Academic Appeals
To be eligible for Federal Student Aid (FSA), you must meet requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Per the Department of Education, we must have a reasonable policy in place to monitor your academic progression.
Students requiring federal financial aid assistance must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
When you must submit an appeal:
If you are applying for readmission and you meet any of the criteria listed below (not meeting SAP) or if you meet any of the criteria listed below at the end of a spring semester, you must submit the Academic Appeal Form:
- Cumulative GPA:
- Undergradudate below 2.00
- Graduate non-licensure below 3.00
- Graduate Licensure below 2.70
- Progression Rate:
- Undergraduate or Graduate less than 67%
- Excessive Hours:
- Graduate or Undergraduate who have exceeded 150% of your program degree hours
If you are applying for readmission and you have attended other institutions since being enrolled at FSU, you must provide all transcripts from other institutions.
What documentation do I need to submit?
Your appeal may be based on any of the examples below and you must have verifiable supporting documentation. Verifiable supporting documentation means your documentation must support all terms that lead to your suspension, probation, completion rate, or excessive hours and can be verified.
Examples of types of verifiable documentation that can be submitted:
Injury, illness, or physical disability to the student or immediate family: a statement or supporting/verifiable documents from doctor or healthcare provider explaining nature and dates of illness.
Death of immediate family: all pages of the funeral program or obituary that shows the relationship, or death certificate.
Work-related difficulties: a statement from employer explaining work-related difficulties, and how the situation has changed.
Significant trauma in student's life that impaired emotional and/or physical health: a statement or supporting/verifiable documents from a physician, social worker, psychiatrist, counselor, police, etc.
COVID-19 Disruption: supporting/verifiable documents regarding the COVID-19 outbreak including, but not limited to, an illness to student or family member, compliance to a quarantine period, or the general disruption resulting from this outbreak.
Exceeded Maximum Attempted Hours to Complete Degree: Must submit the Financial Aid Excessive Review Form. You must complete this form with your advisor.
Appeal Deadlines:
Deadlines are based on the academic calendar and are subject to change:
- Spring semester - Readmit students - November 30
- Summer Semester - May 23
- Fall Semester - June 20 for those not attending summer school
- Fall Semester - Readmit students - July 21
- Fall Semester - August 4 for those attending summer school
The Academic Appeal Process:
Meet with an advisor to complete the academic appeal form and an Academic Success Plan. Upload the Academic Success Plan, along with all other documentation requested, in the form. If applying for readmission, submit your readmission application, if the appeal is approved. A ppeal approval does not guarantee re-admittance to the University.
The Academic Appeal Form must be completed in its entirety and include documentation to support your statements of 1) what happened as to why you were not academically successful, 2) what has changed in your situation that will now allow you to be academically successful at your next evaluation, and 3) what are your plans to remain successful in order to complete your degree requirements.
Currently enrolled students, click the Academic Appeal Form to complete and submit the form by the appropriate date.
Students reapplying for readmission who need to submit an appeal and/or students without access to FSU webmail, click the Academic Appeal Form - Readmit to complete and submit form by the appropriate date.
For more information on the Academic Appeal process, please send email inquiries to appeals@uncfsu.edu.
Academic standing is posted to student's academic record at the end of each semester, including summer, as follows:
Good Standing - Cumulative GPA 2.0 or higher for undergraduate; 3.0 or higher for doctoral and graduate and non licensure students, 2.75 for licensure students.
Students eligible for continued enrollment and may be eligible for financial aid (see Financial Aid, "Satisfactory Academic Progress").
Probation (Fall or Summer) - At the end of fall or summer, cumulative GPA below 2.0 for undergraduate students, below 3.0 for doctoral and graduate level, and below 2.75 for licensure only students. Students are eligible for continued enrollment for spring and may be eligible for financial aid to achieve good standing (see Financial Aid, "Satisfactory Academic Progress"). Students on probation at the end of the fall semester will not be permitted to register without meeting with their officially assigned advisor and preparing an Academic Success Plan. Student's enrollment is limited to 14 hours for the fall and 7 hours for summer. (Students on probation will sometimes be advised to delay subsequent enrollment to resolve the problems causing poor performance.) Students placed on probation at the end of the summer term must submit an Academic Appeal Form to determine continued enrollment and financial aid eligibility for the subsequent academic year.
Suspension - Cumulative GPA below 2.0 at the end of the spring semester for undergraduate students. Graduate level students are not placed on suspension. However, they will need to confer with the advisor or graduate coordinator for continued enrollment in the program.
Students ineligible for continued enrollment and ineligible for financial aid unless suspension is successfully appealed. Students who successfully appeal suspension will be reinstated and required to participate in the Student Success Program. Students who are suspended a second time will be permitted to re-enroll if they improve their status in summer school or participate in Academic Fresh Start. Academic Fresh Start does not appy to doctoral and graduate level students.
Academic Fresh Start allows undergraduate students whose academic record would otherwise prevent them from enrolling to resume their studies at Fayetteville State University after a period of non-enrollment without the burden of their prior grade point average. Students suspended two times can only return under Academic Fresh Start.
Academic Fresh Start does not apply to doctoral and graduate level students.
To be eligible for Academic Fresh Start, students must meet admissions criteria at Fayetteville State University. Students must demonstrate the potential for degree completion in one of the following ways:
- They must have a period of non-enrollment for at least four consecutive semesters and provide evidence in their request that the conditions that led to poor academic performance have been corrected; OR
- They must have a record of academic performance at another institution subsequent to their departure from FSU that demonstrates the potential for academic success at FSU.
A record of academic performance may be demonstrated by earning an Associate's degree, completing an academic certificate program, or earning at least 15 semester hours with a C or better.
You are evaluated for satisfactory academic progress at the end of the academic year (spring), at which time you must have earned at least 67% of your attempted hours with a minimum GPA of 2.0 if you are an undergraduate student and a minimum GPA of 3.0 if you are a graduate student.
If your total attempted hours (including all transfer hours) exceeds 180 if you are undergraduate and 54 for graduate or 150% of the total hours of the program, you may re-enroll if your GPA is 2.0 or higher for undergraduate and 3.0 or higher for graduate , but will be ineligible for financial aid without successfully appealing through the Academic Appeals Committee for a one time only approval of maximum hours. You will be evaluated for financial aid eligibility at the end of the academic year (spring) and will be notified by the Academic Appeals Committee of your eligibility status.
Additional Form Required: