Academic Progress

CCA has policies and standards to help students know what to expect of CCA and what CCA expects of students. The following is a summary of the information students need to know. An advisor can help students understand these policies, standards and rights as a CCA student.

Academic Standing

Academic Standing describes a student’s successful progression with respect to maintaining progress toward their degree or certificate program. Academic Standing applies to all students who have completed 9 or more credits at the Community College of Aurora.  CCA will determine Academic Standing following the posting of the majority of term grades for each semester, and academic standing may be recalculated based on late or adjusted grades. For students who have completed fewer than 9 credit hours, the College will monitor satisfactory academic progress through an Academic Alert process. These students are not subject to Academic Standing.

Academic Standing values include the following:

• Initial Standing – Student has completed fewer than 9 cumulative credit hours with a cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.00 for all classes completed.

• Academic Alert – Student has completed fewer than 9 cumulative credits with a cumulative GPA less than 2.00 for all classes completed.
• Good Standing – Student has completed at least 9 cumulative credit hours and has a cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.00 for all classes completed.
• Performance Support (Previously called Academic Probation)– Student has completed at least 9 cumulative credit hours and has a cumulative GPA less than 2.00 for all classes completed.
  • By the conclusion of the Performance Support term, the student must raise their cumulative GPA to at least 2.00. If this condition is met, the student returns to Good Standing. Otherwise, the student will be Performance Improving or on Academic Suspension as outlined below.
• Returning Support - Student is returning from Academic Suspension.
  • By the conclusion of the Returning Support term, the student must raise their cumulative GPA to at least 2.00. If this condition is met, the student returns to Good Standing. Otherwise, the student will be Performance Improving or on Academic Suspension as outlined below.
• Performance Improving (Previously called Probation Continuing) – If a student on Performance Support or Returning Support earns a term GPA of at least 2.00 for all classes completed during the term but fails to raise their cumulative GPA to at least 2.00 for all classes completed, the student will be allowed to attend the next term as Performance Improving.
  • As long as the student continues earning a term GPA of at least 2.00 during each term, they will be permitted to continue attending. The student will remain on Performance Improving until the cumulative GPA is at least 2.00, at which time they will return to Good Standing.
  • If the student does not earn a term GPA of at least 2.00 while on Performance Improving, they will be placed on Academic Suspension.
• Academic Suspension – If a student on Performance Support, Returning Support or Performance Improving earns a term GPA of less than 2.00 for all classes completed during the term, the student will be suspended and will not be allowed to enroll at CCA for the next term unless an appeal is approved. The student may be dropped from all registered courses for an upcoming term at the College based on the College’s procedures.

Academic Suspension: All academic suspensions are for one term only. If a student who has served a suspension wishes to return, the student will be allowed to re-enroll only after meeting with an academic advisor. The student will be placed on Returning Support for their return semester. Students suspended from one College are not suspended from other Colleges within the System. 

Appeals Process: Students placed on Academic Suspension will be notified of their status and given the opportunity to appeal. Students must appeal their suspension based on procedures developed by the College issuing the suspension in order to continue enrolling at that College. Each College’s appeal process should incorporate an element where the student demonstrates what has changed and why they will perform better in the future. Appeal consideration will be based on statements and documentation as submitted by the student. College processes for approving or denying appeals must be based upon objective factors.

If the College approves an appeal, appeals for subsequent Academic Suspensions should address why the student was unsuccessful on the prior appeal, and what additional measures have been taken to ensure success.

If the student’s suspension appeal is approved, the student will be placed on Returning Support.

Repeated Courses

Most courses, provided they are still offered at CCA, may be repeated for a higher grade. Full tuition is charged for repeated courses. The grades for both the initial class and the repeated class will appear on the transcript; however, only the higher grade will be used in the GPA calculation. Repeated courses apply only once to degrees and certificates and Financial Aid will not pay for repeated courses that have already been completed with a passing grade.

Academic Renewal

The purpose of academic renewal, also known as academic forgiveness, is to allow a student the opportunity to remove a maximum of 30 semester credit hours of poor academic performance from the grade point average (GPA) calculation, after a two year period of non-attendance and successful academic performance upon return to CCA.

Academic renewal applies only to courses taken at CCA and may be awarded only once. The original grade and credit hours remain on the permanent academic transcript and the number of credit hours is deducted from the student’s remaining College Opportunity Fund (COF) hours. A notation on the transcript indicates that the academic renewal has been awarded and the grade point average has been adjusted. Once academic renewal is granted, it is irreversible. Credit excluded from the GPA calculation cannot be used to satisfy the requirements for completion of a CCA certificate or degree.

Students applying for academic renewal must complete the Academic Renewal Application form available from the Advising Office, CentreTech Campus, Administration Building, or Lowry Student Services, West Quad, Room 119.

The following conditions must be met to apply for academic renewal:

1. The student must have two years of non-attendance at CCA to apply for academic renewal.
2. The student must complete six semester credit hours upon returning to CCA with grades of C or better before applying for Academic Renewal.
3. The academic renewal form must include an advisor’s or Assistant Registrar's signature. A student concerned about a poor academic record is encouraged to meet with an advisor to discuss CCA’s other academic progress options and strategies for academic success.
4. Applies to only D and F grades.

The academic renewal policy is applicable only to the Community College of Aurora. Other institutions receiving a CCA transcript for transfer of an academic renewal are not bound by this college policy and may choose to calculate the student’s transfer GPA to include all grades, even those excluded by CCA under this policy.

Students applying for academic renewal are responsible for investigating the impact of this process on their admissions at transfer institutions, financial aid grant and loan limits, remaining COF stipend eligible hours, Veterans Affairs benefits, and other agencies that limit credits attempted. For clarification of the scope and definition of this policy, contact the Registration and Records office, CentreTech Campus.

Veterans Standards of Academic Progress

Academic Standards of Progress, as described in this section, apply to all CCA students, including those receiving education benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. If a student is suspended from school due to lack of academic progress while receiving VA benefits, benefits will be terminated for the length of the suspension and the student may need to appeal with VA to have benefits reinstated.