Financial Aid

Satisfactory Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is evaluated for all students after every quarter of enrollment, regardless of whether financial aid was received. SAP is determined on a district-wide basis. All work attempted and/or completed at both Foothill and De Anza Colleges is used to determine SAP. In addition, units attempted at all other colleges, universities and trade schools may be included to assess the overall maximum time frame (see below).

*This policy is effective for Summer 2024 and all subsequent quarters

General Requirements

Students must meet three requirements to maintain SAP and be considered for financial aid or reinstatement of financial aid:

• Maintain a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0.
  • • • Cumulative GPA will take into account academic renewal and grade alleviation.
• Successfully complete at least 67% of all attempted credits (referred to as Pace Rate).
• Complete their program before attempting 150% of the maximum units required to complete their program of study (referred to as Maximum Time Frame).
  • • • • All units of ESL and up to 45 units of remedial courses are excluded from the Maximum Time Frame calculation.
        • Transfer coursework accepted by the Foothill College Admissions and Records Office will be included in the Maximum Time Frame assessment and the
        • All units attempted, including those subject to academic renewal or grade alleviation will count towards the calculation of the Maximum Time Frame.

Eligible Program

To receive financial aid at Foothill College, you must be enrolled in a Title IV eligible program.

Good Standings.

The minimum standards to maintain “good standing” for financial aid are:

• Maintain and GPA of 2.0 or higher, and
• Pass 67% of your attempted units.

Financial Aid Warning

Students not meeting the requirements outlined above at the end of a quarter will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. Students on Warning may continue to receive financial aid for one quarter if otherwise eligible, after which they must meet all SAP requirements

Warning status may include one or more of the following:

• Warning - Overall Pace/GPA: You did not earn the required overall minimum of 67 percent of units attempted or overall minimum 2.0 GPA.
• Warning - Maximum Time: You are approaching the maximum number of attempted units allowed for your program. If you reach the maximum at the end of this quarter, you will be disqualified.

If you will not complete your program before reaching the maximum number of attempted units (135), you may appeal for more time by requesting a Maximum Time Frame Appeal.

Our final meeting each quarter to review appeal requests is held two weeks prior to finals week.

We will accept requests for extensions during the Summer quarter; however, please note that these may not be reviewed until the Fall quarter due to committee availability. The appeals process generally takes 4–6 weeks to complete once all required documents are submitted

Please contact your financial aid specialist to request an appeal.

Financial Aid Disqualification

Students not meeting all requirements at the end of their Warning semester and students exceeding the Maximum Time Frame will be placed on Financial Aid Disqualification. Students on disqualification: 

• Are not eligible for most financial aid.
• Financial aid for the current and future quarters will be cancelled.
• Aid will remain cancelled until you either meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards or have an appeal approved.

*Please contact your financial aid specialist to request an appeal.

Disqualification status may include one or more of the following

• Disqualified - Not meeting cumulative GPA / Pace rule
• Disqualified - Maximum Time: You have reached the maximum number of attempted units allowed for your program without completing the required number.
• Disqualified - Maximum Time Frame / Cum GPA & Pace rule: You had previously reached the maximum time frame and were either granted additional time which has now run out, or you were denied additional time.

Reestablishing Aid Eligibility

Students on disqualification may reestablish financial aid eligibility, if they have not reached the Maximum Time Frame, by meeting a cumulative 2.0 GPA, and completing at least 67% of all attempted credits.

Appeals & Probation Status

If you don’t meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards, you'll be notified through your MyPortal account and student email after each term.

To appeal your financial aid disqualification:

1. Complete the Appeal Form via Student Forms.

2. Include a written explanation of what affected your academic progress and how you plan to improve.

3. Meet with a counselor and submit a current Student Educational Plan (SEP).

4. Complete the Financial Aid Orientation. Only applicable to Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals. *Not required for Maximum Time Frame.                                                                                              

5. Turn in all documents to the Financial Aid Office.

Note: Incomplete appeals will not be reviewed.

