Satisfactory Academic Progress

Policy

Ozarks Tech’s Policy 5.10 details the college’s current Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) review and appeal procedures.

What is SAP?

Satisfactory Academic Progress is a set of academic standards students must meet to receive federal financial aid. They are intended to keep you progressing toward your degree. If you do not meet one of these rules, you lose your ability to receive federal (and in some cases other types of) financial aid, but you can electronically appeal this status.

These rules are specific to financial aid. Ozarks Tech has different academic standards to maintain your academic standing. While SAP pertains to federal financial aid (Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and student loans), many scholarship, grant, and loan providers require you to meet SAP to receive their aid too.

For the purpose of receiving the Missouri A+ Scholarship, the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (MDHEWD) will also review written appeals of its eligibility policy if the student failed to meet the grade point average requirement for the A+ Scholarship as a result of a documented medical reason.

The Rules

1.  Must meet a minimum GPA depending on your degree and credit hours you have attempted.
   

2. Must pass 66.5% (two-thirds) of all college classes you have ever taken. This includes dual credit and repeated classes. Withdrawals and incomplete grades are considered not passing, and will lower your passing percentage
3. Cannot have taken 1.5 x the number of credit hours that your degree requires to complete.
   Example: If your degree requires you complete 60 credit hours you may receive financial aid for until you have attempted 90 credit hours. (60 credit hours X 1.5 = 90 credit hours).
4. Cannot have received an associate degree or higher, including a degree received from another college or university, and foreign degrees.

Know Your Status

Your current SAP status can be found in the Advising section of your MyOTC account. If you are not sure where to find it or what it means, contact your college navigator. After each semester you enroll in, we will email you about your new status.

Our Review

Every degree-seeking student (except high school and international students) are reviewed after each semester that they take at least one class.

Appealing Your Status

There are steps you can take to regain aid eligibility if you are not meeting SAP requirements.

1. Make sure you are in the best degree or certificate for your goals
2. Submit all college transcripts to Ozarks Tech and wait for them to be evaluated. Its important to know what classes you need to take before you plan out the rest of your degree.
3. Plan all of your remaining classes in your Degree Audit Plan Your academic plan can be created, modified, and reviewed in your MyOTC. You should complete this step with your college navigator.
4. Submit an electronic appeal through your Student Forms account. If you do not already have an appeal link in your Student Forms account, contact your college navigator.

What Does an Appeal Require

A SAP appeal should contain 3 things:

1. An explanation in your own words of why you are not meeting one or more of the SAP rules.
2. An explanation in your own words of changes you have made or will make to meet SAP rules in the future.
3. Documentation of either the reason you did not meet SAP, steps you have taken to mitigate the problem, or both. Documentation cannot be waived except in rare situations.

The college cannot review your appeal until all 3 items are included.

Appeal Deadlines

Your appeal should be approved before you cease being enrolled in a semester (i.e., before you drop your classes or the semester ends) in order to receive aid for that semester. The college needs up to 2 weeks to review your appeal.

Tips for Success

• Be fast. Start your appeal as soon as you can. Documentation can take a long time for you to get. The college may also have questions about your appeal which could delay the decision.
• Be comprehensive. Your SAP status includes all college classes you attempted, not just those at Ozarks Tech.
• Be specific. If the reason you did not meet SAP or the mitigating steps you’ve taken are unclear, your appeal could be delayed or denied.
• Information you include in your appeal is kept private by federal privacy laws (FERPA).

Appeal Decisions

Appeals generally take 2 weeks to review, and decisions are emailed to your OTC email. You can check the status of your appeal in your StudentForms account or your myOTC checklist. Your SAP status will be updated in your myOTC account after it is reviewed.

Your appeal will either be approved or denied. If approved, your financial aid will be updated within 2 weeks to reflect your renewed eligibility. If denied, usually because of incomplete information or an invalid reason for not meeting SAP, contact your college navigator to discuss next steps.

The decision to approve or deny your SAP appeal is final and cannot be overridden by the U.S. Department of Education.

You can still attend classes even if your SAP appeal has not been reviewed, as long as you completed a payment plan and are prepared to pay out-of-pocket in case your appeal is denied. If your appeal is denied (you are not eligible for federal financial aid) and you must drop your classes, you are responsible for paying any remaining charges.