Enrollment Services Appeal

The University of North Florida recognizes that life events beyond your control may impact your academic success. If you feel that there are extenuating circumstances that contributed to poor academic performance, negatively impacted your financial aid, or hindered your ability to meet a residency deadline, you may submit an appeal to the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee. The decisions of the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee are final; no additional appeal review levels are provided.

A student’s circumstances must be extenuating to be considered by the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee.

Students may submit an Enrollment Services Appeal for review of the following decisions:

Denied In-State Residency
Denied In-State Residency Reclassification
Review of Residency Reclassification or Initial Residency Classification after the deadline
Denied Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal
Loss of Institutional Scholarship (UNF Presidential, Blue and Gold, Blue and Silver, etc.)
Loss of State Scholarship (Florida Bright Futures)

Students wishing to appeal a financial aid or residency decision must submit the following:

Enrollment Services Appeal
Signed statement explaining extenuating circumstances (uploaded with appeal)
Signed Academic Plan of Action (if appealing a financial aid decision) (uploaded with appeal)
Supporting documentation which corroborates your extenuating circumstances and Academic Plan of Action

The Enrollment Services Appeal is completed online in myWings:

Click on the Student Records box
Student Self-Service
Online Forms
Appeals and Petitions > Enrollment Services Appeal

Supporting documentation should be uploaded prior to submitting. Up to ten documents may be uploaded per appeal. The Enrollment Services Appeals Committee will not consider appeals submitted without documentation.

Submission of an Enrollment Services Appeal does not guarantee approval. For timely consideration and to ensure timely disbursement of funds, if the appeal is approved, appeals should be submitted as soon as possible.

Special or Unusual Circumstances Appeals

If you feel that you have special or unusual circumstances that are not being reflected on your FAFSA, please contact One-Stop Student Services to discuss your specific situation. Although considerations for specific situations are limited, we offer you the ability to provide us with this information.

The answers to the most commonly asked questions regarding the appeals process are posted below.

For additional questions, please contact One-Stop Student Services:

Phone: (904) 620-5555

Online Contact Form

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General

What is a Statement of Support or Supporting Documentation?

Supporting documentation comes in a variety of forms and depends on the extenuating circumstances outlined in the Enrollment Services Appeal. 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 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 gives a thorough account of any extenuating circumstances that may have hindered your academic progress. Students must submit a personal signed statement as well as statements of support from appropriate sources based on the circumstances. Any documentation that you feel strengthens your appeal should be submitted.
I submitted a previous Enrollment Services Scholarship Appeal, but find myself in another situation that also requires an appeal. Can I submit another Enrollment Services Scholarship Appeal?

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 hours required to complete your degree. The total should only represent the total 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 from or failed a class last semester. I did not know that doing so would break my Graduation Contract and result in my returning back to a Satisfactory Academic Progress Suspension status. Can I appeal this?

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 you do not have serious extenuating circumstances that lead 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 semesters. 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 be enrolled full time. However, I am graduating this term and I only need 9 hours of coursework. Can I appeal to have my scholarship pay at 9 credit hours instead of 12?

Yes. However, if approved, the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee will likely vote to pro-rate the scholarship. If the scholarship pays in full at 12 hours, it would pay at 75 percent for a student who needs 9 to 11 hours to graduate, 50 percent for a student needing 6 to 8 hours to graduate and 25 percent for a student needing 3 to 5 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 hours required for my Institutional scholarship after spring term, but I made them up over the summer. Do I need to submit an appeal?

No. In most cases, you can submit a Scholarship Action Request Form (available via myWings) indicating that you have completed summer term courses and now meet the renewal criteria for your scholarship. Submission of this form will result in evaluation by UNF Financial Aid and, if approved, potential renewal of your scholarship. However, if your specific scholarship does not allow summer enrollment to meet renewal requirements then you may need to submit an Enrollment Services Appeal citing extenuating circumstances for not meeting renewal criteria in fall and spring along with supporting documentation. For clarification on your specific scholarship, please contact One-Stop Student Services.

Residency

I am classified as an out-of-state student for tuition purposes, but I believe that I now meet the requirements to be classified as an in-state student. Unfortunately, I missed the deadline to submit my Residency Reclassification application. Can the Enrollment Services Appeals Committee help me?

Yes. Students who missed the Residency Reclassification Application deadline can submit an Enrollment Services Appeal asking to be considered for Residency Reclassification after the deadline. The Enrollment Services Appeals Committee will not make a decision on the merit of your residency application. Rather, the Committee will only make a determination as to whether or not you should be permitted to be reviewed by Residency Processing after the deadline. If you are appealing the Residency Reclassification deadline you should submit a personal signed statement explaining why you were unable to meet the deadline and provide supporting documentation to corroborate those circumstances.