Tennessee
Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) Appeal Procedures
NOTE: Appeal
forms are available in the Financial Aid Office or by choosing
the appropriate form from the options below.
Enrollment Status
Appeal
A recipient of the
TELS who is enrolled full-time (12 hours or more) may not
withdraw or drop below full-time enrollment after the 14th calendar
day (census date) of the semester (including the first day of
classes) and maintain their scholarship unless the student requests
and the institution approves the change in enrollment. A recipient of
the TELS who is enrolled part-time (6-11 hours) may not withdraw
or drop to less-than-part-time (0-5 hours) and maintain their
scholarship unless the student requests and the institution
approves the change in enrollment. Submit the completed form and
documentation to the Financial Aid Office.
1.
Complete the relevant appeal form. Attach verifiable documentation of
medical or personal reasons listed on the form and a detailed written
explanation.
2.
The student may appeal the decision to the Institutional Review Panel
(IRP), a panel comprised of two faculty members, two administrators,
and one student.
3.
The student will be notified, in writing, of a decision within 14
calendar days of the request.
4.
If the request to withdraw is approved, the TELS award will remain in
the student’s account for the current semester. The institutional
refund policy will apply.
5.
If the request to withdraw or drop below full-time is denied and the
student completes the drop or withdrawal process, the student will be
ineligible for the TELS award for the current semester and future
semesters.
One-Time Regain
and/or Repeat Option Appeal
A student who has
lost TELS eligibility because of failure to maintain the minimum TELS
GPA at a TELS benchmark may use the One-Time Regain and/or Repeat
Option Appeal form in an attempt to have their TELS eligibility
reinstated. Each option may only be used once, even if the
student has received a TELS award at more than one TELS eligible
school.
1.
The One-Time Regain Option may be used for students who lost the TELS
at the 24, 48, or 72 hour benchmark because they did not meet the
minimum TELS GPA requirement. However, a student may not file
the One-Time Regain Option until the next TELS benchmark has been
reached. For example, if a student loses the TELS at the 24
hour benchmark because his/her TELS GPA drops below 2.75, the student
must have the minimum 2.75 TELS GPA at the 48 hour benchmark in order
to utilize the One-Time Regain Option (assuming all other
continuation requirements have been met). Please refer to the
TN Lottery Scholarship Policies and Procedures for a detailed
explanation of the TELS GPA requirements.
2.
The One-Time Repeat Option may be used for students who lost the TELS
at the 24, 48, or 72 hour benchmark because they did not meet the
minimum TELS GPA requirement and have repeated a course and earned a
higher grade. If a course has already been repeated prior to or
at the benchmark at which the student lost the TELS, the One-Time
Repeat Option can be filed at the benchmark at which TELS was
lost. The One-Time Repeat Option allows the grade from the first
attempt to complete a course to be excluded from the student’s TELS
GPA and the grade from the second attempt to be included in the TELS
GPA calculation. However, if the student repeats a course
during a semester after a TELS benchmark was reached, the student
must wait until the next benchmark to regain the scholarship.
The One-Time Repeat Option can only be used one time and only for one
repeated class. Please note that filing the One-Time Repeat
Option does not guarantee that the minimum TELS GPA requirement will
be met or that TELS eligibility will be reinstated.
If you wish to file
the One-Time Regain and/or Repeat Option Appeal, you will need to
complete the appropriate form and submit it to the
Financial Aid Office. The student will be notified, in writing,
of a decision within 14 calendar days of the request. If the
One-Time Regain and/or Repeat Option Appeal makes the student
eligible for a TELS award, the student can then be awarded.
Appeals to the
TELS Award Appeals Panel
To appeal the IRP
decision, the student must appeal directly to TSAC by doing the
following:
- Provide a
written statement outlining the basis for the appeal and list any
pertinent information to the appeal.
- Mail to TSAC
within 45 days from the date of your denial letter:
TSAC Appeals Panel
Director of Lottery Scholarship Programs
Tennessee Student Assistant Corporation
404 James Robertson Pkwy., Suite 1510
Nashville, TN 37243
http://www.TN.gov/CollegePays/
The decision of the
Lottery Scholarship Award Appeals Panel at TSAC is the final
administrative appeal.
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