Enrollment Services Appeal

General

• What is a Statement of Support or Supporting Documentation?

  Supporting documentation comes in a variety of forms and depends on the appeal type and extenuating circumstances cited in your personal statement. Students appealing based on a death in the family should submit a legible copy of the death certificate, funeral program or obituary.  Students appealing based on health reasons need to submit medical documentation. In general, any claim of an extenuating circumstance that hindered a student’s academic success should be backed up with concrete documentation.

   

  Statements of support may be submitted with an Enrollment Services Appeal and can come from a variety of sources. For example, one may choose to seek a statement of support from an academic advisor, professor or an employer. A student experiencing serious medical issues may choose to seek a statement of support from a healthcare professional. Statements of support should be signed, dated and printed on official letterhead.

• What other information should I provide?
  The decisions of the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee are final. Therefore, you should take the proper time to be sure your appeal is complete and provides a thorough account of any extenuating circumstances that may have hindered your academic progress. Students must submit a signed and dated personal statement, as well as statements of support from appropriate sources based on the circumstances cited in your appeal. Any documentation that you feel strengthens your appeal should be submitted.
• Can I submit multiple Enrollment Services Scholarship Appeals?

  While we support your right to submit an Enrollment Services Appeal, we caution you that the likelihood of a subsequent Enrollment Services Appeal being approved based on identical circumstances is low. You should submit a subsequent appeal if the reason for that appeal differs from the reasoning for your first appeal. For example, if your first appeal was for Residency Reclassification and now you are submitting an appeal for the loss of a scholarship, those are appeals for two different reasons and you are encouraged to submit. If the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee previously denied your appeal and you resubmit the exact same appeal it will not be reviewed by the Committee as decisions of the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee are final.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

• My Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal was denied for lack of extenuating circumstances. Can I appeal to the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee?
  Yes, you have the right to appeal your SAP denial with the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee. However, your Enrollment Services Appeal statement must include the extenuating circumstances that hindered your academic performance. If you did not include extenuating circumstances in your SAP appeal because you did not think it was necessary, be sure your Enrollment Services Appeal includes a detailed explanation of the circumstances that led to your Satisfactory Academic Progress suspension AND supporting documentation to corroborate those circumstances. Remember that the decision of the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee is final.
• What is a Graduation Contract?
  A Graduation Contract is a document that you complete with your academic advisor. The form is a true “contract” in that it should state the exact number of credit hours required to complete your degree. The total credit hours should only represent those needed to complete your degree program without additional minors, concentrations or courses that are not needed to fulfill the requirements of your degree program.
• What happens if I withdraw from or fail a course after my Graduation Contract is approved?

  Students who withdraw from, fail or receive an incomplete (I) grade in a course after having a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal and Graduation Contract approved, or receive a low term GPA will return to a “suspended” status immediately after the next SAP evaluation period. In order to be considered eligible for financial aid, the student would then need to file a new SAP Appeal and Graduation Contract on the basis of new extenuating circumstances.

• I withdrew/failed a class last term that broke my Graduation Contract, resulting in a Satisfactory Academic Progress Suspension. Can I appeal?
  While you have the right to appeal, please note that the Graduation Contract students are required to sign as part of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal specifically reads, "This contract is binding. Incompletes, withdrawals, course failures or failure to meet minimum SAP GPA requirements from this point forward will result in a breach of this contract and doing so will result in the student being immediately returned to Financial Aid Suspension." Therefore, if there were no extenuating circumstances beyond your control leading to the withdrawal or failing grade, the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee will not consider your appeal.
• What is an Academic Plan of Action?

  An Academic Plan of Action is a statement of continued academic success. An appropriate Plan of Action should outline how you plan to ensure future success if your Enrollment Services Appeal is approved. The Enrollment Services Appeals Committee strongly recommends you meet with an academic advisor to formulate your Plan of Action. A successful Plan of Action should not make statements such as, “I plan to make straight A’s next term,” as that may be an unrealistic plan that would ultimately set you up for failure. Additionally, your Plan of Action should not include "attending all class sessions" and/or "studying," as these things are expected of all University of North Florida students. An appropriate Plan of Action should outline specific measures you will take to meet SAP standards in all future terms. Some examples might be: reducing work hours and/or extracurricular commitments; utilizing campus resources such as tutoring and academic advising, etc. Remember to DOCUMENT your Academic Plan of Action!  For example, if you are reducing your work hours to commit more time to your academics, you should include a signed letter from your employer (on company letterhead) which outlines your old and new work hours.

Scholarships

• Can my Institutional scholarship be extended beyond the end of the contract?
  No. Due to budgetary restrictions, scholarships are approved for a limited number of years and cannot be extended to allow students to complete a double major, add a new minor or for any other reason. Students receiving an institutional scholarship are bound to the scholarship length as set in the signed Scholarship Agreement.
• My Institutional scholarship requires that I enroll full time but I am graduating and only need 9 credit hours. Can I appeal?
  Yes. However, if approved, the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee may vote to prorate the scholarship based on enrollment. If the scholarship pays in full at 12 credit hours, it would pay at 75 percent for a student who needs 9 to 11 credit hours to graduate, 50 percent for a student needing 6 to 8 credit hours to graduate and 25 percent for a student needing 3 to 5 credit hours to graduate. The scholarship will not be authorized to pay at the full amount for fewer than 12 attempted credit hours per term.
• I did not meet the credit hours required for my Institutional scholarship after spring term, but made them up over the summer. Do I need to appeal?
  No. We review grades and credit hours at the end of the summer term to capture students who renew their scholarships. However, if your specific scholarship does not allow summer enrollment to meet renewal requirements, you may need to submit an Enrollment Services Appeal citing your extenuating circumstances for not meeting renewal criteria in fall and spring, along with supporting documentation. For clarification on your specific scholarship, please refer to the Scholarship Agreement you signed or email unfscholarships@unf.edu.

Residency

• I am an out-of-state student for tuition purposes, but meet requirements for in-state tuition.

  The Enrollment Services Appeals Committee can help you! Students who missed the residency deadline, or are appealing a residency determination, can submit an Enrollment Services Appeal asking to be considered for Initial Residency or Residency Reclassification. If you are appealing your residency decision, you should submit a signed and dated personal statement explaining your circumstances, along with supporting documentation.

Excess Credit Hour Surcharge Review

• Are second bachelor's degrees included in Excess Credit Hour Surcharge calculations?

  Second bachelor's degrees or post-bac students are not excluded from the Excess Credit Hour Surcharge. However, since most second bachelor's degrees only require an extra 30-40 credit hours, students most likely will not end up in an excess credit hour situation.

• Are courses taken as a transient student included in Excess Credit Hour Surcharge calculations?

  Yes. Transient students are degree-seeking students who have been given permission to enroll in courses at another public Florida university or college. All transient credit hours earned at another institution and transferred back to UNF will be included in the attempted credit hours, and counted towards the excess credit hour surcharge.

• Are graduate courses counted in Excess Credit Hour Surcharge calculations?
  Graduate level courses are included in a student's Excess Credit Hour counter only if they are being used towards a baccalaureate degree requirement.