Finances, Financial Aid, & Tuition

Current information about undergraduate tuition, fees, financial aid, and scholarships maybe found on the Louisiana College website by selecting the following links:

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

Louisiana College is required by federal regulations (Sections 668.16(e).668.32(f) and 668.34) to establish minimum standards to determine a student’s eligibility for federally funded financial aid programs. These programs include Federal Grants, Federal-Work Study, and Direct Loans (including Plus). These SAP standards apply to all students, including transfer, re-entry, and continuing, regardless of whether or not they previously received aid. These standards are applicable to all students attending Louisiana College.

This institution requires its students to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as established by Louisiana College, in order to continue to matriculate at the school and to continue to be eligible to participate in the federal government’s Title IV financial aid programs. These standards apply to all students, regardless of the source of the student’s funding, and to all students, regardless of their enrollment status (full-time, three-quarter time, part-time or less than ½ time).

Transfer students: SAP will be reviewed before aid is initially awarded to a transfer student and then reviewed along with all students at the end of each semester. Transfer students must have earned at least 67% of total hours attempted and have the appropriate cumulative GPA.

If the student is accepted into Louisiana College without meeting SAP guidelines then the student will automatically be placed on Financial Aid Warning status for the semester they enroll and then their progress will be measured in subsequent semesters along with other students.

The Admissions Office at Louisiana College will notify the Financial Aid Office of any students transferring from another institution. All transcripts from previous institutions attended will be reviewed by our Registrar’s Office. Only those hours that transfer are counted when determining student’s grade level.

Example: A student takes 30 hours at college #1, but after review, only 25 of those hours transfer to -Louisiana College. The student will be considered at a freshman level when determining aid amounts.

However, the full transcript will be reviewed in order to determine SAP and aid eligibility for the student. Also, Louisiana College will count all credits from previous schools toward the maximum allowable time frame for degree completion. (150% of the published length of the educational program)

Students enrolling in college for the first time (First-time freshman) are considered to be making SAP if they meet Louisiana College admission requirements.

SAP is measured in three (3) ways:

1. GPA (Qualitative)
2. Pace of Progression (Quantitative)
3. Maximum Timeframe (Quantitative)

GPA (Qualitative)

The minimum GPA required at the end of each reporting period (semester) is as follows:

All students must earn at least a “C” average which is a 2.0 grade point average at the end of their sophomore year. The grade point average scale is as follows: 4.0 = A, 3.0 =B, 2.0 = C, 1.0 = D and 0.9 or below = F.

** The M.A. in Pastoral Ministry minimum GPA shall be 2.5 all other graduate level degrees shall be 3.0

At the end of each semester, the Registrar’s Office will provide the Financial Aid Office with a list of students, attempted hours, completed hours, and cumulative GPA. This will be used to determine a student’s SAP. Academic progress will continue to be reviewed at the end of each academic semester to determine future financial eligibility.

Pace of Progression (Quantitative)

For a student to be considered progressing normally, the student’s ratio of earned hours to attempted hours (or pace toward degree completion) must be no less than as shown on the following table:

Maximum Timeframe (Quantitative)

To quantify academic progress, a school must set a maximum time frame in which a student is expected to complete a degree. For undergraduate and graduate programs, the maximum time frame can’t exceed 150% of the published length of the program measured in credit hours attempted.

The majority of undergraduate programs require 120 hours for graduation. The maximum time frame for students in these programs is 180 attempted hours (120 x 1.5 = 180). Students whose programs require more than 120 hours for a degree will have a higher limit.

The following courses do not count as attempted or completed units in the SAP calculation:

• Correspondence
• Audit
• Non-credit remedial

The following courses count as attempted but do not count as completed units in the SAP calculation:

• Incomplete
• Failed
• Withdrawn
• More than one repeat of any course

Double Majors: Students who receive permission to pursue a double major/minor will normally be expected to complete all degree requirements before reaching the maximum hours allotted.

