Appeal Process
Students suspended from financial aid have the option to appeal for their financial aid eligibility.
Please note this process is for financial aid only and does not reinstate academic standing for students who are on academic suspension. See the Probation and Suspension webpage for more information.
If you are trying to appeal your institutional scholarship renewal, you will need to submit the Scholarship Exception Request.
- Who Should Appeal
- How to Appeal
- Appeal Deadlines
- Submit an Appeal
- To access the appeal, you must log in with your WVU Login information. Please see the "How to Appeal" section on what you must prepare before appealing before clicking the "Submit an Appeal" link.
Who Should Appeal
Students suspended from financial aid have the option to appeal for their aid eligibility. Students who meet the following criteria will be considered.
- Have extenuating circumstances* which:
- Were beyond their control;
- Occurred during a period in which the student was enrolled; AND
- Impacted their ability to be academically successful.
*Potential circumstances include but are not limited to a medical condition such as student injury, illness, or mental health diagnosis, medical diagnosis of a family member or close friend, death of a family member or close friend, birth of the student's child, divorce, separation, adoption of a child, issues related to COVID-19, or other personal difficulties that were unexpected and beyond the student's control.
- Are able to provide acceptable documentation addressing their extenuating circumstances to support the appeal.
- Have taken steps to address their extenuating circumstances and explain how these circumstances will no longer impede their ability to succeed academically.
- Are able to come back in compliance with SAP standards or able to graduate within three semesters of the appeal (which will be addressed through the Academic Success Plan developed with their academic advisor or Academic Affairs for students on the Keyser campus).
How to Appeal
Keep in Mind:
- Academic advisors often have earlier deadlines, so set up an appointment as soon as possible.
- Students can only appeal once during a semester.
- Completed appeals submitted with all necessary documentation are usually reviewed within 5 to 7 business days. This time may be extended during peak processing times – the start of each semester and throughout the summer semester.
- Incomplete appeals cannot be reviewed.
Steps:
You will be notified via your MIX email that you must appeal your financial aid eligibility. Please note students may not receive notification until after their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is received for the aid year.
- Meet with your Academic Advisor (or Academic Affairs for students on the Keyser campus) to develop your Academic Success Plan via DegreeWorks. Once completed, save your Plan as a PDF to submit with your appeal.
- Gather third-party documentation that supports your extenuating circumstances.
- Complete the appeal form. To access the form, go to the StudentForms website, log in with your WVU student username and password, and follow the on-screen instructions.
If you are appealing due to issues related to COVID-19, select the "Personal Difficulties" box as one of your reasons for appealing, then explain the impact in the personal statement of the appeal and provide a screenshot or copy of unofficial transcripts showing your courses and grades for the applicable semester(s). You can select multiple reasons to appeal. For example, if your COVID-19-related issue is also medical, you would select both "Personal Difficulties" and "Medical Conditions Such As Student Injury, Illness, or Mental Health Diagnosis" on your appeal.
You will be notified of the outcome of your appeal via your MIX email. Please note you are responsible for making payment when your bill is due regardless of the status of the appeal.
Appeal Deadlines
- Fall 2024 - August 30, 2024 (priority deadline was July 1, 2024)
- Spring 2025 - January 28, 2025 (priority deadline was November 1, 2024)
The deadline for Fall 2024 has passed.
*Appeals submitted after the priority deadline for each semester will be processed as quickly as possible. However, due to high volume we cannot guarantee that financial aid will be offered by the payment deadlines if the appeal is approved. To avoid late payment fees, please be prepared to have alternative payment in place to cover your balance due by payment deadlines such as a monthly payment plan or a credit-based private loan from a lender that does not require Satisfactory Academic Progress.
The deadline to appeal for the summer 2023 semester passed on July 1, 2023.
After the Appeal
If the appeal is approved...
- You will be notified via your MIX email that the appeal has been approved.
- After your appeal is approved, you are on probation status for financial aid. Your aid will be reinstated on a probationary status only for one semester unless you are making Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of the semester or - at the end of the probation semester - you successfully met the requirements specified by WVU in your Academic Success Plan.
- You will be reviewed at the end of each semester to ensure you are meeting the terms of the Academic Success Plan developed with your advisor or Academic Affairs for students on the Keyser campus (or to see if you have come into compliance or graduated).
- You must adhere to the courses listed on your Academic Success Plan for the specific semesters they are listed. If you are not able to take the courses during the listed semesters, you must develop a new Academic Success Plan with your academic advisor (or Academic Affairs for students on the Keyser campus) and submit a PDF of the new Academic Success Plan to the WVU Hub no later than 5 business days after the last day to add/drop a course from the start of the semester. Special consideration may be given in situations where the course being added/removed from the Plan for the semester has not started, and you have not received a 'W' for any course in the semester. Once a 'W' is recorded, a new Academic Success Plan for the semester cannot be submitted. Adding courses not listed on the plan or dropping/withdrawing from courses on the plan means you are not meeting the terms of your Academic Success Plan.
- If you do not meet the terms of your Academic Success Plan (and have not come into compliance at that time), further aid eligibility is removed immediately. Students are notified via their MIX email.
If the appeal is not approved, you will be notified via your MIX email. You may consider other forms of funding such as...
- Private scholarships from providers external to the University;
- Paying out-of-pocket;
- Utilizing our tuition payment plan to break institutional charges up into smaller payments;
- Pursuing loans from private lenders by searching for loans which do not require satisfactory academic progress.
Students can only appeal once per semester. Appeal decisions are final for the semester and cannot be appealed to a different level; however, students do have the option to appeal again for a future semester. Click here to read the full Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.