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Financial Aid Appeals

All appeal documentation must be received no later than fourteen days prior to the last day of class for the semester you wish to appeal. Please do not submit original documentation as we will be unable to return any documents submitted.

Deadline to File Appeals

Date Term
November 22, 2023 Fall 2023
April 23, 2024 Spring 2024
July 25, 2024 Summer 2024

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If you have extenuating circumstances, you may appeal the decision that you are no longer eligible for financial aid.

Approval or denial of a financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal does not address or affect eligibility for UT Knoxville scholarships or the HOPE Scholarship. You are also advised to consult with One Stop before making any academic decisions that may affect your financial aid eligibility (such as failure to attend class, class withdrawals, incompletes, etc.).

Situations that may be considered in an appeal include, but are not limited to:

  • Extenuating circumstances that prevented you from maintaining satisfactory academic progress, but have since been resolved
  • Serious illness or injury
  • Death of an immediate family member
  • Class cancellations
  • Dual degree objective
  • Change in major (only one change in major per student will be considered)
  • Academic second opportunity

If you have a grade change after you have been notified that you are not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements and you feel the grade change would allow you to meet the standards, it is your responsibility to submit a request to review your status. The request should be in writing and should explain why the grade was changed after the Registrar certified grades for the semester.

UT will take into consideration the total number of appeals you submit. If your appeal is granted, your progress will be reviewed at the end of your probationary term. You do not need to submit additional documentation for this review to occur. Once you have been reviewed, you will be notified of the results of your semester progress and future aid eligibility through your UT email account.

How to Submit Your Appeal

The first step in completing a Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal is submitting the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form available on our Forms page. You must provide a completed appeal form, a detailed statement explaining why you did not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress guidelines and the steps you’ve taken to meet them in the future, supporting documentation, your Academic History, and an Academic Plan signed by your advisor detailing your courses from the semester for which you are applying through graduation (if your advisor is unable to provide a plan through graduation they will need to indicate why). All of these items must be provided before the appeal can be reviewed. Once all requested documentation has been received, your appeal will be reviewed by the Appeal Committee.

If Your Appeal Is Approved for a Probationary Semester of Aid

You will receive one semester of aid on a probationary status. You must meet all the following criteria to be back in good standing and off probation.

  1. Achieve a 2.0 GPA for the probationary semester
  2. Complete 67% of the hours attempted for the probationary semester
  3. Follow your Academic Plan submitted with your appeal without deviation

If after your probationary term you meet the cumulative 2.0 GPA and 67% completion standards, your Satisfactory Academic Progress hold will be cleared.

If you meet the above criteria but do not meet the cumulative standards after your probationary term, you may be eligible for continued probationary status on a term by term basis provided that you continue to pass 67% each term with a minimum 2.0 GPA. You will be required to complete a Request for Review of Academic Plan form that will be emailed to you at the end of your probationary term. You may also be required to submit an updated Academic Plan.

If you do not meet the term requirements, you will no longer be eligible for financial aid.

If you have a SAP hold or you’re on SAP probation, you must follow your Academic Plan without deviation. Deviation from the plan without prior authorization will result in failing the probationary period and you will no longer be eligible for financial aid.

If You Do Not Appeal or Your Appeal Is Denied

You will not be eligible for financial aid until you meet the cumulative SAP standards.

You may attend the following semester(s) at UT or another institution and successfully complete enough credit hours to reach the cumulative 67% credit hours requirement with the required GPA. You will not receive financial aid during this time.

If you choose to attend another institution, aid cannot be awarded until an academic transcript is received and reviewed. Please note your GPA from another institution will not transfer to UT.

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Students may appeal their financial aid eligibility if they have unique financial circumstances.

Financial aid eligibility for each academic year is calculated based on the information you provided on the FAFSA. The income and asset information that you submitted was evaluated by a formula called Federal Methodology as set by Congress. This formula assumes that 2019 income is a good predictor of the family’s financial strength during the student’s 2021–2022 enrollment. Based on this assumption, financial aid eligibility is determined using 2019 tax return information.