Change in Majors/Degree Change: Students who decide to change majors will be allowed an additional 70 hours in addition to the maximum hour’s measurement for the new degree they are seeking. In this fashion, the student is being allowed to “reset” academic progress to obtain the degree without going over maximum hours. However, the student will only be allowed one (1) reset while enrolled at Louisiana College. The same is true for students who change degree programs. For example, a student switching from a 4-year bachelors degree to a 2-year associates degree would be allowed an additional 70 hours to complete the associate degree program requirements if needed. The student will be required to complete a Reset Major/Degree Form to be filed in student’s Financial Aid Folder.

2^nd Bachelor’s Degree: A student who has already been awarded a bachelor’s degree may apply for a second degree. Student is required to complete a Second Degree Form to be filed in student’s Financial Aid Folder. An additional 70 hours or 203 total attempted hours will be allowed to obtain the second degree. The Financial Aid Office will first determine from previous transcript(s) the number of hours attempted before awarding financial aid for the second degree. Example: John is seeking a nursing degree (ABSN) Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing. His total for the first degree is 141 attempted hours. (203 total hours - 141 attempted hours = 62) John would only have 62 hours of federal aid eligibility left and not 70 additional hours.

The student is sent a letter informing him/her of the policy, showing how many hours were attempted from previous degree(s) and how many hours are left.

Developmental/Remedial Courses: Are counted as hours attempted and, if successfully completed, as hours earned.

Louisiana College offers non-credit remedial courses in Math and English. Generally, these courses are numbered 100 or lower. These courses do not count as credit toward a student’s certificate or Associate Degree program. The credit hours from these courses will count against a student’s hours attempted and will be factored into the student’s 150% eligibility and grade point average.

Early Start (Dual Enrollment): High school students taking college courses will have their courses evaluated when matriculating at Louisiana College. If a student’s college level courses fail to meet the minimum SAP standards, he/she will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for the semester they next enroll.

Grades of Incomplete or Work In Progress: Grades of “I” will be calculated as attempted but not earned. It does not affect the qualitative standard but does affect the quantitative standard. The Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to not award Title IV aid for a following term in which a student has one or more outstanding “I’s” that have not been resolved from a previous term.

Following is an example of how an undergraduate student does not meet timeframe standards:

This student, whose program requires 120 hours toward graduation, has accumulated 190 hours; thus exceeding the 150% maximum timeframe:

SAP Status

At the end of each semester, the Registrar’s Office will provide the Financial Aid Office with a list of students, attempted hours, completed hours, and cumulative GPA. This will be used to determine a student’s SAP. Academic progress will continue to be reviewed at the end of each academic semester to determine future financial eligibility.

If a student fails to meet SAP at the end of the academic semester, they will be placed on Financial Aid Warning and will receive a letter from the Financial Aid Office stating their eligibility status and requirements. If a student fails to meet SAP at the end of the academic semester, while on Financial Aid Warning, they will be then placed on Financial Aid Ineligibility with a loss of Title IV and will then receive a letter from the Financial Aid Office stating the eligibility status, what the student must do to regain eligibility and the process to appeal if applicable.

At the end of each semester during the academic plan the Financial Aid Appeals Committee will receive a list of students and grades from the Registrar’s office. The committee will determine if the student is or is not meeting the requirements of the academic plan.

To repeat, after the academic plan period, if the student has not achieved SAP, then the student is now ineligible for federal aid at Louisiana College until he/she meets SAP without the use of federal aid for at least one semester.

The Financial Aid Office will notify students of their SAP status within 30 days after grades are officially posted by the Registrar’s Office to students’ transcripts.

Notification of Grade Change

If a student’s grade changes after grades were initially posted, it is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office of this grade change. If the student meets the standards for satisfactory academic progress after the grade change, financial aid will be reinstated.

Appeal Instructions:

1. Attach a typed or word-processed letter of appeal which addresses the following:
   1. Explain why you did not make SAP in the last semester. There are only a few acceptable appeals per federal regulations (Sections 668.16(e).668.32(f) and 668.34).
      