Appeal Forms can be completed through the StudentForms Portal (www.foothill.studentforms.com).

Approved Appeals

Students with approved appeals are placed on an Academic Plan. If all of the following requirements are met, the Academic Plan will continue for the following quarter:

• Be enrolled in and pursuing an eligible program for the purpose of completing an AA/AS degree, bachelor’s degree, transfer requirement, or certificate program,
• Complete 100% of the units attempted that quarter with a “C” or better
• Achieve a minimum quarter GPA of 2.0, and
• Not exceed Maximum Time Frame (This requirement does not apply to students with approved Maximum Time Frame appeals.)

Students with an approved Maximum Time Frame appeal will have their Probation status continued for the following quarter(s) until the student has completed their program of study if all the following requirements continue to be met each quarter.

• Remain enrolled in the program of study for which the appeal was granted
• Maintain at least 67% cumulative completion rate
• Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
• Complete your program of study before the expiration date of your academic plan

Submission of an appeal does not guarentee approval. 

Dual Major

Students are not eligible to receive financial aid for more than one major. Once students meet the degree requirements to complete one of the majors, they are considered to have earned a degree, even if they are still completing the requirements for their other major.

Units and GPA Calculation

Foothill College will depend on Admission and Records (A&R) to properly show units completed and GPA for us in determining SAP.

Important Grading Details:

• The following grades are counted as attempted but not completed units when determining SAP – F, W, EW, NP, IP, and I.
• Courses taken as P/NP will count as attempted and passed but not in GPA.

Foothill College will follow A&R’s rules on repeating courses for credit and the student may be able to receive financial aid for retaking a course. Because below college level courses are often used to get up to college level courses (meaning there is the intention to be in an eligible academic program), those classes will be used in determining SAP.

See grade point calculator

Return of Title IV (R2T4)

Return to Title IV is a process by which the percentage of Title IV aid the student received or should have received must be determined after a student has completely withdrawn from their courses (100%) and ceased activities on the campus for any given quarter prior to the 60% completion date.

Any financial aid student who completely withdraws from a quarter will be evaluated to see if one of the following must occur:

• They received aid, but owe some back to the school/Federal Government.
• They received aid (or perhaps they did not), but they should have been eligible to receive additional aid for the time they did attend classes.
• They received aid (or perhaps they did not), but the amount received was within the range where nothing needed to be adjusted.

The determination of drop date will be based on official notification by the student (in any form of writing or from a conversation indicating they are withdrawing) or by using the A&R Office's records within the Banner system. At any time a student withdraws from 100% of their classes and ceases official activities on the campus, the percentage completed calculation will be determined, using the Banner system and/or federally provided worksheets. If the records available for their 100% withdrawal date are incomplete or inconclusive, the FAO may use a default point of 50% completion. We will perform the calculation within 30 days of becoming aware that the student completely dropped units.  We will follow the federally mandated order of repayment for the Title IV funds when doing the calculations.

Once the R2T4 calculation has been completed, the student will be notified of their repayment responsibility and a debit amount equal to the student AND institutional liabilities will be placed on the student's account for repayment. Students will be liable for both portions of the required repayment (Student & Institutional portion). In the cases were a post-withdrawal disbursement is necessary, the amount owed to the student will be disbursed to their student account and refunded through the normal method at the next regular disbursement date.

Additionally, for students who owe the college or Department of Education, holds may be placed on the student's ability to register and order transcripts and a National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) hold may be placed after 45 days, preventing further Title IV aid until the debt has been resolved. If repayment does not happen in a timely fashion the student will be sent to collections by the A&R Office for debts owed to the college along with all debts.

Please contact the Financial Aid Office before you withdraw from all your classes. We can help explain how this may affect your aid and repayment responsibilities.

Example: Mary is a full time student and received a Pell disbursement of $1,350 for the quarter. She dropped all her classes during the 5th week of the quarter. After the calculation of Return of Title IV funds, Mary owes and must repay $234 of the Pell amount.