Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students applying for, or awarded, financial aid are required to make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in an eligible program of study, and meet maximum timeframe requirements. Students may only receive financial aid for classes which meet the requirements for their degree or certificate program. All quarters and all credits attempted are considered, regardless of whether financial aid was received for the credits, when evaluating SAP.

The following information and charts outline Highline’s Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements for financial aid recipients. SAP is evaluated quarterly.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements

SAP is reviewed prior to offering any financial aid, in addition to the review at the end of each quarter that some type of financial aid is received. Grades of 1.0 – 4.0, S, and Y will count towards completed credits. Grades less than 1.0, I (Incomplete), NC (Non-Credit), N, Audited classes, * (missing grade), and W (Withdraw) do not count towards completed credits. Financial aid funds may be used to repeat courses once after the course is passed with a 1.0 or higher.

To fulfill SAP requirements:

1. Students must be enrolled in classes required for their declared program of study at Highline College.
2. Funding is allowed for pursuit of one program of study at a time. Up to 4 program changes are allowed after notifying the Financial Aid Office.
3. Students must meet all qualitative measures, quantitative measures, and Maximum Timeframe requirements listed below.

Definition of Financial Aid Statuses

WARNING: One or more of the qualitative or quantitative measures have not been met. Students placed on WARNING must successfully complete all of the credits for which they enroll the quarter following the WARNING status and achieve at least a 2.0 quarterly and 2.0 cumulative GPA to continue receiving aid.

PROBATION: Students on PROBATION have had a Suspension or Maximum Timeframe Appeal approved and are eligible for aid as explained in their Probation Letter. At minimum, students must complete 100% of their attempted credits and earn a 2.0 quarterly GPA. Terms of PROBATION are student specific, and students must follow the terms outlined in their Probation Letter notice sent via email and ctcLink Portal Message Center.

SUSPENSION: The student is not eligible to receive financial aid as they have not met all SAP minimum requirements, or failed to meet the terms of their PROBATION status. Students who were on WARNING status and whose next quarter would result in another term of WARNING are automatically placed into SUSPENSION status. For reinstatement options, see the “Right to Appeal” section.

MEETS: The student is meeting the minimum requirements of Highline’s Satisfactory Academic Progress and is eligible to receive financial aid the following quarter.

Maximum Timeframe Warning: The student is nearly out of time to complete their degree with financial aid funding. The student must submit an Academic Plan to the Financial Aid Office by the end of the quarter. Students with this status are still eligible to receive financial aid funding until they reach 150% of their degree’s credit requirements, or they appeal for more time.

Maximum Timeframe: The student has reached the maximum number of credits they may receive for their degree with financial aid funding. If the student needs more time to complete their degree with financial aid assistance, the student may appeal using the Maximum Timeframe Appeal Form.

Qualitative Measures – Grade Point Average (GPA)

A student must earn a quarterly GPA of a 2.00, and a cumulative Highline GPA of a 2.00 prior to receiving financial aid and at the end of each quarter. New students to Highline with no transfer credits, are eligible for aid in their first quarter.

Students with a quarterly GPA below a 1.00 will be placed on SUSPENSION status.

Note that colleges credits taken during Running Start are included in this calculation.

Quantitative Measures – Quarterly Course Completion Rates

Students are expected to successfully complete all of the credits for which they enroll in each quarter. To maintain the status of MEETS, the student must complete the appropriate number of credits based on their enrollment level at Financial Aid Census:

Enrollment Level at Census	Must Earn for MEETS status
Full Time (12 or more credits)	12 credits
3/4 Time (9-11 credits)	9 credits
1/2 Time (6-8 credits)	6 credits
Less Than 1/2 Time (1-5 credits)	3 credits

Students earning less than 50% of their enrollment level credits will automatically be placed on SUSPENSION status.

Completion Ratio

A percentage of the total credits earned by the students over the total number of credits attempted. All attempted credits at Highline College, plus any transferred credits, are used for the ratio, regardless of the age of the credits. Students must maintain a minimum of 67% or higher completion ratio or they will be placed on SUSPENSION status.

Note that colleges credits taken during Running Start are included in this calculation.

Maximum Timeframe

Students must be able to complete their program of study within 150% of the published length of the program. Students who cannot mathematically complete their program in the maximum timeframe for their program will lose their eligibility to receive financial aid funding immediately and be put into Maximum Timeframe status.

• Washington College Grant has a maximum timeframe of 5 full time years of eligibility.
• College Bound has a maximum timeframe eligibility of 4 full time years of eligibility.

Remedial Courses

Up to a maximum of 45 credits may be added to the allowable credits attempted for required remedial coursework as identified by the college placement test or program requirements. This includes Math 080-099, English 080-099, and ESL 080-099. No other classes below 100 level are included in the allowable remedial course work.

100 level and higher courses required to meet prerequisites for a single course needed in the student’s program are considered remedial courses. 

Right to Appeal

Financial aid recipients who do not meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements may appeal their SAP status. Successful appeals will result in the student being placed on PROBATION status and eligible for aid in the quarter specified on their Probation Letter. Students who do not enroll by the term listed on their Probation Letter forfeit their PROBATION status and will revert to the status they had before they appealed. 

When a student is placed on SUSPENSION status all of their financial aid is canceled; a successful appeal means the student will be reawarded financial aid based on remaining funds at the time of the reaward.

Students who were on PROBATION Status and then failed to meet the terms of their Probation may not appeal until they have attended at least one quarter on their own, earned 15 credits, and received a least a 2.00 quarterly GPA.

Students may appeal by submit the Suspension Appeal or Maximum Timeframe Appeal Form. Students submitting a Suspension Appeal must demonstrate unusual circumstances to qualify, such as a death of a close relative, unexpected injury/illness, prolonged illness lasting more than a few weeks, major vehicle accident, etc. The common cold, chronic illnesses/medical condition, loss of transportation, failure to recognize how difficult a class would be, taking an optional new job or schedule change, or inability to make it to class on time, are not unusual circumstances and will not qualify for a successful Financial Aid Appeal.  Suspension and Maximum Timeframe Appeal form 

Students who were on SUSPENSION status and attended on their own and are now meeting SAP requirements can complete the Statement form. The student should indicate that they believe they are now meeting minimum SAP requirements and would like to be considered for Financial Aid. The student will receive a confirmation of their recalculated SAP Status via the ctcLink Portal Message Center.

New students may appeal at any point in the academic year. Continuing students who lost their eligibility between quarters of enrollment have a limited window to appeal to receive financial aid in the next quarter. The deadline to appeal is listed on the Suspension or Maximum Timeframe Letter emailed to the student at the end of the quarter.