Scholarship Exception Requests
General Information
- Scholarship Exception Request Types
- What is the purpose of the Appeal and Deferment Exception Request?
- Scholarships Students May Appeal or Request to Defer
- Difference Between Appeal and Deferment
- Degree-Pursuant Course Requirement
How to Access and Submit a Scholarship Appeal
Timeline
- When to Submit a Scholarship Exception Request Form (appeal deadlines)
- Payment Towards Your Balance Due
- When You Can Expect the Committee to Make Their Decision
- After Appeal or Deferment Decision
Eligibility and Required Documentation
- Examples of Eligible Extenuating Circumstances
- Am I required to submit third-party documentation?
- Examples of Third-Party Documentation
Scholarship Exception Request FAQs
General Information
See below for details and common questions about appealing and deferring scholarship eligibility.
Scholarship Exception Request Types
Students may submit either an Appeal and Deferment Request or a Part-Time Request for their scholarships. Each form will be discussed in the questions below.
What is the purpose of the Appeal and Deferment Request?
Scholarship Appeal or Deferment Request
Students failing to meet renewal requirements will not have their scholarship renewed and will lose future eligibility. Students may appeal if they can document extenuating circumstances (such as a family, medical, diagnosed mental health, or personal event which adversely affected their academic performance). Requests are viewed on an individual basis, and approval is not guaranteed. If approved, please note that semesters in which a student did not receive the scholarship due to not meeting the renewal requirements will still be counted against the maximum number of semesters for the scholarship.
How to Access and Submit a Scholarship Appeal
Part-Time Scholarship Appeal Request
A Part-Time Scholarship Appeal Request is appropriate for students who:
- are graduating this academic year
- have no additional degree-pursuant courses available
- are enrolled in less than 12 credit hours
If you are enrolled in less than 6 hours, your institutional scholarships will be prorated.
For the WV Promise Scholarship, you may receive a prorated amount for part-time enrollment in your final 2 semesters of eligibility only. You will be automatically evaluated for part-time WV Promise eligibility, but should notify the WVU Hub as soon as you know you will be enrolled part-time to ensure the scholarship is processed properly before your charges are due.
How to Access and Submit a Scholarship Appeal
Scholarships Students May Appeal or Request to Defer
If you were unable to meet the renewal requirements for institutional scholarships or the WV Promise Scholarship due to extenuating circumstances, you may appeal for reconsideration through this process. Eligibility for all institutional scholarships and the Promise Scholarship can be appealed. Federal aid and some state aid, including but not limited to WV Higher Education Grant and Pell Grant, may not be appealed through this process.
Eligible aid includes:
- Climb Higher Scholarship
- Innovators Scholarship
- Scholarship of Distinction
- Go First Scholarship
- Dean and Excellence Scholarships
- WVU System Connection Grant
- Diversity Scholarship
- Leadership Scholarship
- Transfer Scholarship
- Promise Scholarship
- University Merit Scholarship
- Bucklew Scholarship
- Foundation Scholarship
WV Promise Scholarship
Only certain types of WV Promise requests can be approved at the institutional level; other requests have to be sent to the State for review. If documentation needs to be sent to the State, your permission will be requested before forwarding the information. WV Promise requests require third-party documentation. You can find more information on the WV Promise Scholarship Renew Your Scholarship website.
Difference Between Appeal and Deferment
Appeal
Appealing is an option provided to students who have previously lost their scholarship due to extenuating circumstances that impacted their ability to achieve the renewal requirements for the aid. The appeal gives you the opportunity to request reinstatement of your scholarship based on those circumstances. Again, through this process you must explain the extenuating circumstances that caused you to lose your scholarship in the first place and what you have done to correct this.
Though you are able to appeal for the WV Promise Scholarship, if you choose not to, or if the appeal is denied, the WV Promise Scholarship cannot be reinstated once it is officially lost. You must be meeting renewal requirements before the beginning of the next academic year, or successfully appeal to regain the scholarship, or the scholarship is permanently lost.
Deferment
Students may be considered for the deferral of their scholarship for a one-year period for reasons other than attendance at another post-secondary institution. Reasons for deferral may include situations such as military service or a medical issue.
Students who participate in a WVU-approved study abroad experience or receive prior approved Transient Coursework to attend another post-secondary institution while remaining a degree-seeking WVU student can defer their scholarship(s) during their time away from WVU. For students participating in a Study Abroad Exchange program, the scholarship can be used if the enrollment requirements have been met at the other institution.
