Scholarships :: HOPE Lottery Scholarship Appeal Guidelines

HOPE Lottery Scholarship Appeal Guidelines

HOPE Lottery Scholarship Appeal Guidelines

The Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) is awarded based on policies set forth by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC). TSAC’s TELS policy allows an appeal process for students who fail to meet enrollment requirements due to extenuating medical or personal circumstances.

Tennessee Lottery Legislation DOES NOT grant the authority to allow appeals (regardless of the circumstances) for the following:

• GPA requirements for both initial and continuing eligibility.

• Score requirements for ACT, SAT, and GED tests.

• Limit on attempted hours or years of enrollment.

• Income limit for a Need-Based Supplemental Award.

• Residency status.

However, TELS regulations DO allow for students who are denied eligibility to appeal the following:

• Change of enrollment from full time to part time or from part time to less than 6 hours after the last day to drop a class without a “W”. The change of enrollment must be approved in advance for non-emergency situations.

• Withdrawal from the university.

• Failure to enroll within 16 months of high school graduation, home school completion, or GED test date.

• Failure to enroll for one or more required semesters.

• Other extraordinary circumstances beyond your control (must be verifiable and thoroughly documented by authoritative sources).

If, after reviewing the information above, you feel that you can meet the criteria for an appeal, please complete The University of Memphis TELS Appeal Form. Make sure you supply all information requested on the form, sign and date the form, attach all appropriate documentation, submit the form to the Scholarship Office, and keep a copy of the form and all documentation for your records.

REMEMBER: Appeals will not be reviewed without verifiable documentation of one’s extenuating and/or personal circumstances.

Please use the following table for example reasons for appeals and examples of appropriate, verifiable documentation.

Example Reasons for Appeals	Examples of Appropriate, Verifiable Documentation
Major illness or injury of student	ü Statement from medical doctor or other licensed health care provider, on letterhead, indicating the type of illness or injury, the date of onset, and whether the student is still under medical care or has been released. ü Police accident report.
Major illness, injury, or death of an immediate family member (parent, sibling, spouse, child) with whom the student lives	ü Statement from medical doctor or other licensed health care provider, on letterhead, indicating the name of the patient, relationship to the student, the type of illness or injury, the date of onset, and whether the patient is still under medical care or has been released. ü Police accident report. ü Copy of obituary or other death notice published in a newspaper. ü Copy of an official death certificate.
Extreme financial hardship of student or immediate family with whom the student lives or upon whom the student is dependent	ü A letter explaining in detail the nature of the extreme financial hardship and what action the student and/or family is taking to deal with the situation. ü Documentation of the current family income, outstanding medical expenses not covered by insurance, etc. ü Copies of court documents that will support the basis for appeal.
Fulfillment of religious commitment of all students in a specific faith	ü A letter stating the name of the religion, how and when the student became a member of that religion, and the contact information of the local branch with which the student is affiliated. ü A letter from a cleric or officer of the local branch of the religion stating what type of religious commitment is required of the student, when the commitment must be fulfilled, the time frame for fulfilling that commitment, and who is expected to fulfill that commitment.
Military obligations of student or of immediate family member with whom the student lives	ü Copy of activation letter for student who is activated is sufficient.

The University of Memphis HOPE Appeal Guidelines

The University of Memphis has established an Institutional Review Panel (IRP) to hear appeals for students who are denied or who lose their HOPE Scholarship. If you receive notice that you have lost your eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship, you have 30 days to file an appeal with the Scholarship Office. (Additional time, up to a maximum total of 45 days, will be granted in the event of verifiable, documented extenuating circumstances).

The IRP has six (6) meetings a year to hear appeals for the HOPE Scholarship. According to TSAC TELS policies and procedures, students must receive notification within fourteen (14) days of their appeal decision. Thus, please use the following table for the dates of this year’s IRP meetings and when HOPE Appeals are accepted by the Scholarship Office for review.

2009 IRP Meetings	Appeals Accepted
January 9, 2009	December 29, 2008 -January 8, 2009
March 6, 2009	February 23 – March 5, 2009
May 8, 2009	April 20 – May 7, 2009
June 26, 2009	June 15 – June 25, 2009
August 7, 2009	July 27- August 6, 2009
October 23, 2009	October 12 – October 22, 2009

Important Reminders:

In the event you receive notification of loss of TELS eligibility, you…

ü Must submit your appeal during the above specified dates.

ü Should give the Scholarship Office and the TELS Institutional Review Panel (IRP) a minimum of two (2) weeks to review and respond to your appeal;

ü Have the right to appeal to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation(TSAC) in Nashville within 45 days upon receipt from the IRP that your appeal has been denied:

Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation

℅ Lottery Scholarship Award Appeals Panel

Suite 1510, Parkway Towers

404 James Robertson Parkway

Nashville, TN 37243

NOTE: Any Information regarding the HOPE Lottery Scholarship on this website may be subject to change or be corrected as necessary without prior notice.

*Annual Updates to the TELS Rules: The state legislature typically makes changes to the TELS rules in June of each year. The University of Memphis receives official notification of the new rules and procedures in late July or August of that year. This website may include basic information about the changes before that time, but detailed information about the new rules is generally not available until early October. If you wish to learn about any recent changes, please visit TSAC’s website at http://www.collegepaystn.com.

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