Policy 4.13

Part 1. Purpose

Minneapolis College, in accordance with the Minnesota State Board Policy 2.9 and System Procedure 2.9.1, and federal and state laws, requires all students to maintain satisfactory academic progress towards a degree, diploma, or certificate to attend the College and remain eligible for financial aid.

The standards, as defined in Parts 3 and 4 of this policy, are cumulative and include all periods of enrollment whether or not a student received financial aid. Students bear primary responsibility for their own academic progress and for seeking assistance when experiencing academic difficulty. Academic advising, tutoring, counseling, support resources, and outside referrals are all available.

Part 2. Definitions

Evaluation Period: The evaluation period is at the end of each fall, spring, and summer term.

Good Standing: See Minnesota State Board Policy 2.9 Academic Standing and Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Warning Status: Students who do not meet progress requirements are placed on warning status. Students on warning are eligible to register and receive financial aid for one evaluation period.

• If at the end of the warning period, a student on warning status has met the College’s requirements regarding both cumulative GPA and completion rate, the warning status ends and the student is returned to good standing. 
• If at the end of the warning period, a student on warning status has not met either the College’s requirements regarding cumulative GPA or completion rate, the College shall suspend the student.  

Suspension Status: Students on warning status who do not meet progress requirements are placed on suspension. Suspended students are not eligible to register or receive financial aid. See Part 7: Appeals and Probation.

Probationary Status: A student who has successfully appealed shall be placed on probation for one evaluation period. If, at the end of the next evaluation period, a student on probation status: 

• Has met the College’s requirements regarding cumulative GPA and completion rate, the student shall be returned to good standing. 
• Has not met the College’s requirements regarding cumulative GPA and completion rate but has met the conditions specified in their academic plan, the student shall retain their financial aid and/or registration eligibility and must continue to meet the terms of an academic plan. 
• Has not met the College’s requirements regarding cumulative GPA and completion rate and has also not met the conditions specified in their academic plan, the student shall be re-suspended immediately upon completion of the evaluation.  

Academic Plan: A student who successfully appeals for reinstatement will be required by Minneapolis College to complete, during their probation period, specific requirements contained in an academic plan developed for that student by Minneapolis College.

• At minimum, the academic plan for academic reinstatement will require a student to achieve a term GPA of at least 2.0 and a term completion rate of at least 66.67% during their probationary period. 
• At minimum, the academic plan for financial aid reinstatement will require a student to achieve a term GPA of at least 2.50 and a term completion rate of 100% during their probationary period.

Part 3. Qualitative Measure of Progress (Grade Point Average or GPA)

Academic progress is monitored beginning with the first registered credit. A student’s cumulative GPA is calculated using Minneapolis College coursework only.

Beginning with the first registered credit, all students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA as follows:

• 1-5 attempted credits 1.00
• 6-12 attempted credits 1.50
• 13 or more attempted 2.00

The GPA calculation includes grades of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F.”

Part 4. Quantitative Measure of Progress (Completion Rate and Maximum Timeframe)

Completion Rate: Academic progress is monitored beginning with the first registered credit. All students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative Completion Rate as follows:

• 1-5 attempted credits 0%
• 6-12 attempted credits 50%
• 13 or more attempted credits 66.67%

The completion rate calculation divides all completed and earned credits (those with grades of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “P”) by all registered credits. The Completion Rate also includes credits accepted in transfer and applied to the student's degree/certificate. Grades of “F,” “I,” “NC,” “NA,” “NW,” “W,” and “Z” are considered registered credits but not earned credits and thus negatively impact the percent of completion.

Maximum Timeframe: All students are expected to complete their degree, diploma, or certificate within an acceptable period of time. Financial aid recipients may receive aid only until they have reached the cumulative registered credit no greater than 150% of the credit length of the published credit length of their award. The maximum timeframe calculation includes credits accepted in transfer from other institutions.

Part 5. Evaluation Period

Academic progress is evaluated for all registered students after each term which includes fall, spring, and summer. All students with registered credits during a term will be evaluated at the end of that term.

Part 6. Failure to Meet Standards

Warning: Students who do not meet either the cumulative GPA or cumulative Completion Rate requirement are placed on warning. Students on warning are allowed to register for classes and receive financial aid for one evaluation period. If at the end of the warning period, a student on warning has met the cumulative GPA and Completion Rate requirement, the warning status is ended and the student returns to good standing.

Suspension of Students on Warning Status: Students on warning who do not meet either the cumulative GPA or the cumulative completion rate requirement are placed on suspension. Students on suspension are not allowed to register for classes or receive financial aid.

Suspension due to Maximum Timeframe: Students who reach the Maximum Timeframe requirement are immediately suspended from financial aid. In addition, financial aid eligibility is immediately suspended when it is determined it would be impossible for a student to meet the cumulative GPA or Completion Rate requirements within the Maximum Timeframe length.

