You can log on to MyMHCC and click on “Financial Aid” under “Frequently Used Links” (right side of screen). Click “View your Financial Aid SAP status” to see your status after each term ends. Students who are not meeting SAP standards will receive an email notification to check their status within a week after a term ends. Failure to log on to see your SAP status does not relieve you of your responsibilities to maintain or improve your SAP status, so it is important to check this each term.

Below are the statuses you may see and a brief description of each:

• Good Standing: You are meeting SAP requirements by maintaining a cumulative pace of completion at 66.67% or higher and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. You are eligible to receive financial aid.
• Warning: You have fallen below a 66.67% completion pace and/or a 2.0 GPA and now have one term on Warning to regain a Good Standing. Students on Warning are still eligible for aid; however, you must meet SAP standards at the end of the term (i.e. be in Good Standing) to avoid having Aid Denied for the next term.
• Aid Denied: Following a term on Warning or Probation, your cumulative completion rate is less than 66.67% and/or you do not have a cumulative GPA of 2.0. When on Aid Denied status you are not eligible to receive aid until you meet SAP standards, or have a Financial Aid Appeal approved (see appeal information below).
• Probation: You have appealed your Aid Denied status and been approved to receive aid for one more term. At the end of your term on Probation you must meet the cumulative SAP standards (i.e. be in Good standing) to avoid having Aid Denied the next term. If the Office of Financial Aid determines that it is mathematically impossible for you to meet any aspect of SAP standards in one term on Probation, you will be required to submit a long-range academic plan with the goal of meeting proper SAP standards at a specified future point in time. Your progress will be monitored at the end of each term and you will be in probationary status until you are back in Good Standing.

For financial aid purposes, any previously passed course (grade of A, B, C, D, S) may be repeated ONCE. This applies to any course, no matter when or where that course was previously taken. If transfer credit is accepted by MHCC, it is assumed that it was previously passed and financial aid may be used to pay for one repeat of that previously passed course (if it applies to your current, aid-eligible degree). Any additional repeats of a course that has already been passed will not be aid eligible.

Any previously attempted courses that were not completed or not passed (grades of F, K, I, U, W, X) may be repeated with financial aid eligibility. NOTE: Typically, incomplete (I) courses must be completed by the end of the following term and do not require re-registration. Check with your academic adviser for guidance.

IMPORTANT: All course credits, including those for repeated courses, are counted as attempted credits when calculating your pace of completion, GPA, and the maximum time frame calculation. Multiple classes with low passing, not completed, or not passed grades will negatively impact your pace of completion and GPA. Check with your academic adviser to determine if repeating a course would benefit you.

If necessary, you may take a combined total of up to 45 credits of IECC/remedial/developmental courses (less than 100 level and all IECC courses) funded by financial aid. These credits will be included as attempted credits toward SAP pace of completion and may also be used in the maximum time frame calculation. These classes should be taken at the beginning of your program if possible.

Yes, all grades received (including incompletes and withdrawals) for attempted coursework are looked at when reviewing your progress. Passing grades help you by improving your cumulative pace of completion and GPA, while non-passing grades, incompletes, and withdrawals will reduce your pace and GPA.

Passing grades include: A, B, C, D, S

Grades that are attempted but not considered passing include: F, K, U, I, W, X

NOTE: A ‘D’ grade is considered a passing grade for financial aid, but it may not meet the minimum academic requirements for your program. Check with your academic adviser to determine if you will need to retake a course that you earned a ‘D’ in. In addition, be mindful of the fact that low passing may negatively impact your pace of completion and GPA as well.

You may only receive aid for courses that are required for your aid eligible MHCC degree/certificate. Only courses required for eligible MHCC degrees/certificates qualify for financial aid.

A maximum of 12 credits for Cooperative Work Experience (CWE) and 9 credits for PE will be accepted (unless more are required by the professional/technical program).

Credits taken for personal enrichment or occupational supplementary reasons do not qualify for aid. Also, any credits earned by challenges, Evaluated Work/Life Experience (EWLE), and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) are not eligible for aid.

Classes with an “X” in their reference number (NAX10, EMTX, etc.) are not eligible for aid, unless required for your program.

Classes that do not earn credits (i.e. audits, community education) are not eligible for aid.

All prior coursework at MHCC is counted toward your satisfactory academic progress, even courses for which you did not receive financial aid. Transfer credits (both attempted and completed) that will apply toward your current program at MHCC are also counted.

Complete and sign a Financial Aid SAP Appeal form and submit it to the Office of Financial Aid along with any supporting documentation as outlined on the appeal form. You will need to explain why the SAP standards were not met and what has changed so you will be successful in the future. Supporting documentation is important – without it your appeal may be denied.

The condition or situation for which you wish to appeal must be resolved so that you are now able to return to school and successfully complete course work. If the condition or situation is not resolved, an appeal will not be granted.

The following reasons can be basis for appealing to reinstate your aid. As noted above, supporting documentation is important and required unless clearly stated otherwise.

