At St. Petersburg College, our number one priority is your success. These policies, which apply to all degree-seeking students, have been put in place to help you stay focused on your goal and get you back on track if you falter. This is important for all students because your Academic Standing can have an impact on your enrollment eligibility and financial aid.

Your Academic Standing is used to ensure timely progression towards graduation. At St. Petersburg College, we use the courses that count towards your current degree program to calculate your Program GPA and Completion Ratio to determine your Academic Standing.

GOOD STANDING

  • A minimum program course completion rate** of 67 percent
  • Minimum program course GPA of 2.0

If you fail to maintain the requirements of Good Standing, you will be placed on Academic Warning.

** Completion rate is defined as earning a grade of A, B, C, D or P. 

ACADEMIC WARNING

  • You will be on Academic Warning for one term only
  • During that term, you should use all resources necessary to improve classroom success

You will return to Good Standing if you meet the requirements. If you do not return to Good Standing, you will be placed on Academic Probation.

ACADEMIC PROBATION
During Academic Probation, you must:

  • Maintain a minimum program course completion rate of 67 percent for the term
  • Earn a minimum program course GPA of 2.0 for the term

You will be placed on Academic Suspension if you fail to meet these requirements.If you return to probation from suspension and fail to maintain these requirements in your first term back, you will be placed on Academic Dismissal. You will return to Good Standing when you return your program course completion rate to 67 percent and your program course GPA to 2.0.

ACADEMIC SUSPENSION
If you are placed on Academic Suspension, you will not be allowed to re-enroll for one term. When you return, you will be on Academic Probation.You will not be allowed to register for classes until you meet with an advisor, who will help you develop an Action Plan for future success.

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL
If you are placed on Academic Dismissal, you will not be allowed to re-enroll for one year. When you return, you will be on Academic Probation.You will not be allowed to register for classes until you meet with an advisor, who will help you develop an Action Plan for future success.

  1. Attempted Hours - Credit hours associated with any attempt of a course, regardless of grade.
  2. Completed Hours - Credit hours associated with all course attempts with a passing grade (A, B, C, D, P)
  3. Completion Ratio - Program Completed Hours/Program Attempted Hours
  4. Cumulative GPA - Your combined SPC + Transfer GPA equals your cumulative GPA.
  5. Course List - Group of courses a student may use to satisfy a requirement. Course lists are associated with plan requirements.
  6. Earned Hours - Credit hours associated with a course with a passing grade (A, B, C, D, P) that applies to a student's plan requirements. Earned hours are a subset of completed hours. Repeat rules are obeyed for GPA, ignored for PACE (completion ratio and maximum timeframe).
  7. Program Attempted Hours - Sum of credit hours associated with courses that could satisfy plan requirements; includes all attempts regardless of grade.  Includes specified college level courses (MAT 1033, SLS 1126) that are not part of plan requirements. Denominator for Completion Ratio calculation.
  8. Program Completed Hours - Sum of credit hours associated with courses that could satisfy plan requirements; includes all attempts with passing grades (A, B, C, D, P). Includes specified college level courses (MAT 1033, SLS 1126) that are not part of plan requirements. Numerator for Completion Ratio calculation.
  9. Program Earned Hours - Sum of credit hours associated with courses satisfying plan requirements. Subset of Program Completed Hours. Repeat rules are obeyed for GPA, ignored for PACE (completion ratio and maximum timeframe).
  10. Plan Requirement - Academic requirements student must satisfy to earn degree; generally satisfied with courses with a minimum grade specified to fulfill minimum credit hours associated with requirement.
  11. Program GPA - GPA based on all courses which satisfy or could satisfy a plan requirement. Includes developmental courses and specified college level courses (MAT 1033, SLS 1126) that are not part of plan requirements.
  12. Repeat Flag - Based on institutional repeat policies, a flag indicating whether an instance of a repeated course should be included or excluded from a student's GPA and hours calculations.
  13. Requirement Waiver - Students do not have to take additional courses to satisfy a specific plan requirement if it has been waived based on institutional policy. For example, students entering BS and BAS plans may have their General Education plan requirements waived based on earning a prior A.A. degree.
  14. SPC GPA - GPA based on all courses you have taken at SPC.
  15. Transfer GPA - GPA based on all courses you earned at other institutions and transferred to SPC.

WHY ARE YOU IMPLEMENTING A NEW PROGRAM-BASED ACADEMIC STANDING POLICY?

  • In determining student's progression and success rate, it makes more sense to calculate progress using only the courses that are applicable to the student's current program of study.
  • If you have changed majors several times over the years and have courses on your record (taken at SPC or as transfer credit) that have nothing to do with your current program of study, it doesn't make sense to utilize the non-applicable courses when calculating your Academic Standing and Standards of Academic Progress calculations for Financial Aid.
  • Only courses applicable to your current program of study will be calculated in the Program-Based Academic Standing. In most cases, this change may actually improve the student's standing.

ALL OF MY TRANSFER COURSES ARE STILL SHOWING ON MY RECORD. IF THESE ARE NOT RELEVANT TO MY CURRENT PROGRAM, WHY ARE THEY STILL SHOWING?

    • Courses you have completed at prior colleges will be included on your advising, unofficial, and official SPC transcripts. However, for the purpose of calculating your Program-Based Academic Standing, only those courses* that apply to your current program of study will be utilized.
    • For example, if you were pursuing an A.S. nursing degree at Hillsborough Community College and have transferred 30 hours to SPC and have now changed your major at SPC to an A.A. degree, only those courses that pertain to your A.A. degree will be considered in your Program-Based Academic Standing calculations -namely, general education courses.

