Exceptions/Warnings/Appeals
A student who is notified of failure to meet SAP standards may be placed on warning or may need to appeal the conclusion reached by the Financial Aid Office and/or request that he or she be granted an exception to the policy. The Academic Dean’s office must grant academic reinstatement to students on academic suspension before the Office of Financial Aid will consider an appeal for financial aid eligibility reinstatement. Nursing students must be approved to stay in the program for the upcoming term by the Nursing Department Chair before the Office of Financial Aid will consider an appeal for financial aid eligibility reinstatement.
Appeal Requirements
If the student is not placed on a warning status, the student must respond and appeal in writing to the notification of failure to meet SAP standards. The response must be directed to the Financial Aid Director at Carroll. The response must describe in specific terms, why Carroll should grant an exception to its established SAP policy. As a minimum, the response must include the following (an appeal form is available online):
- A personal statement, plus supporting documentation, as appropriate, explaining the circumstances that have led to failure to meet established SAP standards
- The nature and timing of the circumstances (e.g., Injury or illness, death of a loved one). A student with a maximum credit hour violation must address the circumstances that prevented their graduation within the applicable credit limit.
- How the circumstances affected the students ability to meet the standards. If more than one enrollment period was affected, each enrollment period and the relevant circumstances must be specifically addressed.
- How the circumstances have been resolved or managed to permit the student to meet the standards
- The statement should also include an academic plan outlining how the student expects to meet the SAP standards, as well as the time frame in which the student expects to be back in compliance with such standards.
Appeal Deadlines and Processing
Appeals for financial aid eligibility reinstatement must be received in the Office of Financial Aid no later than November 15 for fall semester, no later than March 31 for spring semester and no later than June 1 for summer session. Appeals will be reviewed by the Satisfactory Progress Appeals Committee on a case-by-case basis as soon as possible, and may take two weeks or more for an answer depending on the appeal volume at the time submitted.
The Financial Aid Director and Satisfactory Progress Appeals Committee will review the student’s response and will make a decision on the appeal. Two actions may result on the appeal:
- The Financial Aid Director may deny the appeal. The Financial Aid Director is the final authority regarding SAP decisions. The student will be notified, in writing, of action on the appeal in a timely manner.
- The Financial Aid Director may approve the appeal. If such is the case, the student will receive written notice of the approval along with conditions to be met in the future, if appropriate. A student may be approved in one of two statuses:
- Probation: Carroll determines that the student should be able to be make satisfactory academic progress during the subsequent payment period and meet the college’s satisfactory academic progress standards at the end of that payment period.
- Academic Plan: The Satisfactory Progress Appeals Committee develops an academic plan for the student that, if followed, will ensure that the student is able to meet the institution’s satisfactory academic progress standards by a specific point in time.
Students approved on an Academic Plan will complete and sign the plan with the Director of Academic Advising or for nursing students, the Director of Nursing. The plan will be recorded in the Financial Aid Office and will be monitored by the Satisfactory Progress Appeals Committee every term. If a student is not academically progressing as planned, financial aid will be cancelled.