Objective: The purpose of this research is twofold: first, to investigate financially eligible Pell Grant community college students’ perceptions of barriers and enablers to student success, and second, to critique the financial aid satisfactory academic progress (SAP) criteria through a cross-case comparison of students who are meeting and are not meeting the academic requirements. Method: To complete this investigation, I conducted semistructured interviews with financially eligible Pell Grant community college students (N = 62) who were meeting SAP (n = 31) and who were not meeting SAP (n = 31). To analyze the data, I drew on Brint and Karabel’s theory of democratization and diversion as well as Gutiérrez and Lewis’s conceptualization of empowerment theory, and I followed Braun and Clarke’s six-step iterative thematic approach. Results: Financially eligible Pell Grant community college students believe students need motivation, enough resources to meet their responsibilities, and cultural capital to succeed. Observable differences were identified between the two student groups in three areas: environmental responsibilities to resources ratios, cultural capital, and powerlessness. Contributions: Through this article, I created a platform for the voices of financially eligible Pell Grant community college students and their perceptions of barriers and enablers to student success. By conducting the cross-case analysis, the potentially arbitrary nature of the SAP criteria is apparent, despite the real consequences they create for students. This research contributes a long overdue qualitative critique of the SAP criteria, but additional research is warranted.

目标：这项研究的目的是双重的：首先，调查有经济资格的佩尔·格兰特社区大学生对学生成功的障碍和促成因素的看法，其次，通过跨学科的方式来评论经济援助令人满意的学业进步（SAP）标准。满足和不满足学术要求的学生的案例比较。方法：为完成此调查，我对符合财务要求的符合条件的Pell Grant社区大学生（N = 62）进行了SAP（n = 31）和未达到SAP（n = 32）进行了半结构化访谈。= 31）。为了分析数据，我借鉴了布林特和卡拉贝尔的民主化和转移理论以及古铁雷斯和刘易斯的授权理论的概念，并遵循了布劳恩和克拉克的六步迭代主题方法。结果：符合经济条件的佩尔·格兰特（Pell Grant）社区大学生认为，学生需要动力，足够的资源来履行职责，以及获得成功的文化资本。在三个领域中，两个学生群体之间发现了明显的差异：环境责任与资源的比率，文化资本和无能为力。贡献：通过本文，我为有经济资格的佩尔·格兰特社区大学生的心声，以及他们对学生成功的障碍和推动因素的看法创建了一个平台。通过进行跨案例分析，SAP标准的潜在任意性显而易见，尽管它们为学生带来了实际的后果。这项研究对SAP标准早就应该进行定性批评，但是有必要进行其他研究。