To be eligible to receive Student Financial Aid (SFA) funds (Pell, SEOG, FWS, LEAP and HOPE), students must maintain satisfactory academic progress. Ogeechee Technical College, OTC, is required by the U.S. Department of Education to establish minimum standards of satisfactory academic progress. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) means the student is proceeding in a positive manner toward fulfilling educational requirements. Students attending OTC must be in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress as stated below.

Grade Point Average Requirement
Students must maintain a quarterly GPA of 2.0 or higher, on a 4.0 scale. If a student's GPA falls below the minimum, their financial aid is endangered. A student will be put on probation for the quarter following the term the student fails to earn a 2.0 GPA. The student has their next quarter of attendance to earn the minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA. The student may receive financial aid during their probationary quarter. At the end of the probationary period, if the student's cumulative GPA is a 2.0 GPA or higher, the student is taken off of probation. If the 2.0 GPA is not achieved, then they will be put on suspension during the following quarter. The student will not receive financial aid while on suspension .

Total hours attempted consist of all hours attempted at OTC. Transfer credits are not included in the computation of the quarterly GPA for financial aid, but is considered when determining a student's HOPE degree eligibility.

Completion Rate
Students must complete 66 percent of course work attempted quarterly. Failure to complete this minimum percentage will result in a student being placed on probation during the following quarter of attendance. If the student completes 66 percent of the coursework attempted during the probationary quarter and have a cumulative 66 percent completion rate, then the student will be taken off of probation. If they complete less than 66 percent during the probationary quarter and their cumulative completion rate is below 66 percent, then they will be placed on suspension during the next quarter.

Maximum Time Frame
All students must complete their educational objective within a maximum time frame of one and one half (150 percent) times the length of the program in which they are enrolled. This means that once a student has attempted one and one half times the minimum number of credit hours necessary for completing diploma requirements, the student will be ineligible to receive financial aid.  

Grades of IP, W and WP are not included in calculating a student's GPA, but are counted as coursework attempted. WF is counted as an F .

A grade of A*, B*, C*, or D* will be considered satisfactory completion of a developmental course. A grade of F* will be considered unsatisfactory. Grades received for developmental courses do not affect the GPA, but the hours are calculated in the 66 percent hours attempted completion rate.

Transfer students accepted by OTC, not previously enrolled at OTC, will be classified as maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress for the first quarter enrolled. At the end of the first quarter, the student's grades will be measured in accordance with the college's Satisfactory Academic requirements. Students who previously attended OTC, transferred to another school, then returned to OTC, will have all of their coursework reviewed.

Financial Aid Suspension
Once a student is on financial aid suspension, the student must pay for the next attending quarter at his or her own expense. Once the student has successfully completed the quarter (2.0 cumulative GPA, cumulative 66 percent of completion rate, and have not exceeded 150 percent of the hours needed for the program), the student's financial aid will be reinstated for future terms.

Students have the right to appeal their suspension of financial aid if they have mitigating circumstances that prevented them from making satisfactory academic progress. A student wishing to appeal financial aid suspension must do so in writing with supportive documentation.   The form may be obtained from the Financial Aid Office or the financial aid website. The Appeal form must be submitted within five days from the end of the quarter in which the student was suspended. Failure to adhere to this time line will result in the student losing the right to appeal the suspension.

The SAP Appeals Reviewer will review the appeals. The Office of Financial Aid will notify the student of the decision. The Reviewer's decision is final.

A student is expected to know the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy. The Financial Aid Office attempts to notify students when they are suspended from the financial aid programs, however, sometimes students do not receive notification due to circumstances beyond the control of the Financial Aid Office. If a student is not notified of the suspension, that in itself does not excuse a student from the financial aid suspension, nor does it exempt a student from appealing in a timely manner. Your status is available at all times via Banner Web.