Unusual Enrollment Appeal
If you were denied federal student aid because you did not earn academic credits at any of the institutions you attended, you may appeal the decision through an Unusual Enrollment Appeal.
The U.S. Department of Education has established new regulations to prevent fraud and abuse in the Federal Pell Grant Program by identifying students with unusual enrollment histories. Some students with an unusual enrollment history have legitimate reasons for their enrollment at multiple institutions. However, such an enrollment history requires the Financial Aid Office to review the student's enrollment history to determine future federal financial aid eligibility.
At times, students are selected for unusual enrollment history review after their financial aid has already been awarded. In these cases, future financial aid disbursements will be canceled until the issue has been resolved. No aid can be awarded or disbursed until our office has reviewed the student's academic history and the issue has been resolved.
What is Unusual Enrollment History?
Unusual enrollment history is the specific pattern the Department of Education uses to select students who have received a Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Direct Student Loans at multiple institutions during the past four academic years. Students are required to have earned academic credit during the award year in which they received Pell Grant or Federal Direct Student Loan funds at each previously attended institution.
Unusual Enrollment Appeal Process
If you were denied federal student aid because you did not earn academic credits at any or all institutions attended, you may appeal the decision, as follows:
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Submit the Unusual Enrollment History Appeal Form — located in Financial Aid Forms — along with a signed (handwritten signature) detailed statement explaining why you were unable to successfully earn the credits at the previous institution attended to the Financial Aid office.
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Provide supporting documentation as to why you did not successfully earn the credits at the previous institutions.
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To review your enrollment history, we will need transcripts to complete the review. These transcripts should be attached to the Unusual Enrollment Appeal form with documentation. No federal aid can be awarded until all required transcripts and documentation has been received. As part of the review, the Financial Aid Office will verify that academic credit was earned at each institution during the previous four years. If you did not earn academic credit at any institution where you received a Federal Pell Grant or Federal Direct Loans during the relevant award years, we cannot award federal financial aid to you.
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Once the appeal form is received, the Financial Aid Office will review the appeal along with any additional supporting documentation. If after review, the office determines that you are eligible for reinstatement, you will be notified via your Central Piedmont email.
If You Chose Not to Appeal
If you choose not to appeal your denied eligibility of financial aid based on extenuating circumstances, you also have the option to regain financial aid eligibility after you have completed one academic term consisting of a minimum of six credit hours without receiving financial aid assistance.
The coursework must be completed with passing grades (successful completion is defined as earning a grade of A, B, C, D or P). Once the term has been completed, you can submit an appeal after final grades for that semester have posted. You can select the option on the appeal indicating that you have successfully completed one academic semester without financial aid assistance.