• COVID-19 Related – Only during the pandemic and until the national emergency is rescinded. Allowable circumstances include, but are not limited to, illness of you or a family member, need to become a caregiver or first responder, economic hardship, added work hours, loss of child care, inability to continue with classes via online/remote education, or inability to access Wi-Fi due to closed facilities. A personal statement of circumstances is required, but no other supporting documentation is needed.
• Personal or family related illness or medical circumstance
• Death of a close relative
• Disability related circumstances
• You are now meeting SAP standards – After taking a term or terms at your own expense, you are now meeting the cumulative SAP standards outlined above (subject to confirmation by Office of Financial Aid). No supporting documentation is needed.
• Grade changes - You have completed an incomplete (‘I’ grade) graded class, one or more of your grades have changed, an instructor turned in a delayed grade, or some other irregularity in your grade report has improved. Must specify term and course on appeal form, but no other supporting documentation is needed.
• Other - Circumstances beyond your reasonable control may be considered. Circumstances clearly within your control or related to personal choices are not generally considered as appealable reasons.

NOTE: The condition or situation for which you are appealing must be resolved so that you are now able to return to school and successfully complete course work. If the condition or situation is not resolved, an appeal will not be granted.

If your appeal is approved, you will be put on Probation for the next term and be able to receive aid for that term. At the end of your term on Probation you must meet SAP standards (i.e. be in Good standing) to avoid having Aid Denied the next term.

If your appeal is denied, it may be because your reasons for appeal were not justified by the supporting documentation you submitted, or it has been determined that it is mathematically impossible for you to meet minimum SAP standards (pace, GPA, or maximum timeframe) in one term on Probation. In the case of mathematical impossibility, you will be asked to submit a long-range academic plan with the goal of meeting proper SAP standards at a specified future point in time. If approved, your progress will be monitored at the end of each term – if at any point you are not following the plan, your aid will be denied.

When calculating your maximum timeframe, the Office of Financial Aid includes the following, even if you did not receive financial aid when the classes were taken:

• all credits attempted and earned at MHCC, including all courses for which you received passing, non-passing, or audit grades and any courses recorded as withdrawals
• Credits transferred from other colleges that are accepted by MHCC toward your degree/certificate (MHCC converts semester and clock hours to quarter credit hours)

When you have attempted 100% of the credits required for your program, your aid will be denied until you complete a Maximum Timeframe Appeal (MTA) to extend your aid eligibility (see below for more details).

If at any point the Office of Financial Aid determines that it is mathematically impossible for you to complete your program within the 150% timeframe limit, your aid will be suspended for your program.

When you are approaching 75% completion of your program, you will be notified by email and in your MyMHCC that you may need to file a Maximum Timeframe Appeal (MTA) soon.

When you have attempted 100% of the credits required to complete your program, you will be notified that you must complete an MTA to show that you will be able to complete your program within the 150% timeframe limit. Until you submit the MTA, your aid will be denied.

1. If you have credits from other colleges, make sure your official transcripts from all other colleges have been received and evaluated by the Admissions, Registration, & Records Office.
   • Visit www.mhcc.edu/transfertomhcc/ to learn more about the process of transferring your credits to MHCC.
   • Submit a Transcript Evaluation Request. Indicate that the request is for a Maximum Timeframe Appeal.
2. Make an appointment with your Academic Adviser. Your adviser will help you determine what classes you have left to reach your educational goal, map out a term-by-term education plan to document this, and walk you through how to fill out the Maximum Timeframe Appeal form. You will then turn this information in to Financial Aid for review.
   • If your major is General Studies or Undecided, schedule an appointment with one of the academic advisers through Navigate in MyMHCC, emailing advising.questions@mhcc.edu, or by calling (503) 491-7315
   • If you have declared a major other than Undecided or General Studies, schedule an appointment with your assigned faculty adviser by emailing them. In order to see who your assigned faculty adviser is, log into MyMHCC, click on “Plan and Register” and then “Plan Ahead”. Your faculty adviser and their email contact will be listed there.
   • IMPORTANT!
     It could take 1-2 weeks to book an appointment with an academic adviser (depending on availability), so schedule it as soon as you can.
3. With your Academic Adviser, complete the Maximum Timeframe Appeal form and include the following supporting documentation:
   • an education plan
   • your Degree Audit report
4. Submit your MTA and supporting documentation to the Office of Financial Aid
   • It may take Financial Aid 1-3 weeks to review your MTA.
   • Filing an appeal does not guarantee an extension of aid.
   • If your appeal is approved, aid will be reinstated only classes required to complete your certificate, degree or program prerequisites.
   • If it is determined that you cannot complete your degree/certificate within 150% timeframe, you will become ineligible for aid immediately.

It is important that your Education Plan clearly outlines your educational goal and how you plan to achieve it. It is your responsibility to comply with the plan you create with your academic adviser. If you deviate from the education plan by taking courses that are not listed on the plan, by changing your major or degree, or by not successfully passing all classes approved on the plan with at least a “C”, your financial aid will be denied.