Policy 2C.1 Satisfactory Academic Progress

Standards of Progress

In accordance with federal and state regulations and Minnesota State Board Policy 2.9, Anoka-Ramsey Community College shall monitor all credits for all students and shall apply the following minimum cumulative standards of progress beginning with a student’s sixth (6th) attempted credit:

Evaluation Period

Failure to Meet Standards

Appeals and Probation

A student has the right to appeal a suspension or maximum timeframe based on unusual or extenuating circumstances, including but not limited to the death of a family member, student injury, illness or hospitalization. The Suspension Appeal must be submitted in writing for consideration by the Suspension Appeal Committee, and include an explanation of the circumstances that negatively affected academic progress, an academic plan to support success, and applicable documentation for both.

The Maximum Time-Frame appeal must be submitted in writing to the Financial Aid office within the term the student is seeking financial aid. The appeal must include an explanation of the circumstances that negatively affected academic progress, a plan to correct deficiencies, and supporting documentation.

Students may appeal an initial adverse decision and shall have their appeal considered by an alternate process. The result of a student’s appeal/s shall be communicated, in writing, and sent to the student's college email address.

An appeal may be approved only if the institution: has determined that the student should be able to meet SAP standards at the end of the next evaluation period or develops an academic plan with the student that, if followed, shall ensure that the student is able to meet SAP standards by a specific point in time. The academic plan will include term standards of a 2.5 GPA and 100 percent of completion.

Academic Plan Definition: a student who successfully appeals for reinstatement of financial aid eligibility may be required to complete, during a probationary period, specific requirements contained in an academic plan developed for that student. Academic plan details require students to meet a 2.5 term GPA and 100 percent completion rate.

Probation Status

A student who has successfully appealed a suspension shall be placed on probation for one evaluation period. If at the end of the evaluation period, a student has met the institution’s cumulative grade point average of a 2.0 and has a completion percentage of at least 66.67%, the student shall be returned to good academic standing.

If the student has not met the cumulative grade point average and pace of progression/completion percentage standard but has met the conditions specified in their academic plan, the student shall be under a probationary status for a subsequent evaluation period.

If the student has not met the institution’s cumulative grade point average and completion percentage standard and has also not met the conditions specified in their academic plan, the student shall be re-suspended upon completion of the evaluation.

Notification of Status and Appeal Results

Students failing to maintain academic progress standards shall be notified in writing. Notification shall include conditions of warning, suspension or probation and the process to appeal suspension status.

Notification of approved appeals shall include the standards that the student is expected to meet and the academic plan that the student is expected to complete in order to retain financial aid eligibility at the end of the next evaluation period.

Notification of denied appeals shall describe the reason(s) for the denial and the institution’s process for appealing that denial.

Reinstatement

• A probationary student will have their academic good standing reinstated upon meeting or exceeding the minimum cumulative grade point average and pace of progression/completion standard.
• A suspended student may have their eligibility to enroll and receive financial aid reinstated only after an appeal has been approved. Neither paying for his or her own classes, nor sitting out a period of time is sufficient in and of itself to reestablish eligibility.

Treatment of Grades and Credits

Treatment of grades:

Students have the primary responsibility for their own academic progress and for seeking assistance when experiencing academic difficulty. Students are encouraged to keep a file of their grades and transcripts.

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History:

08.2002 Adopted and implemented both policy and procedure

05.2004 Revised in compliance with amended MnSCU policy and federal law. Procedures were combined into policy.

03.2005 Eliminated last sentence in second bullet item under "Reinstatement" when MnSCU altered a business practice.

05.2006 Revised in compliance with revised Minnesota State Board Policy. Procedural language was moved to new Procedure

01.2007 Reviewed by the Office of the Chancellor and revised in compliance with MnSCU policy.

04.2011 Updated to comply with new Federal regulation and Minnesota State policy

05.2001 Removed “toward a student’s general education, program, or degree requirements” from Transfer Credits bullet under Treatment of Grades for compliance with Federal regulation.

05.2015 Updates to Maximum time frame language per regulation. Add Academic Forgiveness link.

04.2017 Added definition of "academic plan"

07.2017 Technical changes, MnSCU to Minnesota State

03.2018 "Evaluation Period" updated to include explanation for PSEO and Concurrent Enrollment students. "Maximum Timeframe" clarified language regarding degree changes requiring students to appeal for possible reinstatement of financial aid.

02.2022 Technical change to align treatment of developmental credits with Minn State System policy.

04.2022 Technical changes to align required completion percentage with Minn State policy, make minor language clarifications, and specify that appeal results are sent via college email.