Failing to Meet Eligibility Requirements
If you do not meet any one of the three Basic Eligibility Requirements, you will go on Financial Aid Warning during the next semester. Financial Aid Warning does not change the financial aid amount you receive, and you can still be enrolled full-time while receiving aid. Financial Aid Warning students do not need to take any action; Financial Aid will notify you that you are on Warning status when we make the determination. This is a one-semester opportunity to meet the three basic eligibility requirements.
At the end of the Financial Aid Warning semester, if you do not meet all of the three basic eligibility requirements, you will be suspended from receiving further financial aid. You will have two options to continue attending:
- Pay out of pocket for your courses until you meet all three basic eligibility requirements. If you pay for classes, please notify Financial Aid at finaid@wvup.edu so that we can review your progress afterward.
- File a financial aid appeal, by using the appeal form at the end of this section. For an appeal to be approved, you must have an extenuating circumstance that can be documented (auto accident, serious illness, death in family, etc.). The appeal form has further instructions.
Consideration of Special or Unusual Circumstances
If the information you filed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) does not reflect your current financial situation or does not take into account an unusual circumstance with you and/or your family you may submit a request for review of your financial aid status for special circumstances. In certain circumstances, the Financial Aid Office may use professional judgment to make adjustments to the FAFSA information to more accurately reflect your current financial situation.
A DEPENDENT STUDENT will qualify for consideration of special circumstances and should complete this form if any of the following situations apply to them:
- • A change in marital status for the parent(s)’ whose information was provided on your FAFSA.
- • A change in household size (change in the number of people in the household).
- • A change in income in the household that was involuntary and unexpected.
**For dependent students, we can only consider a change in the income of the parent(s)’ whose income was reported on the FAFSA; we cannot consider a change in the income of the student.
**For independent students, we can consider a change in the income of the student and/or their spouse.
- • Unusually excessive medical bills for someone in the household.
Examples of situations that cannot be considered Special Circumstances include:
- • Voluntary job loss/change. For example, we cannot adjust income for a student who quit their job to attend school.
- • Removal of funds from a retirement account (401k, 403b, etc). If these funds are required to be reported on the tax return, they are also required to be reported on the FAFSA.
- • Loss of income due to a reduction in commission-based, seasonal, or overtime employment.
- • Unexpected windfalls of income (lottery winnings, inheritance, etc.).
In order to request a special circumstances appeal, students must meet the following criteria:
- • Student must have completed the current year’s FAFSA.
- • Student must have completed the admissions process, and all transcripts from previous institutions must have been provided to our Admissions department.
- • Student must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress or be eligible for aid due to an approved financial aid appeal.
Additional documentation may be requested throughout the process. Please note that not all requests will result in the student receiving more financial aid. Requests for special circumstances appeals are typically reviewed within 5 business days, but during peak times the review may take longer. If your circumstances qualify, we will send you instructions to complete the appeal process. While in the appeal process, you may be required to make payment arrangements with the Business Office to ensure that you do not get dropped from your courses for non-payment.