      Acceptable Appeals:
      1. Death in the immediate family
      2. Sickness
      3. Other extenuating circumstances as accepted by the appeals committee
   2. Explain in detail what changes have occurred (or will occur) that will enable you to make satisfactory academic progress in the future.
   3. Documentation is a must!!! Attach any documentation you feel is necessary to support your appeal. You may want to document why it was difficult to make progress in the past, or you may want to document a solution to past problems. Documentation could be a letter from someone with whom you have been working to support your appeal letter (Doctor, Counselor, Advisor, Minister, etc.)
2. Attach a completed copy of the Advising Form (attached)
3. Return this completed form to the Louisiana College Financial Aid Office within 30 days of notification that aid eligibility has been lost or within the first week of the start of the semester. (Fax 318-487-7449)
4. If you have a Federal Work-Study job, you are ineligible to work unless your financial aid is reinstated. You must stop working at your Federal Work-Study job immediately.

Academic Plan Requirements: Students who are granted appeal and enter an academic plan will have their progress measured at each payment period during the academic plan (not to exceed two semesters). If the student is not meeting SAP guidelines at the end of the first payment period of the academic plan then the student will be ineligible for federal financial aid and not allowed to move into the second payment period of the academic plan. The student can then regain eligibility by meeting SAP in the following semester without the use of federal financial aid.

To determine if your appeal has been granted please call 318-487-7386 or email financial_aid@lacollege.edu. If the appeal has not been granted, the Financial Aid Office will send a letter of explanation and what can be done to regain eligibility.

Reinstatement of Title IV Aid:

Reinstatement of Title IV aid is limited to the period under evaluation. Prior periods in which the student was determined ineligible for aid will not be included in the student’s reinstatement of eligibility. Students making SAP by the conclusion of the Financial Aid Warning period will be removed from the warning status and will regain eligibility for Title IV aid.

Extended Leave of Absence:

All students, who have withdrawn or taken an extended leave of absence and choose to re-enter into a course, will be placed under the same satisfactory or unsatisfactory progress status prevailing at the time of the prior withdrawal or leave.

Ineligible courses:

Ineligible courses will not be funded and will count toward the student’s attempted credit hours and SAP. Ineligible courses include those courses not listed on a student’s certificate or degree plan. Programs that do not follow a regular 16 week semester schedule are also ineligible for federal student aid.

Incompletes or withdrawals:

A grade of I, WIP, AU, W, WF, or WP is not acceptable for satisfactory completion of a course and could affect a student’s SAP status by not meeting a “C” grade point average at the end of the semester.

Incomplete (I)

A Grade of I is for an incomplete and may be issued when unforeseeable circumstances beyond a student’s control prevent the student from completing his/her course requirements. Incomplete grades will not be authorized when the student has failed to complete course requirements or has a failing grade due to personal negligence. An incomplete grade must be converted to a credit grade by satisfactorily completing the required assignments within the adjusted deadline (arranged between instructor and student). An incomplete grade not converted by the deadline will become an F.

Work-In-Progress (WIP)

In-progress refers to students who have met institutional attendance requirements and have worked continuously toward meeting the objective of the course, but will need to re-enroll within the next semester of the date the course was taken in order to satisfy all objectives of the course.

Withdrawal (W)

Used for student, instructor, and administrative withdrawals from a course or complete withdrawal from Louisiana College after the withdrawal deadline.

Audit (AU)

Audit is a grade recorded for completion of enrollment in an audited course; no credit is earned.

Withdrawal Failing (WF)

A grade of WF given by an instructor for a course that was withdrawn indicating that the student was failing the course at the time of withdrawal.

Withdrawal Passing (WP)

A grade of WP given by an instructor from a course that was withdrawn indicating the student was passing the course at the time of withdrawal.

A student’s status for federal student aid may be affected as repeats, due to incompletes or withdrawals could cause a student to exceed the 150% maximum time frame.