Academic Standards for Financial Aid Recipients

Sustain Eligibility

In order to sustain eligibility as a financial aid recipient you must:

• Declare a degree or certificate objective.
• Maintain the required cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0.
• Be enrolled in courses that apply to your particular degree/certificate objective.
• Satisfy course credit completion requirements. Only those courses applicable to the student’s degree or certificate objective will be funded with financial aid.

Exceptions:

• Millenium Scholarship eligibility requirements are separate from the the Satsifactory Progress Policy below. For more information, click here.
• GBC and outside scholarships have different Grade Point Average requirements.

Satisfactory Progress Policy

The Great Basin College Student Financial Services is mandated by federal law to have a satisfactory progress policy. This policy must be applied to all recipients receiving federal or state aid as a determination of financial aid eligibility. In order to maintain eligibility as a financial aid recipient, students must meet the following components:

1. Qualitative Component (Grade Point Average)
   1. Students must maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.0 (scholarships have differing GPA requirements).
2. Quantitative Component (Completion Ratio)
   1. Students must receive passing grades in a minimum of 67% of all attempted courses.
   2. Students must successfully complete 100% of the credits for which they received financial aid for the term.
   3. Courses dropped during the 100% refund period are not considered attempted courses. Remedial and transfer credits are included in the calculations. For purposes of these academic standards, letter grades are interpreted as follows:
      1.  A through D and P grades shall be considered as completed.
      2. F, W, I (incomplete), AD (audit), NR (not recorded), and U (unsatisfactory) grades shall not be considered completed.
      3. If a student has converted from credit to no-credit (audit) status after receiving federal financial aid, the student may be required to repay all or a portion of the aid, and/or be on warning or suspension.
3. Time Frame Component
   1. This requirement concerns the maximum number of credit hours attempted. Students may attempt no more than 150% of credit hours required for a degree or certificate program, based on the actual credit hours required for completion:
      1. Certificate Program = 56 credits
      2. Associate Degree Program = 90 credits
      3. Bachelor Degree Program = 180 credits
4. Repeated Course Work
   1. A student may receive financial aid once for a repeated course that he/she has passed previously and wishes to retake to receive a better grade. He/she may receive aid for failed courses until he/she receives a passing grade. However, be cautioned that any repeated course is also counted in the maximum of credits allowed to complete a degree.
      
5. Failure to comply with the Satisfactory Progress Components may result in:
   1. Warning: A student will be placed on financial aid "Warning" for the term if:
      1. Completion percentage is between 50% and 99% of the classes for which they were funded for the semester.
      2. Cumulative completion percentage is between 67% and 69.99%.
      3. Students who are on "Warning" and who improve their academic performance for their next term of enrollment will be placed back in good status for satisfactory progress. If a student has an incomplete grade removed from his/her record or a change of grade has been posted, call the Student Financial Services Office to review Satisfactory Academic Progress status.
   2. Probation: A student who has filed an appeal with the appeals committee and has been approved to receive financial aid for the following term will be placed on probation status.
   3. Suspension: Completion of less than 50% of the credits for which financial aid was received during the semester will result in immediate suspension of financial aid eligibility. Should a student be compelled to withdraw from all of the credits for which he/she was registered during the course of the semester, he/she must notify the Student Financial Services Office prior to doing so. Should the student fail to notify the Student Financial Services Office before withdrawing from their courses, he/she may waive their right to appeal their financial aid status.
6. Receipt of all W or all F grades for a semester
   1. If a student receives all W or F grades for a semester, the Student Financial Services Office will complete a mandatory return of "unearned" funds calculation. The calculation is determined by the last date of academic participation and/or withdrawal date. The federal formula is provided by the U.S. Department of Education. A student may have to pay funds back to the Department of Education and/or Great Basin College that, according to the formula, were not earned. A letter will be sent to the student, and the student will have 45 calendar days from the date of letter to repay. This "Return to Title IV" process is a separate and distinct process and cannot be appealed.
7. Mid-Semester Progress Report
   1. Students whose financial aid applications are not complete prior to mid-term of any semester during an academic year will be required to submit a Mid-Semester Progress Report with evidence of satisfactory performance prior to the disbursal of any loan funding.
   2. If a student fails to meet satisfactory academic progress, the student is still eligible to attend GBC. However the student would have to attend without financial aid assistance.

Financial Aid Appeal Procedures

A student may only appeal their financial aid status 3 times during their period of enrollment at Great Basin College.

Should a student be notified by the Student Financial Services Office that he/she has been placed on financial aid suspension, he/she may appeal this decision by submitting the following:

• Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form (see Forms page)
  A detailed personal statement explaining the circumstances as to why the student failed to meet the Satisfactory Progress Policy and how to those circumstances have changed in order for them to correct academic standing.
• Student "What If" Report (WHIF).
• Substantiating third party documentation.

Generally, approved appeals can be categorized as emergencies or circumstances that are beyond the student’s control, for example:

• Death or serious illness of an immediate family member.
• Prolonged hospitalization or confinement at home or reason that resulted in required extended absences from classes.
• A one-time emergency situation that impacted your ability to continue your education or affected your academic success for a short, specified period.
• Situation for which you had no valid choice other than to interrupt your education.

The Financial Aid Appeals Committee’s decision will be conveyed to the student as well as the Student Financial Services Office. The Financial Aid Committee decision is final and cannot be appealed further.

If your appeal is not approved, to re-establish eligibility the student must, at their own expense, obtain a cumulative 2.0 GPA with same credit load or greater, as was taken and funded in the previous semester.

These standards may be subject to modification based upon changes in federal, state, or institutional policy.

For More Information Contact

Student Financial Services
Berg Hall
Great Basin College
Phone: 775.327.2095

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Why Great Basin College

Great Basin College, "The Gold Standard in the Silver State", offers associate and baccalaureate level education in academic, career and technical fields. Welcoming over 4,000 students annually from all corners of the country, both online and at our various campuses and centers, GBC's presence extends across two time zones and spans more than 86,000 square miles throughout Nevada. A leader in rural higher education, GBC takes pride in developing students who are well-prepared to meet the demands of industry and who contribute to the success and prosperity of the local economy.