Institutional Scholarship Appeals:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Need information about the appeal process? Visit the main Scholarship Appeals webpage!

Still have questions about the appeal process? Click on your question below:

Who should not submit an Institutional Scholarship Appeal?
Is a scholarship appeal the same as an academic appeal?
Is a scholarship appeal the same as a financial aid appeal?
Can I appeal in person or speak to the committee?
What is an "extenuating circumstance"?
What documentation should I submit?
When will the committee meet? When will I receive the decision?
Can I still submit an appeal after the semester starts?
How will I be notified of the appeal decision?
If my appeal is denied, can I still receive my scholarship?
If my appeal is approved, when will I receive my scholarship?
If my appeal is denied, can I submit a new appeal?
If my appeal is denied, how can I regain eligibility for my scholarship?
If I have a question, who should I contact?

Who should not submit an Institutional Scholarship Appeal?

This may not be the correct process for you, depending on why you lost eligibility or the type of scholarship for which you lost eligibility:

Lottery Scholarship: Did you lose your lottery scholarship? If so, the Institutional Scholarship Appeal process will not resolve this issue. If you did not meet enrollment requirements because of extenuating circumstances, you may file a Lottery Scholarship Appeal. If you did not meet GPA requirements, you will not be able to appeal (regardless of any extenuating circumstances) but you will have the opportunity to regain eligibility by raising your GPA to the required level. Please visit the "Regain Provision" section of our lottery website for more information.

Federal and State Aid: If you lost eligibility for federal and state aid (such as grants and loans) because of failure to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, this appeal process will not resolve the issue. However, you may be able to appeal through a different process. Please visit the Financial Aid Appeals webpage for information if you lost eligibility for financial aid due to failure to pass enough classes, and if you failed to pass enough classes because of extenuating circumstances.

Failure to Meet Initial Academic Requirements: If you are an incoming freshman or an incoming transfer student, and you do not meet the initial GPA and/or ACT requirements for guaranteed academic scholarships, you will not be able to appeal, even if you feel that extenuating circumstances prevented you from meeting the requirements. However, you may be able to apply for other scholarships which have varying requirements. Please visit our Scholarships website for more information about scholarships that may be available to you.

Is a scholarship appeal the same as an academic appeal? Can I appeal once for both issues?

No, the academic appeal process is different. If you have been notified by the Records Office that you are on academic suspension because your GPA is too low, you will need to appeal through the Academic Appeal process to resolve the academic suspension. An academic appeal, if approved, will allow you to enroll in classes for the affected semester; a scholarship appeal, if approved, will allow you to receive your scholarship for the affected semester. Please note: If you are on both academic suspension and scholarship suspension, you will need to submit both types of appeals, if you wish to enroll and to receive your scholarship.

Is a scholarship appeal the same as a financial aid appeal? Can I appeal once for both issues?

No, the financial aid appeal process is different. If you have been notified by the Financial Aid Office that you are on suspension because you did not meet federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, you will need to appeal through the Financial Aid Appeal process to resolve the financial aid suspension. A financial aid appeal, if approved, will allow you to receive federal aid such as grants and loans for the affected semester; a scholarship appeal, if approved, will allow you to receive your scholarship for the affected semester. Please note: If you are on both financial aid suspension and scholarship suspension, you will need to submit both types of appeals to receive your scholarship, since meeting SAP requirements is also a requirement for your scholarship.

Can I appeal in person or speak to the committee?

No, you will not have the opportunity to present your appeal to the committee. Instead, the committee will review your appeal and make a decision based on your academic record, your personal statement, and the documentation you provide (if you are appealing based on extenuating circumstances). This means it is very important that your appeal include all of the details (and documentation, if applicable) we will need to make a fair decision!

What is an "extenuating circumstance"?

An extenuating circumstance is a situation beyond your control which prevented you from being able to meet service, GPA, or enrollment requirements. Extenuating circumstances may include (but are not limited to) having a severe illness or extensive hospitalization which limited your ability to perform life tasks (such as attending classes or completing service hours), a family member having a severe illness which required your presence for a significant amount of time, a death of an immediate family member which impacted you significantly enough to affect class attendance or participation, or extreme financial hardship which prevented you from attending classes or completing service hours.

Generally, the situation must have occurred after the semester began. If your extenuating circumstance first occurred before the semester started and you chose to enroll anyway, you will need to explain what changed after the start of the term which affected your ability to meet service, GPA, or enrollment requirements.

Please note that you do not necessarily have to have an extenuating circumstance to be able to file a scholarship appeal. Please read the "Who Can Submit an Appeal" section on the main Scholarship Appeals webpage for information about appeal options for students who did not have extenuating circumstances.

What documentation should I submit?

You only need to submit documentation if you are appealing based on extenuating circumstances that prevented you from meeting scholarship requirements. The documentation you submit will depend on your individual situation. The suggestions below include documents which may help you support your appeal; however, this is not a comprehensive list. You should provide any documentation you feel supports your appeal and shows

(1) that you had extenuating circumstances during the semester(s) that you didn't meet scholarship requirements,

(2) how those circumstances would have affected your ability to meet scholarship requirements, and

(3) that these circumstances have been resolved, so that you can now meet scholarship requirements.