Situations that may merit appeal include, but are not limited to:

  • Loss or change of employment
  • Loss or change in amount of child support, Social Security, or other benefits
  • Divorce or separation of parents
  • Death of parent(s)
  • Unusual medical expenses (not covered by insurance)
  • One-time taxable income used for life changing events (e.g. IRA, pension distribution, back-year Social Security payments)
  • Parent retired
  • Marriage of the student

Situations that do NOT merit appeal include, but are not limited to:

  • Standard living expenses (e.g. utilities, credit card payments, children’s allowances, etc.)
  • Mortgage payments
  • Car payments
  • Credit card or other personal debts
  • Vacation expenses
  • All other discretionary expenses

How to Submit Your Appeal

The first step in completing an appeal is to contact One Stop Student Services by phone or email to explain your situation. You will be directed to a Financial Aid Counselor who will discuss the specifics of your situation to determine if you should submit this appeal. If they determine that you are eligible to submit this appeal, they will update your account with the list of documents that will be required for the type of appeal you request. Once all requested documentation has been received, your appeal will be reviewed by the Appeal Committee.

Please note that changes that occur in the 2020 tax year will not be reviewed until the 2020 taxes are available and a tax return transcript along with all 2020 W-2s and/or 1099s can be provided for student and parent (or student’s spouse).

If Your Appeal Is Approved

Your FAFSA will be updated in accordance with the Appeal Committee’s findings, and financial aid will be updated if required. Please note that an approved appeal is not a guarantee of additional financial aid.

If Your Appeal Is Denied

Appeal results are final. Your appeal will be closed and will not be reviewed again by the Appeal Committee unless you are able to provide additional documentation that was not previously submitted with the original appeal.

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Some students may have a severe situation that has resulted in the breakdown of your family support unit. You may be able to appeal your dependency status to see if you can be considered an independent student.

Situations that may merit appeal include, but are not limited to:

  • Physical or emotional abuse
  • Severe estrangement
  • Abandonment
  • Parental drug abuse
  • Parental mental incapacity
  • Parental incarceration

Situations that do NOT merit appeal include, but are not limited to:

  • Self-sufficiency
  • Unwillingness of the parent(s)/stepparent(s) to assist you financially
  • Parent(s) do(es) not claim student as dependent on tax return
  • Reluctance to request information from parent(s)/stepparent(s)

How to Submit Your Appeal

The first step in completing an appeal is to contact One Stop Student Services by phone or email to explain your situation You will be directed to a financial aid counselor who will discuss the specifics of your situation to determine if you should submit this appeal. If they determine that you are eligible to submit this appeal, they will update your account with the list of documents that will be required for the type of appeal you request. Once all requested documentation has been received, your appeal will be reviewed by the Appeal Committee.

If Your Appeal Is Approved

Your FAFSA will be updated in accordance with the Appeal Committee’s findings, and financial aid will be updated if required. Please note that an approved appeal is not a guarantee of additional financial aid.

If Your Appeal Is Denied

Appeal results are final. Your appeal will be closed and will not be reviewed again by the Appeal Committee unless you are able to provide additional documentation that was not previously submitted with the original appeal.

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Some students may need their budget increased to allow for additional funding.

Situations that may merit appeal include, but are not limited to:

  • Childcare expenses
  • Computer purchase (one time only)
  • Internship/student teaching expenses
  • Medical expenses (one time per academic year)
  • Additional books and supplies
  • Study abroad expenses

Situations that do NOT merit appeal include, but are not limited to:

  • Expenses for which you have already been reimbursed or will be reimbursed
  • Expenses that do not exceed the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship’s standard allowance
  • Expenses incurred while you were not enrolled at UT

How to Submit Your Appeal

The first step in completing an appeal is to contact One Stop Student Services by phone or email to explain your situation You will be directed to a financial aid counselor who will discuss the specifics of your situation to determine if you should submit this appeal. If they determine that you are eligible to submit this appeal, they will update your account with the list of documents that will be required for the type of appeal you request. Once all requested documentation has been received, your appeal will be reviewed by the Appeal Committee.

If Your Appeal Is Approved

Your budget will be updated in accordance with the Appeal Committee’s findings, and financial aid will be updated if required. Please note that an approved appeal is not a guarantee of additional financial aid.

If Your Appeal Is Denied

Appeal results are final. Your appeal will be closed and will not be reviewed again by the Appeal Committee unless you are able to provide additional documentation that was not previously submitted with the original appeal.