Financial Aid Appeal Information

Students whose Satisfactory Academic Progress status is probation, over the time frame or graduated have the option to file an appeal with the Satisfactory Academic Progress committee.

Steps to Appeal

  1. All official academic transcripts must be on file with the college before submitting your appeal.
  2. Confirm your program of study is correct in MyOTC before filing your appeal.
    • If you need to change it, you must do so before planning all your courses on your degree audit and submitting your appeal.
    • Contact your College Navigator or Admissions Counselor to make the change.
  3. Plan all your courses on your degree audit through your MyOTC.   Your degree audit must have the correct program of study before you plan your courses. For help completing your degree audit, contact your College Navigator.
  4. Complete the appeal form by the appropriate deadline.
    • The explanation should, in thorough detail, explain what happened during your most recent semester at OTC that cause the poor academic performance resulting in loss of Federal financial aid.
    • Complete the appeal form: Appeal for Federal Financial Aid.

Appeal deadlines

Financial Aid Deadlines

When should I submit my appeal?

When to Submit

You should submit your appeal early enough for the committee reviewing your appeal to have sufficient time for proper consideration of your request. Keep in mind there are periods of time in which a large number of students submit appeals to the college for review. Therefore, it will take a bit longer than usual for the committee to render a decision during these times. These periods typically occur in January, June and August.

Is there a deadline to have an appeal submitted?

Submission Deadlines

The recommendation is to submit an appeal as soon as you can following notification of the loss of aid eligibility and definitely before a semester starts.  However, if you wait until after the semester starts, the last day to submit an appeal is shown in the above box for each semester.  OTC will review appeals received after this date for the upcoming semester. Financial Aid will update your status at the end of the current semester.

What kind of information should I provide in my appeal?

Appeal Information

The information you provide should explain what happened in all previous college semesters which resulted in loss of student aid, and documentation is typically required.

An appeal that does not contain the required information or is not relevant to the semester(s) of low academic performance will not be approved.

How long will it take to review my appeal?

Appeal Review Time

Outside the ‘seasonal’ times mentioned above, you can expect to receive a response within 14-21 days following the submission of your appeal online.

What should I do if a decision has not been made on my appeal by the time classes start?

Pending Decisions

As mentioned before, appeals submitted during a time when a large number of appeals are received by the college may take a while for you to receive a response regarding the appeal.

You are welcome to stay in your classes while the appeal is being reviewed. However, keep in mind if your appeal is not approved, any account balance you have with the college will not be covered by Federal Student Aid and you will have the responsibility to pay the account.

How will I know what the decision is for my appeal?

Decision Notification

Financial Aid will notify you via your OTC email account regarding the decision on your appeal. OTC will either approve or deny your appeal.