Financial Aid

Your Rights and Responsibilities

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Illinois Central College is required to establish satisfactory academic progress standards for its federal and state financial assistance recipients in accordance with the US Department of Education regulations. These standards ensure that only students demonstrating satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of their educational programs will continue to receive financial assistance.

Whether a student is considered to be making satisfactory academic progress depends on a successful course completion rate, grade point average (GPA), and maximum hours attempted to complete his or her course of study. These requirements are evaluated at the end of each fall, spring, and summer semesters.

Student must meet all the requirements listed below:

Course Completion Rate
ICC students must complete at least 67% of their cumulative hours attempted. A student who fails to complete 67% of their cumulative hours attempted will be placed on Satisfactory Academic Progress Probation. If the student fails to complete at least 67% of their cumulative hours attempted for two consecutive semesters, the student is placed on Satisfactory Academic Progress Denial.

Hours attempted include all courses during a period of enrollment including withdrawals, repeated courses, and remedial or GED courses. For the purposes of this policy, completion is defined as grades of A, B, C, D, or S. Hours attempted with grades of F, W, WF, WU, EX, U, or I are considered uncompleted. All courses with grades of NG or NR are not considered in the completion requirement.

All hours forgiven under ICC's Academic Forgiveness Policy appear on the academic record and, count towards hours attempted.

Grade Point Average
Each student must meet a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 to meet our satisfactory academic progress policy. If the student fails to attain a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average for two consecutive semesters, the student is placed on Satisfactory Academic Progress Denial. For the purposes of this policy, GPA is taken directly from the student's academic record.

Only grades earned at ICC are counted in this requirement. All hours forgiven under ICC's Academic Forgiveness Policy are exempted from the GPA on the academic records, and are therefore exempted from the GPA under this policy.

Maximum Hours Attempted
The maximum time-frame a student has to complete their degree is equal to 150% of the hours required for the completion of the degree or certificate. This includes hours transferred into ICC from other institutions or hours taken at ICC that were used as part of an earlier degree or certificate.

Any student exceeding the 150% requirement will automatically be placed in a denial status for financial assistance.

Probation
The first time a student fails to meet either the course completion rate or the grade point average requirement, they will be placed on probation status. This status does not stop a student from receiving assistance, and is intended to serve as a warning. If the student raises his or her course completion rate or grade point average to meet the standard, the student will be removed from probation.

Denial
A student is placed on denial if they fail to meet either the course completion rate or the grade point average requirement after spending one semester on probation. Denial status stops a student from receiving all types of financial assistance including Federal Pell Grant, FSEOG, Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Federal Work Study, ISAC MAP Grants, ISAC IIA Grants, ISAC Merit Recognition Scholarships, Parent Loan to Students (PLUS) and some academic scholarships.

A student is also placed directly on denial once he or she has exceeded the maximum hours attempted requirement.

All students on denial for financial assistance have the right to appeal. The student must complete a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form, which can be picked up at our East Peoria Campus office. The appeal must include:

• Reasons why he/she did not achieve the minimum academic requirements
• What plans the individual has to improve his/her efforts to maintain satisfactory progress if reinstated
• If medical reasons for lack of progress are cited, the student should provide a written statement from a physician
• Other situations may require documentation as well

A student appealing the maximum hours attempted portion of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy must provide an academic plan from their advisor outlining the remaining courses needed to achieve the degree/certification graduation requirements or ask that their transfer hours from other institutions be evaluated to determine hours applicable towards the student's degree.

Students have 21 days from the date of notification of termination (during the fall and spring semesters) and 10 days during the summer term to file an appeal for the current semester. Appeals filed after these time frames may not apply to the current term.

Appeals are reviewed by the Director, who assesses each student's appeal to determine if reinstatement is justified. The student will be notified, in writing, of the decision regarding the appeal. Those students whose appeals are approved will be placed on probation for the next period of enrollment. All decisions by the Director are final.

If the appeal for reinstatement is denied the student may still attend ICC, but he or she will have to make other financial arrangements to pay for courses. The student may appeal again after successfully completing additional coursework or providing new documentation that may alter the decision.

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