Suspension due to Extraordinary Circumstances: Students may be immediately suspended from registration or financial aid due to extraordinary circumstances including, but not limited to: a student who was previously suspended and whose academic performance falls below acceptable levels during a subsequent term, a student who registers for, but does not earn, any credits for two consecutive terms or a student who demonstrates an attendance pattern that abuses the receipt of financial aid at Minneapolis College or any other college or university, disciplinary expulsion, etc.

Suspension due to Inability to Meet Program Requirements within the Maximum Timeframe: If at the end of the evaluation period the College determines a student is not able to raise their GPA or course completion rate to meet the College’s standards before they complete their program of study at Minneapolis College, the student shall be suspended from financial aid.

Suspension due to Exceeding the Maximum Timeframe: If at the end of the evaluation period, the student has failed to meet the College’s standard for measurement of the Maximum Timeframe, the student shall be suspended from financial aid eligibility.

Part 7. Appeals and Probation

Subpart A. Appeals: 

A student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress and is suspended has the right to appeal for reinstatement based on special, unusual, or extenuating circumstances causing undue hardship such as a death in the family, student’s injury or illness, or other special circumstances as determined by the College.

Student appeals for academic and/or financial aid suspension must:

• Be submitted in written or electronic form using the Minneapolis College Suspension Appeal form.
• Be submitted by the appeal deadline published on the College’s website. 
• Include an explanation of the special, unusual, or extenuating circumstances causing undue hardship that prevented the student from making satisfactory academic progress. A student may only appeal once for the same extenuating circumstance.
• Include a statement of what has changed or will change that will allow the student to make satisfactory academic progress at the end of the next evaluation period. The academic plan will include the requirement to meet the probation standards.
• Include a listing of which courses the student plans to take if their appeal is approved. Course enrollment plans may only include coursework that is appropriate and required for the student’s program. 
• Include an explanation of how the student plans to meet the College’s defined academic plan. (See Part 2 of this policy.)

Initial consideration of appeals will be undertaken by the Financial Aid Office and the Registrar’s Office. If denied, the student may petition the Satisfactory Academic Progress Committee for reconsideration of the decision.

Appeals for Exceeding the Maximum Timeframe: A student who fails to complete their degree, diploma, or certificate within 150% of the published credit length of their program has the right to appeal for financial aid reinstatement based on special, unusual, or extenuating circumstances.

Student appeals for exceeding the maximum timeframe must be submitted in written or electronic form using the Minneapolis College Maximum Timeframe Suspension Appeal form and include all the items required for an academic appeal except for an explanation of how the student plans to meet the College’s defined academic plan.

A student whose appeal for exceeding the maximum timeframe is approved may only take courses required to complete their academic program and must remain in good academic standing to maintain financial aid eligibility.

Financial aid eligibility will be reinstated until the student finishes their program or the end of the current academic year, whichever comes first. Students who do not finish their program by the end of the current academic year will be required to re-appeal to maintain financial aid eligibility.

Subpart B. Probation:

A student who has an approved appeal shall be placed on probation for one evaluation period.

Financial Aid Probation standard is a term GPA of 2.50 and a term Completion Rate of 100%.

Academic Probation standard is a term GPA of 2.00 and a term Completion Rate of 66.67%.

If, at the end of the probation period, a student on probation:

• Has met the cumulative GPA and cumulative Completion Rate requirements (GPA of 2.00 and Completion Rate of 0% 1-5 credits, 50% 6-12 credits, 66.67% 13 or more credits), the probation status ends and the student returns to good standing.
• Has not met the cumulative GPA and cumulative Completion Rate requirements but has met the conditions as specified in his/her academic plan for financial aid probation (term GPA of 2.50 and term Completion Rate of 100%), the student retains his/her eligibility for registration and financial aid under a status of probation with an academic plan for a subsequent evaluation period.
• Has not met the cumulative GPA and cumulative Completion Rate requirements but has met the conditions for academic probation (term GPA of 2.00 and term Completion Rate of 66.67%) the student retains their eligibility for registration under the status of academic probation.
• Has not met the cumulative GPA and cumulative Completion Rate requirements and has also not met the financial aid probation conditions (term GPA of 2.50 and term Completion Rate of 100%), the student is placed on financial aid suspension.
• Has not met the cumulative GPA and cumulative Completion Rate requirements and has also not met the academic probation conditions (term GPA of 2.00 and term Completion Rate of 66.67%), the student is placed on academic suspension.

Part 8. Notification Status and Appeal Results

Status Notification: Students are notified in writing (letter or email) when the evaluation of satisfactory academic progress results in warning, suspension, or probation. Notice includes the conditions of the current status and the conditions necessary to retain or regain eligibility for registration and financial aid. Notice of suspension also includes the right and the process necessary to appeal the suspension.

