Aid

Award Adjustments Information

Schools are allowed to use “professional judgment” in certain cases to re-evaluate a student’s award and/or Expected Family Contribution. Some examples include: loss of a job, decrease in salary, change in family status, unusual medical expenses, etc. If your family has endured one of these, or similar hardships, please contact the Financial Aid Office at [email protected] or (502) 863-8027 for more information.

Students who qualify and choose to live off-campus may have financial awards (from institutional monies) adjusted. Georgetown College is a residential college and all students with few exceptions are expected to live on campus.

Continued Eligibility Information

Continued Eligibility Criteria

In order to continue eligibility for receipt of financial assistance, the following criteria apply:

1. Academic Eligibility: Specific GPAs are required to renew scholarships each year. Students have a full year in which to make the required average.

2. Satisfactory Academic Progress

   Federal regulations mandate that a student must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in his/her course of study regardless of whether or not financial aid is awarded each semester.

   To receive and to continue receiving financial aid, students must meet the following Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards:

   • Quantitative: Earn at least 10 hours of college credit in every semester attended as a full-time student, regardless of the number of hours attempted. This standard is pro-rated for part-time students. Please refer to the SAP hours chart for specific information about hours standards (This information is given by years enrolled; to determine the semester hours standard, divide the hours earned per year by two.) Repeating a course will count toward hours earned if:  (1) the student earns a passing grade, and (2) the course has not been counted previously toward hours earned.
     • First year earn at least 20 hours
     • Second year earn at least 40 hours
     • Third year earn at least 60 hours
     • Fourth year earn at least 80 hours
     • Fifth year earn at least 100 hours
        
   • Qualitative: Maintain a cumulative GPA standard that increases based on the student’s attempted hours of college credit. Please refer to the SAP GPA chart for specific information about GPA standards.
     • 1-15 semester hours attempted: 1.6 cumulative GPA or above
     • 16-30 semester hours attempted: 1.7 cumulative GPA or above
     • 31-45 semester hours attempted: 1.8 cumulative GPA or above
     • 46-60 semester hours attempted: 1.9 cumulative GPA or above
     • 61 or more semester hours attempted: 2.0 cumulative GPA
        
   • Maximum Time Frame: Have attempted fewer than 150% of the credits required for the student’s declared program of study. (Federal regulations effective July 1, 2011 require all students to be evaluated to determine if they are on track to receive their intended credential before aid is lost due to Maximum Time Frame. This is called "pace progression.")
      

Your academic progress will be monitored throughout the semester AND your progression throughout your degree. Failure to maintain or exceed the above standards could jeopardize your future financial aid eligibility or cause you to owe funds back to the school. 

If you have failed to meet SAP, you have the right to submit an appeal. Students may establish an academic plan and write an SAP appeal letter with the approval of the Director of Academic Success, and with the Financial Planning Office. If the SAP appeal is approved, the student will be assigned a Financial Aid SAP Probation status and will be given an academic plan of action that stipulates certain conditions and academic requirements be met.  Upon acceptance of the academic plan of action, the student may receive financial aid for one to two additional terms.  The SAP Appeal Approval process is not complete and financial aid awards will not be made until the Financial Aid Office receives the academic plan of action and SAP appeal letter from the student.

At the end of the next term, the student’s status will be re-evaluated.  Federal student aid for the next term will not be awarded or disbursed until the student successfully completes all terms specified within the academic plan of action or meets SAP requirements.

If the student fails to meet the terms of his or her plan of action or overall SAP requirements, he or she is not eligible for federal student aid. The student will remain ineligible until they are again in compliance with SAP standards.  These students may continue to attend college at their own expense.

Review and Appeal Procedures

Students may establish an academic plan with the approval of the Director for Academic Success, and with the Student Financial Planning Office. Based on approved forward-progress goals, satisfactory academic progress for financial assistance may be approved and aid re-established. The following procedure is required is separate from academic procedures.

1. An academic plan and appeal letter should be established (as noted above) and sent to the Director of Student Financial Planning by the end of the second week of the semester in which the student’s SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) probation begins. Exceptions to this policy may be made at the discretion of the institution.
2. Student’s satisfactory academic progress will be reviewed at the end of each academic/payment period to ensure forward progress is being made and academic goals are met. In the event the academic plan goal is not reached, the student will not be permitted to receive Title IV funding. The Director will review the appeal and notify the student accordingly.

Re-establishing Satisfactory Progress

To have financial assistance reinstated, students must take the hours required to bring them up to the standard at their own expense.

Appeal Process for Financial Assistance Extension

An extra term may be approved by the Student Financial Planning Office to accommodate the student who changes majors or experiences extraordinary circumstances during the regular terms. Pell Grants are limited to the first undergraduate degree and have a Lifetime Eligibility maximum mandated by the Department of Education. Institutional scholarships and grants are limited to a maximum of eight semesters. State grants are limited to eight semesters. Course incompletes will not be counted until the course is completed and the final grade appears on the transcript in the Registrar’s Office.