Overview

Federal regulations require all schools participating in Title IV federal financial aid programs to have a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy that establishes and applies uniform standards to academic progress. The SAP Policy conforms to specific grade-based and time-based requirements. All students must adhere to the policy requirements in order to qualify and remain eligible for financial aid.

Students declared ineligible for financial aid on the basis of unsatisfactory academic progress may appeal the decision by completing the Satisfactory Academic Appeal Form.  Not all students are eligible to appeal their SAP status, so please go to Satisfactory Academic Progress  to learn more.

The instructions detailed below are ONLY for students not meeting SAP due to GPA and/or Completion Ratio. Please return to the SAP Policy Details for MTL Appeal information. 

​The appeal form is available year-round; however, financial aid eligibility is not ​consistently​ reinstated ​during semesters​. Therefore, ​semester deadlines are enforced. ​For your appeal to be considered for the ​approaching/​current semester, an appeal with supporting documentation ​must be on file no later than the Friday at 5:00pm CT before the ​​semester​ ​drop/add concludes. Please recall that you are fee liable for coursework once drop/add concludes, so you should take this into consideration when submitting your appeal. If your appeal is received and approved after the semester deadline, financial aid may be reinstated for your next semester of enrollment.

Instructions

Step 1

Go to your financial aid account via https://uwf.studentforms.com.

Step 2

Select the Manage Request button.

Step 3

Click the + radio button to add the SAP Appeal request for the applicable aid year. 

Step 4

The webform will provide detailed instructions.

Please be prepared to submit:
1. Student statement
2. A self-certified Academic Improvement Plan
3. Third-party supporting documentation

Your statement will detail the extenuating circumstances during the specific semesters of enrollment that prevented you from meeting SAP standards. You will also explain what changes in your situation have occurred. You can also view additional details regarding the student statement, the Academic Improvement Plan, and suggested third-party documentation via the SAP Policy Details towards the bottom of the webpage. 

Step 5

The webform will bring you back to the Appeals screen. Click on the SAP Appeal box to resume the submission.

Step 6

In order to self-certify your Academic Improvement Plan, you must meet with your Academic Advisor. If you don't know your advisor, go to Identifying your advisor. The Academic Improvement Plan template is provided within the SAP Appeal webform. You will download and print the template, meet with your Academic Advisor, and complete the Academic Improvement Plan based on the discussion with your Academic Advisor. 

When the documentation is completed, it will be uploaded under the same tab.

Step 7

You are required to enter a personal statement, and you must check the box that you will provide supporting documentation and click Continue.  Once you complete all parts of the webform, you can e-sign the document,

Step 8

After you e-sign or opt out of e-sign and upload the form, you may upload your third-party documentation. The Academic Improvement Plan can be downloaded and uploaded at that time.  

Step 9

After you have completed the webform and uploaded all required documentation, you can click SUBMIT to finalize all SAP appeal tasks, and then click the FINISH button to complete the SAP Appeal.

Please note the steps within the task can be completed intermittently. Meaning, you may log out of your financial aid account and log back in to complete individual steps as necessary until the entire task is completed.  

Next Steps

After the task is completed, your form will be automatically sent to the Office of Financial Aid for review. The SAP committee will review your appeal at the next available meeting, which occur bi-weekly during peak times (i.e., end of semester processing through the approaching semester's drop/add period). Meetings occur monthly during all other periods. You will be provided the committee determination via email (or text if opted-in). You are strongly encouraged to visit the SAP Policy Details for the entire SAP process and additional considerations.