Degree-Pursuant Course Requirement
Degree-pursuant courses are courses prescribed by the Course Program of Study. Only degree-pursuant courses determine enrollment status and are eligible for Title IV federal aid and WV state aid.
These courses may be:
- Major course requirements
- General education requirements
- Elective Courses
For more information about CPOS and degree-pursuant courses, visit our CPoS Definitions webpage.
How to Access and Submit a Scholarship Appeal
Students can access the Scholarship Appeal or Deferment Form or the Part-Time Scholarship Request Form in their StudentForms account. For step-by-step instructions, see our How to Access and Submit a Scholarship Appeal webpage.
Timeline
When to submit a Scholarship Exception Request Form
Students who are interested in appealing the Promise Scholarship may do so by submitting the appropriate Scholarship Exception Request. For additional details, please refer to our Promise FAQs webpage.
Scholarship Appeal or Deferment Requests
Appeals may be submitted once a scholarship has been not renewed at the end of the academic year. Please note that you may take summer classes in order to try to regain eligibility. The submission deadlines are:
Summer 2024
- Priority deadline: June 1, 2024
- Final deadline: July 1, 2024
Fall 2023: July 1
Spring 2024 - January 28, 2024 (priority deadline was November 1, 2023)
The deadline for spring 2024 passed as of January 28, 2024.
The final deadline to submit an appeal is July 1, 2023 for the summer semester and August 28, 2023 for fall.
Deferrals may be submitted once information is available regarding the circumstances. For example, if you receive orders to attend Basic Training, as soon as you receive your orders, you may submit a request.
Part-Time Scholarship Requests
Part-Time Requests may be submitted once you are registered for the semester you are requesting, and your enrollment plans are complete. Submitting these requests before you are finished registering or making any enrollment changes delays processing and may impact the scholarship amount. The submission deadlines are:
Summer 2024
- Priority deadline: June 1, 2024
- Final deadline: July 1, 2024
Fall 2023: July 1
Spring 2024 - January 28, 2024 (priority deadline was November 1, 2023)
The deadline for spring 2024 passed as of January 28, 2024.
The final deadline to submit an appeal is July 1, 2023 for the summer semester and August 28, 2023 for fall.
When You Can Expect the Committee to Make Their Decision
Once a decision is made, you will receive a communication via your MIX email. This usually occurs within 3 to 5 business days but may take longer during higher volume periods. If more documentation is required, the committee will reach out to you.
After Appeal or Deferment Decision
You will be notified via your MIX email whether your request has been approved or denied.
If approved, your scholarship(s) will be updated as determined by institutional policy and changes will be viewable on your WVU Portal. You will be responsible for any late fees incurred while waiting for a decision. Approval is one-time only and does not guarantee future exceptions will be granted.
Please note that if your request is denied, all decisions made by the committee are final. You will be responsible for any balance due on your account. For other options to help fund educational expenses, see our Other Funding Options webpage. To explore private loan options, visit our Private Loans webpage.
Payment Towards Your Balance Due
You are responsible for meeting all semester payment due dates, with other payment arrangements, until your scholarship eligibility can be confirmed. For more information about making a payment and viewing your charges, visit our Payments webpage.
Eligibility and Required Documentation
Examples of Eligible Extenuating Circumstances
Potential extenuating 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, or other personal difficulties that were unexpected and beyond the student's control.
Please note that financial hardship alone is not grounds for approving these requests, as scholarships are awarded based on academic merit and do not take financial need into account.
Required Documentation
Third party documentation is required for institutional and Promise scholarship appeal and/or deferment requests. Third party documentation is not required for part-time requests.
Am I required to submit third-party documentation?
For institutional scholarships, third-party documentation is not required, but it is highly recommended. The committee may ask for it before processing your request.
If you are a WV resident student requesting an exception for the WV Promise Scholarship, third-party documentation is required to process your request.
Examples of Third-Party Documentation
- For health-related requests, a letter from your provider stating you are receiving treatment for a particular condition is sufficient -- additional details are not needed. You may also provide a letter from your provider stating they are approving your return to school.
- For internships and co-op experiences, please include documentation about the semester(s) and how many credit hours you are expecting to earn.
- For study-abroad experiences, you should include documentation that lists the name and host country for your study abroad program, the program provider, start and end dates for the program, how many credit hours you expect to earn, and what semester you plan to return to WVU.
- For personal circumstances, you should provide any documentation that allows the Committee to make a fair decision regarding your situation.
- Other third-party documents that the Committee has received have been newspaper articles, emails, letters from other WVU departments, and obituaries.
Scholarship Exception Request FAQs
See our Scholarship Exception Request FAQs webpage for more information and frequently asked questions.