If you are appealing because of	You may want to submit
Severe illness of student	• A doctor's statement which addresses each of the above three items
Severe illness of family member	• A doctor's statement which addresses each of the above three items and which provides information about your involvement in the situation
Extreme financial hardship	• A copy of your household budget • A copy of your most recent pay stub and/or tax return • Documentation regarding any new financial issue which created the hardship • Documentation regarding changes in your financial situation which will allow you to meet scholarship requirements now
A death in the family	• Documentation which names the deceased and lists you as a survivor, such as an obituary, news article, or funeral program
Other extenuating circumstances	• Documentation will vary widely depending on the circumstance, but must address each of the above three items

A doctor's statement (or statement from another professional, such as a lawyer or counselor) should be typed on letterhead, dated, and signed. It should generally address each of the three items listed above, unless you provide separate documentation to address one or more of the items.

Please Note: If you have failed to meet multiple scholarship requirements (enrollment, GPA, and/or service), you must provide information (and documentation, if applicable) for each of the ineligibility issues. If you have failed to meet scholarship requirements for more than one semester, you must provide information (and documentation, if applicable) for all of the affected semesters, not just for the most recent term.

When will the committee meet? When will I receive the decision?

The appeal committee meets throughout the year and generally reviews appeals within three business weeks. Appeals submitted less than one month before the Fee Payment Deadline for a semester will not be reviewed until after the deadline to pay your bill. If you do not submit your complete appeal at least one month before the Fee Payment Deadline, you will need to make other arrangements to pay your bill, then may receive a refund later if your appeal is approved. Please note that MTSU offices are closed during certain times of the year, including several days during the Christmas holiday. The processing time for your appeal may increase based on these holidays. For example, if you submit your appeal during the last week of the fall semester, you will receive a response approximately four calendar weeks later—the standard three business weeks, plus the holiday week during which we are closed and therefore cannot process any appeals. Additionally, the appeal process may require more than the typical three weeks, if you fail to submit all required documents with your appeal or if you submit your appeal during a particularly busy time of year, such as August or January.

Can I still submit an appeal after the semester starts?

Yes, you may submit an appeal at any time during the year. However, if you submit your appeal less than one month before the Fee Payment Deadline for the upcoming semester, you will need to make other arrangements to pay your bill while you wait for the committee's decision. If your appeal is approved by the committee, financial aid funds will not be credited to your account until after the start of the semester; you may be eligible for a refund later if the reinstated aid results in a credit balance on your account.

How will I be notified of the appeal decision?

You will receive notification via your MTSU email address. You can also view your appeal results in RaiderNet:

• Log into PipelineMT
• Click on the RaiderNet tab
• Click on the Financial Aid tab
• Click on "Eligibility"
• Click on "Student Requirements"
• Look for the "Scholarship Appeal" item
• The "Status" column will tell you whether your appeal was approved or denied (Until your appeal is reviewed, the "Status" column will show that your appeal has been received but not processed.)

If my appeal is denied, can I still receive my scholarship?

No, if your appeal is denied, or if you choose not to appeal, you will not be eligible to receive the scholarship. However, if you lost eligibility due to GPA, you may be able to regain the award later. (See below about regaining eligibility.)

If my appeal is approved, when will I receive my scholarship?

If you receive an email that your appeal has been approved, you will generally see your scholarship applied to your account within five business days. If the award results in a credit balance, you may be eligible to receive a direct deposit refund approximately one week later or at the beginning of the upcoming semester (as applicable).

If my appeal is denied, can I submit a new appeal?

If your appeal is denied, you will not have the opportunity to appeal again until one year has passed. You will need to continue to meet all scholarship requirements, in the meantime. For example, you will need to enroll full-time each fall and spring semester and you will need to work on raising your GPA to the required level, if applicable. (However, you will not be required to complete service hours during any semester in which you are not receiving the scholarship.)

If my appeal is denied, how can I regain eligibility for my scholarship?

If you lost eligibility because you didn't meet GPA requirements, you may regain eligibility by bringing your GPA back up to the required level (generally 2.8 or 3.0, depending on the type of scholarship). You will then need to notify us by submitting a new Institutional Scholarship Appeal Form, and checking the box that indicates you are now meeting the GPA requirement.

If you lost eligibility because you didn't meet enrollment or service requirements, you will not be able to regain eligibility except through the appeal process as noted above.

If I have a question, who should I contact?

If you have a question about the appeal process or the documentation you need to provide (if applicable), you should speak with Bonnie McCarty or Julie Hughes. You can find contact information on our Office Staff webpage, in the Scholarship Staff section.

If you have a question about an appeal you have submitted but for which you have not received a decision yet, you should send an email to Bonnie or Julie and ask that it be forwarded to the Scholarship Appeal Committee.

We will unfortunately not be able to answer any questions about why your appeal was approved or denied. The committee will make a decision based on institutional policies and the information you submitted, and will not be able to discuss the decision. If you feel that you did have extenuating circumstances but did not submit sufficient documentation, please see the section above titled "If my appeal is denied, can I submit a new appeal?"