degree program requires 60 credit hours for completion, students must complete the degree or certificate program within a maximum of 90 attempted credit hours. Once students have reached the 150% limit or the Financial Aid Office determines that a student cannot complete the program within the 150% limit, the student may no longer be able to receive financial aid. Several variables are considered when calculating the 150% limit and the satisfactory progression rules. These variables include, but are not limited to:
 All attempted credit hours are counted for the current program of study even if the student is not receiving aid to pay for them. Attempted hours are the hours in which a student is enrolled in every semester.
 Any transfer hours that are accepted from other colleges and applied toward the completion of the program are counted in the maximum time frame. If a student has previously attended any college, he/she must submit official transcripts from all previous colleges prior to any financial aid being released.
 If a student repeats a course, both attempts will be counted in the maximum credit hours and progression calculation, even if the student did not receive aid for both attempts. Financial aid will only pay for 2 attempts in a college level course. Separate rules apply for developmental courses.
 If a student withdraws from a course(s) after the census date for that course, it is counted as an attempted course and is included in the SAP calculation.
 All periods of enrollment and attempted credits will be evaluated, as they apply to the current program of study, whether or not financial aid was awarded for the current program of study during prior enrollment periods.
Students should not enroll in classes that are not required for their chosen program of study. Classes not required for a degree plan are not eligible for financial aid. Additionally, audit courses, continuing education courses, previously passed courses and courses for which students enroll in after the census date are also not eligible for financial aid.</p>

<p>You need to take a deep breath, get rid of the attitude that YOU are the victim here with the system being unreasonable, look at the rules very carefully about how one loses this aid, read up on grounds for appeal and see if you can come up with some chance of getting an appeal considered. Go hat in hand and be extemely humble and contrite and ask for help from your school fin aid counselor in positioning your appeal so that you have the best chance of getting it done. Otherwise, yes, you could be in trouble if you can’t pay for the next two classes and your loans come due. You will have to take a hiatus from school, and join the workforce somewhere, try to get forbearance and delay on the loans until you get the money to get those courses, and yes, you risk losing it all, in terms of credits accumulated. What you did was a very serious breach and very foolish. You put yourself in a very bad place, A lot of students do and it’ s a reason why some do not get their degrees when they got so close. You often only have so much time to get a degree, by the way, and a lot of these rules are serious. You don’t play by the rules and you are O-U-T.</p>

<p>BTW here is what the Government has to say on the subject of SAP.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div8&view=text&node=34:3.1.3.1.34.3.39.4&idno=34”>http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div8&view=text&node=34:3.1.3.1.34.3.39.4&idno=34&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>cptofthehouse, I do not appreciate being called foolish, I had no control over becoming the victim of a crime.</p>

<p>Someone did recommend that I sue the criminal that caused all this, well I could but I’d probably never see any money because I’m pretty sure they don’t have it. </p>

<p>It seems your school just follow the SAP policy that you provided:

You should be on financial aid suspension after a semester of 0.0 GPA (you failed all your classes); and you have two semester of 0.0 GPA!</p>

<p>A reason to speak with the Dean would be to find out if there could possibly be any option about a late withdrawal from the classes, or a late arrangement for an incomplete. The Dean may have enough clout to arrange that given the fact that criminal activity against your person was involved. The Dean also should be able to hold your hand through the process of dealing with the financial aid office even if he/she has no specific control over the financial aid office.</p>

<p>And yes, this may require taking up with the President. So do that as well.</p>

<p>Having exhausted every single pathway for getting your aid reinstated, your only option would be to find a job, save the money, and pay for the credits out of pocket. While you are job-hunting, see if your college/university is hiring, and if employees get a tuition discount. Many do.</p>

<p>What happened first semester? You indicate the crime occurred second semester but that you also failed two courses first semester? Also, does a 70% completion rate mean there are other courses you attempted and did not successfully finish?</p>

<p>Since a crime was committed against you second semester, you should bring it up not in terms of financial aid, but in terms of being allowed to withdraw from the course. Read carefully what the grounds are - for medical reasons, for personal distress, for personal circumstances. You will need to provide a proof of the crime committed (hospital stay, witness statements, police report, registered complaint, visit to the campus counselor…) You could file a lawsuit just so that it’s on file for your college (but this may be costly due to lawyers’ fee) - not to recover money but to be recognized as a victim. Bring all your evidence to the Dean of student. Prove how that caused you sufficient distress that your grades early semester slipped, so you’d like to get an incomplete or a medical withdrawal, so that you can re-enroll next semester, pass, and graduate. The Dean can’t alter financial aid rule, but s/he can authorize an official withdrawal <em>as long as you meet your college’s requirements for that</em>.</p>

<p>Did you look at other options like Private Loan or Parent PLUS loan or even some Family member helping out since its only 4K you need and you will be able to graduate and pay them back…</p>

<p>They’re not using an “excuse”. They’re following their explicitly stated policy: </p>

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</p>

<p>That is not the issue romanigypsyeyes, the issue is why are they denying my appeal. </p>

<p>From:
<a href=“https://studentaid.ed.gov/eligibility/regain”>https://studentaid.ed.gov/eligibility/regain&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>“What if my grades slipped, or I haven’t completed enough credits, and my financial aid office told me I can’t get federal student aid?”</p>

<p>"You need to make satisfactory academic progress in college or career school in order to keep getting federal student aid. Talk to your school about whether you can appeal the decision that made you ineligible to continue receiving federal student aid. "</p>

<p>

Ask your school. Did you follow their process? </p>

<p>Someone suggested transferring to a different college then appealing to their financial aid department (if I even need to because some colleges do not look at per term GPA as long as the cumulative GPA is 2.0+ and you have not hit max time frame). Problem is finding one that has the same program with the same course requirements or at least very close. </p>

<p>

If you transferred, you will need more than two classes at the new school in order to graduate. </p>