Federal financial aid regulations require MCC to establish a Satisfactory Progress policy for students receiving aid. MCC must notify students of that policy and monitor the progress of all students receiving financial aid to ensure compliance with the policy.
It is the responsibility of all students receiving aid to be familiar with the policy and to ensure that the standards are met by monitoring their own progress. Failure to meet the Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress standards may place students’ financial aid in jeopardy. For this reason, students should regularly check their MCC student email and My Way for updates. To be considered in compliance, students must meet all three standards outlined in the Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress policy. Questions about these standards should be directed to the Financial Aid office.
Standard 1: Percentage of attempted credit hours completed
The percentage of attempted credit hours completed is measured by dividing the cumulative number of completed credits by the cumulative number of attempted credits. The minimum requirement is 67 percent. For financial aid purposes, a course is considered completed if a grade of A, B, C, D, P, or R is earned. Grades of F, W, and I are considered unsuccessful grades and reduce the completion rate.
Standard 2: Cumulative Grade Point Average (Cumulative GPA)
To receive/continue to receive financial aid, students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA. The cumulative GPA requirement differs based on the number of credit hours attempted.
| Associate Degree Programs |
| Credit hours attempted |
Minimum cumulative GPA required |
| 00.0 – 29.5 |
1.5 |
| 30.0 – 79.5 |
1.75 |
| 80.0+ |
2.0 |
| |
|
| Certificate of Achievement and Career Certificate Programs |
| Credit hours attempted |
Minimum cumulative GPA required |
| 00.0 - program completion |
2.0 |
Standard 3: Maximum Credit Limit
The maximum time frame for the completion of a degree or certificate is limited by federal regulations to 150 percent of the published number of credit hours required to complete the degree or certificate program. This includes transfer credits and all attempted credit hours, including completed credits, audits, incompletes, withdrawals, and repeated or failed classes.
Treatment of the following types of courses for satisfactory progress
Audit courses
Audit courses are ineligible for financial aid funding and do not count toward the number of attempted credits or the number of earned credits; however, they do count toward the maximum credit limit.
Repeated courses
Students can only receive financial aid once for a repeated course if they have already received a grade of R, P, D, or better in the course. Credits from repeated courses count as attempted and earned credits as well as count toward the maximum credit limit. In addition, grades for the first time the course is taken and all times the course is repeated count toward the Satisfactory Progress cumulative GPA.
Transfer courses
Credits transferred to MCC from another institution count as attempted and earned credits as well as count toward the maximum credit limit but do not affect the Satisfactory Progress cumulative GPA.
English as a Second Language (ESL) courses
Credits for ESL courses count as attempted and earned credits. Federal, state, and institutional financial aid can be received for a maximum of 100.0 attempted ESL credit hours. Students who lose financial aid eligibility because they exceed 100.0 attempted credit hours of ESL may regain aid eligibility when they start developmental classes or college-level classes.
Developmental courses
Students admitted into financial aid eligible programs are eligible to receive federal aid for up to 45.0 developmental credits. Developmental credits count as attempted and earned credits as well as count toward the maximum credit limit. They also affect the Satisfactory Progress cumulative GPA.
Dual Enrollment courses
High school students enrolled in MCC courses that will apply toward their high school graduation requirements and earn them credits at MCC are not eligible to receive federal aid. When dual enrollment students graduate from high school, enroll in financial aid eligible programs at MCC, and apply for financial aid, credits for the MCC courses taken under a dual enrollment program count as attempted and completed credits as well as toward the maximum credit limit. These credits also affect the Satisfactory Progress cumulative GPA.