    *Also to be included are Select college-level courses and remedial courses. 

    WHY ARE YOU INCLUDING MY REMEDIAL COURSES IN MY PROGRAM-BASED ACADEMIC STANDING?

    Any developmental (remedial) courses you have taken at SPC or at another institution will be calculated in your Program-Based Academic Standing. For your Academic Standing, it is cumulative (past and current term), but for Enrollment Eligibility, only developmental (remedial) courses taken that term are used in the calculation. For Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) calculations for Program-Based Academic Standing, your cumulative developmental (remedial) courses are considered for GPA, but not for Completion Ratio or Maximum Timeframe.

    I HAVE APPLIED TO GRADUATE AT THE END OF SPRING TERM 2015 WITH MY A.A. DEGREE. MY CUMULATIVE GPA IS 2.0 BUT MY NEW PROGRAM-BASED ACADEMIC STANDING GPA IS 1.9. DOES THIS MEAN I WON'T BE ABLE TO GRADUATE THIS TERM?

    • The new Program-Based Academic Standing, calculated using only courses* in your current program of study, is being utilized for academic standing, enrollment eligibility, and satisfactory academic progress for financial aid purposes.
    • To graduate from SPC requires that you have a 2.0 Cumulative GPA, so you will graduate this term if all of your requirements have been met. If you plan to continue at SPC in another program. Our graduation requirement has not changed and still requires an overall 2.0 cumulative GPA.

    AFTER I GRADUATE FROM SPC WITH MY A.A. DEGREE THIS SUMMER, I PLAN TO ATTEND ANOTHER COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY TO PURSUE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE THERE. WILL THE COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY SEE MY PROGRAM GPA CALCULATED IN THE PROGRAM-BASED ACADEMIC STANDING?

    • The Program-Based Academic Standing calculations which include a different GPA than your SPC, Transfer, and Cumulative GPA, will not appear anywhere on your SPC official or unofficial transcripts.
    • It is strictly for internal use and determining progression, ability to enroll, and for determining financial aid eligibility.

    WHAT ARE SELECT COURSES AND WHY ARE THEY BEING UTILIZED IN CALCULATING MY PROGRAM GPA?

    These courses are included when calculating your Program GPA, Enrollment Eligibility, and Financial Aid SAP. They are: MAT 1033, MAT 1033L, MAT 1100, SLS 1101, SLS 1126, EAP 1595, and EAP 1695. The reason these courses are utilized is because of federal financial aid policies.

    WHAT DOES PROGRAM-BASED ACADEMIC STANDING MEAN FOR MY FINANCIAL AID GPA?

    • It means we will be providing a more accurate assessment of the student's academic progress. We will only be calculating the coursework that you attempted in order to meet requirements for your current degree program of study.
    • The Program GPA is the same as the Financial Aid GPA and the GPA used to determine Academic Standing for the college.

    HOW WILL THIS AFFECT MY OVERALL (CUMULATIVE) GPA?

    Program GPA does not affect your overall cumulative GPA as this is based on grades you achieved on all attempted course work. (including transfer credits).

    WHAT DOES PROGRAM-BASED ACADEMIC STANDING MEAN FOR MY FINANCIAL AID COMPLETION RATIO?

    • It means we will be providing a more accurate assessment of the student's academic progress. We will only calculate the coursework that you attempted in order to meet requirements for your current degree program of study.

    The Program-Based Completion Ratio is the same ratio used for Financial Aid and Academic Standing.

    WHAT DOES PROGRAM-BASED ACADEMIC STANDING MEAN FOR MY FINANCIAL AID MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME (MTF) CALCULATION?

    • It means we will be providing a more accurate assessment of the student's academic progress. We only calculate the coursework that you attempted in order to meet requirements for your current degree program of study.

    WILL REMEDIAL COURSEWORK STILL BE CONSIDERED IN MY SAP CALCULATIONS NOW THAT WE ARE MOVING TO A NEW PROGRAM-BASED ACADEMIC STANDING POLICY?

    • Yes, remedial coursework will still count towards your Financial Aid GPA for SAP purposes. This is a federal requirement; therefore, we have to include remedial coursework even though we are moving to a New Program-Based Academic Standing policy. There will also be a few other select courses that will also be included.
    • No, remedial coursework will not count towards your Financial Aid Completion Ratio or your MTFcalculations for SAP purposes. This is the current policy and it will not change with the implementation of our New Program-Based Academic Standing policy.

    HOW WILL THIS AFFECT MY OVERALL FINANCIAL AID SAP STATUS?

    That depends on how well you have done in the courses you have been attempting for your current degree program. The minimum GPA requirement is still 2.0; the minimum completion ratio is still 67%; and Maximum Timeframe is still 150% of attempted coursework, but each requirement will only be calculated on coursework you attempted in order to meet requirements for your current degree program of study.

    IS REMEDIAL COURSEWORK CONSIDERED IN MY SAP CALCULATIONS?

    • Yes, remedial coursework counts towards your Financial Aid GPA for SAP purposes. This is a federal requirement. There will also be a few other select courses that will also be included.

    No, remedial coursework will not count towards your Financial Aid Completion Ratio or your MTF calculations for SAP purposes.

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