In accordance with the United States Department of Education, and State of Illinois regulations, Waubonsee Community College has established minimum Academic Progress guidelines for the receipt of financial aid.  These standards apply to all students receiving federal and state funding, including *veterans and students receiving student loans or federal work-study.

A student must achieve a 67 percent completion rate for all coursework attempted at Waubonsee Community College.  This applies whether or not the student previously received financial aid.

A. “Credit hours completed” is defined as completion of course by the end of a given semester in which a student is enrolled and receiving a grade of A, B, C, and/or D.
B. “Credit hours attempted” includes all credit classes in which the student is enrolled after the refund period.

-Withdrawals after the refund period count as hours attempted.
-Students who enroll in telecourses must be aware that the class(es) must be completed by the end of the semester of enrollment and count as hours attempted for that semester.

C. Audits, courses numbered below 050, proficiency tests and non-credit courses are not included in the total number of credit hours attempted.
D. Repeated courses are always included in attempted hours.   A repeated class for which the student earns credit is only  counted once in completed hours unless the class is designated as one that can be repeated.  This information is part of the course description in each term's Credit Course Schedule.

A student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.  Federal regulations require the college to take into account a student’s academic performance throughout the course of study, regardless of whether or not the student previously received financial aid.

Grades for repeated classes for which the student earns credit are averaged.

*Veterans receiving the Illinois Veterans Grant, the Illinois National Guard Grant  or the Illinois MIA/POW Scholarship are only subject to meeting the GPA requirement.

Student eligibility for financial aid at Waubonsee Community College is limited to 150% of standard program length, or 96 credit hours attempted, regardless of whether or not the student previously received financial aid.  These 96 hours  include transfer hours accepted from other institutions.

A student is evaluated for academic progress following the completion of each academic term and his/her status will be one of the following:
PASS - The student is in the first term of enrollment and has not received grades, has not enrolled for credit courses, or is meeting all academic progress standards.

WARNING - If a student fails to meet the required completion rate, G.P.A., and/or timeframe requirement as outlined in this policy, the student is placed on FINANCIAL AID WARNING for the subsequent academic term.  A student is able to receive financial assistance while on warning.  

SUSPENSION - If a student fails to meet the Standards of Academic Progress at the end of the warning term, the student will be placed on FINANCIAL AID SUSPENSION and will become ineligible for all federal and state programs.  If in subsequent semesters, the student is able to meet the completion rate or GPA requirement, it is the student’s responsibility to
notify the Financial Aid Office and request that aid eligibility be reinstated.

APPEAL - Students whose appeals are approved are placed on APPEAL.  A student remains in this status as long as the student earns a 2.0 semester GPA and credit for all classes attempted.  If the student is required to have an Academic Plan, only courses on this Plan are recognized for the receipt of financial aid.

A student may submit a written appeal within 30 calendar days following the end of the semester in which he/she was ruled ineligible.  An appeal form will be sent to the student by the Financial Aid Office.  Failure to meet this deadline will result in the denial of reinstatement.  If a student believes there were mitigating circumstances that affected their academic progress, the student may appeal the suspension or cancellation of aid.  It is the responsibility of the student to supply the required documentation with the appeal letter. If the student was suspended due to exceeding the MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME, the student is also required to submit an Academic Plan approved by a counselor.  The Academic Plan lists the courses that are required for the student to complete his/her degree or certificate program.

Appeals will be considered on an individual basis by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee, and will be responded to in writing within 14 calendar days of receipt of the appeal.  Your appeal will be reviewed and either approved with no provisions, approved with provisions, or denied.

A student can re-establish eligibility if on suspension due to Completion Rate or Grade Point Average by improving his/her completion rate to 67% and/or grade point average to 2.0