Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals
A student may appeal a determination of failure to maintain the qualitative and/or quantitative academic progress standards for mitigating circumstances. The student must demonstrate there were extreme and unusual circumstances, such as serious illness or injury to the student, death or serious illness of an immediate family member, or significant trauma in the student's life that impaired the student's emotional and/or physical health, which prevented the student from maintaining the required standards during a specific time period. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Director of Financial Aid.
The appeal must include an explanation of the mitigating circumstances which caused the student to fall below the required benchmarks as well as confirmation that the mitigating circumstances will no longer affect the student's ability to progress as required. Third party documentation to confirm the mitigating circumstances may be requested by the Director of Financial Aid. If the appeal is granted, the College's satisfactory academic progress requirements for financial aid eligibility will be suspended and not applied to the credits in question. The student will continue to be eligible for financial aid and must meet standards moving forward. Students who have a successful appeal will be considered to be on probation for the next term and must meet the requirements detailed above for probation students. Except in the case of a successful appeal, the student must return to standards in order to regain financial aid eligibility. Simply paying cash or sitting out for a period will not suffice.
