Specific Appeal Procedures
A student who has been denied financial aid because of failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress may make an appeal to the Financial Aid Committee on Academic Progress. The appeal must be in writing, either in the form of a letter, a fax or an e-mail. It should be sent to the Associate Director of Student Financial Services and must be received by the date directed in the letter the student will receive notifying of loss of financial aid. The appeal letter should show that the student recognizes the cause of prior academic difficulties and has identified remedies that will ensure future academic success. Each appeal will be considered on an individual basis. Special attention will be given to students deemed to be educationally disadvantaged under “special circumstances”. Examples of special circumstances that may be considered include but are not limited to:
1) Death of a member of the immediate family
2) Serious injury or illness
3) Other circumstances beyond the student’s control
When the Committee has made its decision, the student will be notified in writing. If the appeal is granted, the student will be on probation for one term and must complete the requirements stated in the response letter to continue receiving aid past the probationary term.
A student may choose not to appeal the withdrawal of aid and instead decide to withdraw from school for a term. At the end of that term, the student may make an appeal to the Financial Aid Committee on Academic Progress for reinstatement of aid for the subsequent term. The appeal must be in writing, either in the form of a letter, a fax or e-mail. It should be sent to the Associate Director of Student Financial Services and must be received no earlier than the midpoint of the term the student has withdrawn and no later than one month prior to the beginning of the term in which he or she wishes to return. The letter should state what the student has done to prepare him or herself to succeed if aid is reinstated. When the Committee has made its decision, the student will be notified in writing. If the appeal is granted, the student will be on probation for one term and must complete the requirements stated in the response letter to continue receiving aid past the probationary term.
Students who have lost financial aid and have been denied an appeal may choose to continue taking classes at Marietta College while funding their education from non-financial aid resources. (It is important to note that the only way to raise the Marietta College GPA is to take classes at Marietta College. Credits transfer from other schools but grades taken at other schools do not affect the Marietta College GPA.) If, after one term, a student feels he or she is making significant progress towards meeting the satisfactory academic progress requirements but has not achieved the standard that would automatically qualify for reinstatement of financial aid, he or she may make an appeal to the Financial Aid Committee on Academic Progress for reinstatement of aid for the subsequent term. The appeal must be in writing, either in the form of a letter, a fax or e-mail. It should be sent to the Associate Director of Student Financial Services and must be received no later than one month prior to the beginning of the term in which they wish to have their aid reinstated. When the Committee has made its decision, the Associate Director will notify the student in writing. If the appeal is granted, the student will be on probation for one term and must complete the requirements stated in the response letter to continue receiving aid past the probationary term.
If a student is granted a probationary term and withdraws from the college after the first two weeks of that term, that term will be considered the probationary term and the grade point average recorded at the end of the term will be the official grade point average for consideration of continuation of financial aid.
In all cases, if an appeal has been granted and the student does not complete the requirements set by the Committee, financial aid will be lost until the qualitative and quantitative standards for their enrollment status have been met. When the student meets the qualitative and quantitative standards for their enrollment status, financial aid eligibility is reinstated.