Appeals
PROCEDURE FOR APPEAL BEFORE THE STUDENT FINANCIAL AID COMMITTEE OF DECISION SUSPENDING FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY
The Student Financial Aid Committee is a University of Idaho appointed committee convened for the following functions:
1640.84
STUDENT FINANCIAL AID COMMITTEE
A. FUNCTION. [See also 2900.]
A-1. To recommend policies and procedures for the administration of all student financial aids under UI’s jurisdiction, i.e., scholarships, grants-in-aid, loans, work-study programs, and educational opportunity grants.
A-2. To advise the director of student financial aid.
A-3. To hear and decide appeals from students in matters concerning student financial aid.
A-4. To ensure that all pertinent documents are forwarded to the Administrative Hearing Board [see 1640.06] when students appeal decisions or procedures of this committee to that body.
A-5. To promote the increase of funds for student financial aid.
B. STRUCTURE. Five faculty members, two students, and (w/o vote) director of student financial aid, a member of the Student Support Services staff, and an additional person designated by the director. [rev. 7-97, 7-06, ed. 7-05]
Committee members are nominated by the Committee on Committees, and appointment is approved by the Faculty Senate. Notice of the current appointments are sent to the Financial Aid Office by the Faculty Secretary/Policy Coordinator’s Office, and indicate the names and contact information for each committee member, and any additional appointment information such as committee member’s capacity (i.e., committee chair, voting or non-voting status, etc.)
- Initial Appeal for Reinstatement of Financial Aid to College/Department.
When a student receives notice that his/her financial aid eligibility has been suspended, the student is advised by his/her College of the right to petition for financial aid reinstatement. The student must complete a Petition for Financial Aid Reinstatement form (available online on most College websites) and return it to the Dean’s Office of his/her College. Petitions should be submitted 3 weeks prior to the start of the term to allow enough time for processing. The petition form allows the student to make a statement as to why aid eligibility should be reinstated.
The College may request additional documentation in order to render a decision. The College may also review the student’s academic records and/or speak with course professors/instructors who have knowledge of the student’s situation. The College will render a decision to either reinstate the student’s financial aid eligibility upon certain terms (i.e., specific terms that the student must meet, also known as a Financial Aid Academic Plan), or to deny reinstatement if it feels the revocation of aid eligibility is appropriate. The College relays its decision to the student by email and also notifies the Office of Student Financial Aid Services. Upon receipt of said notice, Student Financial Aid Services will note the decision on the student’s financial aid record, recording either the terms of the Financial Aid Academic Plan if reinstatement has been approved or the suspension of financial aid eligibility if reinstatement is denied.
If financial aid reinstatement is denied, the College advises the student of the right to appeal the decision to the Student Financial Aid Committee and the student is instructed to contact the Student Financial Aid Services office.
- Appeal of College/Department Decision to the Student Financial Aid Committee.
- Upon contact by a student who indicates a desire to make an appeal to the Student Financial Aid Committee, the Student Financial Aid Office will instruct the student to provide a written statement as to why the student feels his/her financial aid eligibility should be reinstated. The student may provide any additional information he/she desires, including statements of third parties (i.e., physicians, counselors, or other persons who may have knowledge of the student’s situation), and details of any remedial steps student has taken.
- Upon receipt of such notice, the office of Student Financial Aid Services will convene a hearing before the current members of the Student Financial Aid Committee (or a quorum thereof) at a time most convenient to the student and the committee members. Notice of the hearing date and time is provided to the student, all committee members, and the representative(s) of the student’s College. The representative(s) of the College are invited to attend the hearing if there is additional information regarding the matter that the College might wish to present. The student may notify any person(s) he/she would like to attend the hearing of the time and date so that they may provide testimony in support of the student’s petition.
- The hearing is generally held in the Student Financial Aid Services office library. The Student Financial Aid Committee chair will convene the meeting, the committee members will review the student’s petition, academic records (including a degree audit and grade transcripts), and any information provided by the student and/or the College. The student is called before the committee to explain in person the circumstances of his/her financial aid suspension and answer any questions the committee members might have.
- After student leaves the meeting, if a representative of the suspending College has elected to attend, the committee may meet with him/her to further discuss the reasons for the suspension. After the College representative has left the meeting, further discussion takes place and a decision is reached.
- After the committee has heard all testimony, fully reviewed the petition and information provided, and fully discussed the issue, it will decide whether to reinstate the student’s financial aid eligibility. The Student Financial Aid Committee also has the authority to set terms with which the student must comply for reinstatement of aid to be made. Compliance with those terms must be maintained in each academic semester following the hearing for the reinstatement of aid to continue.
- The Director of Student Financial Aid Services will promptly contact the student to advise of the committee’s decision. The committee’s decision is also relayed to the student by written communication.
- The Committee’s decision is recorded in the student’s Financial Aid account record, including any terms of reinstatement (which then become a formal Financial Aid Academic Plan). A copy of the decision letter is mailed to the student’s College for its records. Minutes of the meeting, including the decision rendered, are provided to all committee members. In addition, redacted minutes (information that identifies the student removed) are provided to Provost, Chair of the Faculty Senate, the Chair of the Committee on Committees, the ASUI President, the Faculty Secretary and the Dept. of Special Collections & Archives at the U of I Library. Copies of all documents are also retained in the Student Financial Aid Committee records in the office of Student Financial Aid Services
- Failure to Comply with Terms of Reinstatement.
If the Student Financial Aid Committee’s decision reinstates the student’s financial aid eligibility upon student’s compliance with certain terms and conditions, those terms must be met each semester following the committee’s decision. Failure to meet those terms in any subsequent academic term will result in the student’s financial aid eligibility again being revoked. In that event, the student will have the right to start the appeal process over again, beginning with the appeal to his or her College/Department, as outlined in Paragraph 1 above.
- Athletic Aid Appeal Process.
The committee used to appeal College decisions on Satisfactory Academic Progress is the same committee used to review appeals for athletic aid cancellations. If a student has lost athletic aid and they would like to appeal the decision beyond the athletic department the student appeals to the Student Financial Aid Committee. Student Financial Aid Services sends a letter to the student letting them know the aid will be canceled in 16 days. The student must notify the Director of Financial Aid prior to that time with their intent to appeal the aid cancellation. The same committee and process described in bullet #2 will be followed in reviewing the student case.