Students outside on campus

SAP Appeal

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal

If you experience unusual, mitigating circumstances, you may appeal the loss of your eligibility, in writing, by submitting the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form to the Financial Aid Office. We will consider all appeals submitted on time for the upcoming semester, in the order in which they are received. The Financial Aid Office will notify you of the decision after it has been made. All appeals must be supported with adequate documentation of circumstances or they will not be considered. All appeal decisions are final.

Forms Databank
Things the Appeal Committee considers:
  • Have you submitted adequate documentation?
  • Have you been granted an appeal approval in the past?
  • Have you addressed the cause of your SAP failure?
  • Have you demonstrated the circumstances have been corrected, and you are now ready for academic success?
  • Did you meet with an Academic Counselor/Advisor?

**Issues with instructor(s), course(s), job conflicts, transportation problem, or childcare conflicts DO NOT constitute unusual mitigating circumstances and will not be considered**

Loss and Reinstatement of Eligibility
"I have great grades, but the e-mail said my financial aid was cancelled because I have exceeded the Maximum Credit Limit for my program. Can I appeal to keep my financial aid?"

Possibly. You will need to meet with an academic counselor/advisor to discuss your program of study, and whether you are making adequate progress toward completion of the program. Your counselor/advisor will assist you with completing an appeal form and sign off on a program checklist that explains how many credits you have to complete before you have earned your degree/certificate. If you are completing a second or third program of study, a Maximum Timeframe Failure may not be appealed.

 

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Approval Process
"I’ve been APPROVED, so now what happens?"

If your appeal is approved by the committee, your financial aid will be reinstated only if funds are available. This is important to remember, some aid types may not be available for reinstatement once the appeal has been approved and there is no guarantee of full re-instatement of the original award(s). Depending on the type of approval, you will either be placed on Financial Aid Probation (one additional semester of aid eligibility to regain satisfactory academic standing at the college) or a longer term SAP Academic Plan (with specific recommendations as to what is needed to remain eligible on a continuing basis) while you work on improving your academic standing.

If the probationary period has passed and satisfactory academic progress has not been achieved, you will be removed from probation and your financial aid eligibility will be lost. If you have been approved for the VCCS Academic Renewal Process, please speak to a Financial Aid Advisor for further assistance.

**Important** While on financial aid probation/academic plan, you must continue to make progress toward your degree. You must be 100% successful in all attempted courses. At the conclusion of each semester, you will be reviewed for continued progress and, if continued progress is not maintained, financial aid probation/academic plan is revoked and you are no longer eligible for aid at CVCC.

Second appeals:

A second appeal will only be considered after the following two criteria are met:

  1. You have successfully completed no less than 6 credits toward your degree without financial aid assistance.
  2. You have met with an academic counselor regarding how to return to satisfactory academic standing. At this time, an academic plan for success is created by the counselor and the counselor signs the appeal for reinstatement of financial aid.

 

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Denial Process
"My appeal was DENIED, so now what happens?"

A full explanation for the basis of the decision, and what will need to be done to re-instate financial aid for future semesters will be given at the time of the denial. This will usually involve you completing academic coursework without financial aid assistance until all of the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress are achieved.

If you choose not to appeal, or your appeal is denied, you may return at your own expense and complete the classes necessary to meet the required standards to reinstate your financial aid.