Policies, Appeals, and Important Information

The California College Promise Grant (CCPG) has separate standards from the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy. If you are disqualified, please see below for the process to appeal.

To complete your CCPG Appeal, please go to cypresscollege.verifymyfafsa.com (you will log in with your myGateway credentials). If you do not see a CCPG Appeal, please contact our office at financialaid@cypresscollege.edu to request an appeal.

NOTE: Foster youth (under the age of 24) and CCPG F recipients are EXEMPT from appealing for both the CCPG Fee Waiver and Enrollment Priority. These standards are separate from the eligibility criteria for Federal Financial Aid and should not be confused with the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy.

CCPG Appeal Fact Sheet

California College Promise Grant (CCPG) – Formerly Known as the Board of Governors (BOG) Fee Waiver – Requirements

Students can lose their CCPG eligibility after 2 consecutive primary terms (with no more than a one term break: i.e. fall 2019, fall 2020) of not meeting academic or progress standards. You must maintain a 2.0 or higher GPA and satisfactorily complete more than 50% of attempted units each semester and cumulatively to avoid CCPG fee waiver disqualification. Refer to the Cypress College Financial Aid State aid Programs page for more information.

Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)
This policy is the North Orange County Community College District’s policy regarding the privacy of student records. This policy also applies to student financial aid records at Cypress College.

Financial Aid Disbursement Policy and Dates
Important information and requirements for student financial aid disbursement for the current academic year.

Get disbursement schedules and frequently asked disbursement questions.

Student Loan Eligibility Policy
An overview of important information and requirements for student loan eligibility at Cypress College.

To be considered for a retroactive Federal Pell Grant, your FAFSA must be processed by the U.S. Department of Education while you’re enrolled at Cypress College in the same Award Year. If the semester has ended, eligibility is based on successfully completed courses. F’s and NP’s require an appeal with documentation verifying that the grade was earned. Verification must be completed before the Annual Verification Deadline to be eligible. This policy also applies to state programs like Cal Grant and Student Success Completion Grant.

The financial aid office will utilize Last Day of Academic Activity (LDA) to determine if a student has earned their F or NP grade. If the LDA is the last day of the course then it means the student attended through the final day of the course. An unearned F or NP is when a student attends a course but stops attending prior to the final day of the course.

A student can dispute their LDA and submit an appeal to the Financial Aid Director (gdelacruz@cypresscollege.edu) with documentation proving that their F or NP was earned. If the appeal is approved and the F or NP is considered earned then the student will be paid for those grades during retroactive payments.

The student will be advised to get documentation directly from their instructor.

• Acceptable documentation can be an email from the instructor or a signed letter
• The instructor’s email or letter must have the name of student, course number/name, term taken and must clearly state if the student
• earned their F meaning student attended until the last day of the course
• Documentation will need to be emailed directly to FA Director

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP)
This policy describes your responsibilities as a financial aid recipient at Cypress College to maintain a sufficient grade point average while completing the minimum required units annually to maintain eligibility.

SAP is reviewed after final grades are reported for each term. If disqualified for summer 2024, the last day to submit a SAP Appeal is July 19, 2024.

Please note: Appeal determinations are made on a case-by-case basis and are not automatically approved.

Financial Aid Statuses and Appeal Process
This page serves as an addendum to our satisfactory academic progress policy. It is provided to students to help them better understand their status and the appeal process.

Special Circumstance – Income Adjustment

If you (or a parent) have recently experienced a change in income or household, such as job loss, divorce, or a special circumstance – you might be eligible for a Professional Judgement Appeal on your financial aid application. This is done via an appeal process on our Student Forms platform.

How to request the appeal:

• Once we have received your financial aid application, you may request the appeal by logging in on the platform and clicking the blue “Manage Request” button at the upper right corner and select “Professional Judgement: Special Circumstance – EFC/SAI Appeal.”
• You will need to provide a brief explanation of your situation and upload supporting documentation.
• Please note that any student requesting an Income Adjustment Appeal will need to complete verification before their appeal can be processed.
• Once all information is complete and submitted, your Financial Aid Technician will review and may request additional clarification or items if needed in order to complete the appeal.

Unusual Circumstance – Dependency Override

If you answer “no” to all of the dependency questions on your financial aid application, you are considered a dependent student.

You may be able to request a Professional Judgement: Unusual Circumstance Appeal if you have an unusual circumstance such as: you have no contact with either parents and don’t know where they live or unable to have contact with them, or you’ve left home due to an abusive situation. Please contact the Financial Aid Office for further clarification and assistance on the information needed for you to complete a Dependency Override Appeal on our Student Forms platform.

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

If you answer “yes” to the homeless questions on your financial aid application, you are considered either an unaccompanied homeless youth or are self supporting and at risk of being homeless. You will need to complete verification tasks to confirm this in the Student Forms platform. Please contact the Financial Aid Office for further assistance if you have questions on the information needed to complete the task.

Verification Policy
This policy describes the requirements you must complete if your financial aid application is selected for verification.

The Cypress College Financial Aid office awards aid under the assumption that a student will attend and complete the courses that they enroll in for the semester (also referred to as “payment period”). When a student withdraws (does not complete any of their enrolled courses for that semester), the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive. The Financial Aid Office must then perform a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation to determine any earned or unearned aid.

Title IV Aid refers to the following:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Direct Loan (both subsidized and unsubsidized)
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

If you’re a Cal Grant A or B recipient with a tuition award and you receive a fee refund due to withdrawal, your Cal Grant award will be canceled accordingly.

An R2T4 calculation only takes place if the student attended at least one day of their semester and is eligible for any Title IV funds and withdraws from all courses. R2T4 regulations do not apply to students who do not begin the semester or who continue to be enrolled in the term, even if it’s just one class.

Unofficial Withdrawal

In cases where all grades are substandard (such as all F’s, NP’s, or a mix of substandard grades and withdrawals), we need to determine if you attended classes and earned those grades.

Starting fall 2024, the financial aid office will utilize Last Day of Academic Activity (LDA) from instructors to determine if a student has earned their F or NP grade. If the LDA is the last day of the course then it means the student attended through the final day of the course. An unearned F or NP is when a student attends a course but stops attending prior to the final day of the course.

A student can dispute their LDA and submit an appeal to the Financial Aid Director with documentation proving that their F or NP was earned. If the appeal is approved and the F or NP is considered earned then it will be considered during the R2T4 process. Appeals will be accepted until August 1.

Last Date of Academic Activity

Federal student aid regulations mandate schools to verify your active participation in courses. Your certification of attendance alone is not sufficient confirmation of academically-related activity.

If you have not engaged in any academic activity in a class, your instructor will report you as a No Show. Your financial aid will be adjusted solely based on enrollment in classes where you are actively participating.

Starting fall 2024, your instructor will report your Last Date of Academic Activity, which will determine your earned or unearned aid.

Academic activities may include:

• Physically attending a class with direct interaction between instructor and students,
• Submitting an academic assignment or taking an exam,
• Participating in study groups assigned by the school,
• Engaging in online discussions or contacting a faculty member regarding academic matters.

For Distance Education:

• Submission of academic assignments or exams,
• Participation in interactive tutorials or online study groups assigned by the institution,
• Engaging in online discussions about academic matters and initiating contact with a faculty member.

Academic activities do NOT include:

• Merely logging into an online class without active participation,
• Academic counseling or advisement,
• Course registration.

For more information about withdrawal and R2T4, please review the Financial Aid Handbook.