Appeal Results: Students are notified in writing (student email) within seven (7) to ten (10) business days of the results of all appeals. Approved appeals include the conditions under which an appeal is approved and the conditions necessary to retain eligibility for registration and financial aid. Denied appeals include the reason for the denial and the process to petition for reconsideration of the denial.

Part 9. Reinstatement

A student who has been suspended from financial aid eligibility may be reinstated only after an appeal has been approved or the College’s requirements regarding minimum cumulative GPA and cumulative completion rate have been achieved. Neither paying for their own classes nor sitting out for a period of time is sufficient in and of itself to re-establish a student’s financial aid eligibility.

A student who has been suspended from registration eligibility may be reinstated to enroll for courses after not attending Minneapolis College for one year, or upon having an approved appeal of their academic suspension status.

Part 10. Treatment of Grades and Credits

• Academic Amnesty: This option is not available at Minneapolis College.
• Attempted, Not Earned: Grades of “F,” “I,” “NC,” “NA,” “NW,” “W,” “Z,” and “IP” (or blank/missing)
• Audited Courses (AU): Audited courses are not eligible for financial aid and are not included in any progress calculations.
• Consortium/Joint Program Credits: Credits for which a student is registered at another college, which are accepted in transfer by Minneapolis College and are included for purposes of processing financial aid at Minneapolis College. These credits are included in all satisfactory academic progress measurements.
• Credits: The unit by which academic work is measured.
• Cumulative Credits: Total or overall credits for all periods of enrollment at the College including summer terms or terms for which the student did not receive financial aid.
• Developmental Credits: Credits awarded for coursework below 1000 level. These credits are included in the GPA measurement and excluded from the completion percentage measurement for satisfactory academic progress. For the maximum timeframe calculation, 30 developmental credits are excluded.
•  ESOL Credits: ESOL credits for coursework below 1000 level are included in the GPA measurement, and excluded from the completion percentage measurement for satisfactory academic progress.
• Incompletes (I): An “I” may be assigned only in exceptional circumstances and is a temporary grade, as outlined in Grading Policy 3.08. An “I” is not included in the GPA calculation but is included in the Completion Rate and Maximum Timeframe calculations. The deadline to complete coursework may be no later than eight (8) weeks into the next semester (excluding summer session). 
• Repeat Credits: Repeats are allowed to review course material or improve a grade. All courses and grades appear on the transcript. Once a course is passed with a grade of D or higher, financial aid will only pay for one more repetition of the course. Only the highest grade earned is included in the GPA calculation. Repeated credits are included in the Completion Rate and Maximum Timeframe calculations.
• Registered (also called Attempted) Credits: Credits for which a student is officially enrolled at the end of the registration drop period each term.
• Transfer Credits: Transfer credits accepted and applied toward the student's degree are not included in the GPA calculation but are included in the Completion Rate and Maximum Timeframe calculations.
• Withdraw: A “W” is recorded when a student officially withdraws after the registration drop period.  A withdrawal is not included in the GPA calculation but is included in the Completion Rate and Maximum Timeframe calculations.
• Never Attended: An "NA" is recorded when an instructor reports that a student never attended the course. An "NA" is not included in the GPA calculation but is included in the Completion Rate and Maximum Timeframe calculations.
• Never Withdrew: An "NW" is recorded when an instructor reports that a student began participating in the course but discontinued participating without withdrawing from the course. An "NW" is not included in the GPA calculation but is included in the Completion Rate and Maximum Timeframe calculations.
• Changes in majors or degrees/pursuit of a second degree: credits attempted under a previous major or degree are included in all progress calculations.

Owner(s) Title: Vice President of Student Affairs

Date of Adoption: 7/1/1999 (Not verified)

Date of Implementation (if different from adoption date): N/A

Date of Last Review: 10/2/2024 (Focused Review)

History and Subject of Revisions:  10/2/2024 (Focused Review. Based on Department of Education feedback: added timeframe for appeal communication, added timeframe information to Incomplete grade entry, added information about eligibility of financial aid for repeated courses when the grade received was “D” or higher. 8/14/2024 (Focused Review. Added two new grades – NA for Never Attended and NW for Never Withdrew – to reflect never-attended withdrawals for Last Date of Attendance Policy.), 9/6/2023 (small revision to the definition of Academic Plan based on feedback from MN Office of Higher Education), 9/16/2021 (Comprehensive review, clarity and updating of requirements), 12/13/2018

Regulatory Authority (e.g. Minnesota State policy, federal or state law): Minnesota State 2.9 Academic Standing and Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress, Minnesota State System Procedure 2.9.1 Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress