Student Requirements:
Students are required to meet specific requirements to maintain their scholarships. To maintain the LIFE Scholarship students must earn a Life GPA (see below) of a cumulative 3.0 or better, and earn 30 hours by the end of their first year, 60 by the end of their second year, and 90 by the end of their third year. The LIFE scholarships include credit hours taken during high school in this total, but Palmetto Fellows does NOT. Retention criteria for the Palmetto Fellows scholarship are similar, but note that the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship requires a 3.00 USC GPA while the LIFE Scholarship requires a 3.00 LIFE GPA. General University Scholarships can be maintained with a 3.00 USC GPA. There are no hours requirements for General University Scholarships.
| Scholarship | GPA Requirement | Hours Requirement | Special Consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| LIFE | 3.00 LIFE | 30, 60, 90 | Can include Dual Enrollment, AP, and IB credits |
| Palmetto Fellows | 3.00 USC System | 30, 60, 90 | Cannot include pre-college credit |
| General University Scholarship | 3.00 USC System | None | Transfer coursework not applicable |
See below for an example of the messaging that students at risk of losing their scholarships have received from the Office of Financial Aid.
Dear <first name>,
At the end of the spring term, we review the academic record of all LIFE Scholarship recipients. Based on your record, it appears that you did not meet the renewal criteria to keep your LIFE scholarship for 2021-22. To keep the LIFE Scholarship, you must have at least a 3.00 LIFE GPA and earn 30 credit hours for the year. This includes the fall, spring, and summer terms.
If you do not have a 3.00 LIFE GPA and 30 hours earned by the end of Summer 2021, you will lose the LIFE Scholarship for 2021-22. The LIFE Scholarship is an invaluable asset to your college financial plan. We certainly do not want you to lose your scholarship. Summer school might be a good option for you. Find out more about how to apply for aid for the summer.
If you decide not to attend summer school, you can appeal the loss of your scholarship. All appeals should be sent to the SC Commission on Higher Education (CHE). To appeal, you must have a compelling reason that affected your academic performance this year. For more information about the appeal process, please visit CHE’s website. If you choose to appeal, CHE will notify you of the appeal decision.
For information about the renewal requirements for LIFE, please visit our website. If you have questions about the LIFE Scholarship, please email us at uscfaid@sc.edu or call us at 803-777-8134.
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We look forward to helping you.
Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships
Dear <first name>,
We regret to inform you that you do not meet the requirements to remain a Palmetto Fellows Scholar. Because of this, your Palmetto Fellows Scholarship has been suspended.
Pursuant to renewal requirements established by state law, Palmetto Fellows Scholarship recipients are required to maintain a cumulative 3.0 University of South Carolina system grade point average as well as earn a minimum of 30 credit hours during the fall, spring, and summer semesters. According to University records, at this time, you do not meet one or both of these eligibility requirements.
In order to keep your Palmetto Fellows award, you will need to present a cumulative University of South Carolina system GPA of at least 3.00 and 30 credit hours prior to the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester. If you plan to attend summer school in an effort to raise your GPA, you must attend University of South Carolina Columbia or one of the University of South Carolina system campuses. Renewal eligibility is based on a student's University of South Carolina system GPA and only coursework taken within the University system calculates into this GPA.
If you do not meet the renewal requirements by the end of Summer 2021, your Palmetto Fellows Scholarship will be terminated. You have the opportunity to appeal the termination with the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) if you feel that you have compelling extenuating circumstances that contributed to your academic performance during the past academic year. Such circumstances (serious health condition, death or serious health condition of an immediate family member, traumatic/extraordinary event) will need to be documented in writing (i.e., letter from physician, counselor, etc.) and will need to be accompanied by a cover letter outlining the grounds for the appeal. Students who may have a grade change appeal pending will need to have a letter from their instructor verifying the pending grade change.
If you decide to submit an appeal, you may obtain an Application for Appeal by visiting the CHE website. There you will find information regarding appeal guidelines, an overview of the appeals process as well as an Application for Appeal that can be printed.
CHE makes the determination regarding your continuance in the Palmetto Fellows program and will notify you of the outcome of the appeal.
Best wishes for a pleasant summer and we look forward to having you back on campus soon.
Sincerely,
Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships
Dear <student>,
We regret to inform you that your General University Scholarship has been suspended and thus will not be renewed for the 2021-2022 academic year. Based on your cumulative University of South Carolina system GPA at the end of the Spring 2021 semester, you do not meet the minimum requirement for renewal. University scholarship recipients must maintain a cumulative 3.00 University of South Carolina system GPA at the end of each academic year in order to have their scholarship renewed.
In order to regain eligibility for your scholarship you will need to present a cumulative University of South Carolina system GPA of at least 3.00 prior to the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester. You will be given the opportunity to resolve your suspension by attending Summer School at University of South Carolina Columbia or one of the University of South Carolina system campuses. Please note that coursework taken at an institution outside of the University system will not assist you in regaining your scholarship. Scholarship renewal eligibility is based solely on a student's University of South Carolina system GPA, and only coursework taken within the University system calculates into this GPA.
If you attend Summer School and raise your cumulative University of South Carolina system GPA to a 3.00, you will need to notify the Financial Aid Office prior to the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester so that your scholarship may be reinstated. You will not have this opportunity once classes begin in the fall or during any future semesters.
Scholarship suspensions may be appealed under limited conditions. Please view the Scholarship Appeal Policy for General University and Financial Aid Committee Scholarships more information. All appeal documentation for the 2021-2022 academic year must be received electronically no later than August 2, 2021.
If you do not present a minimum 3.00 cumulative University of South Carolina system GPA by the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester, your scholarship will be terminated. Once terminated from a scholarship program, a student will never be eligible to receive that scholarship again. Please note that if you are an out of state student receiving a tuition reduction, if your scholarship is terminated, your tuition reduction will also be terminated. There are no appeals once a scholarship has been terminated.
For additional information, and hopefully to answer any questions you may have, please see the Scholarship FAQ information page.
Best wishes for a pleasant summer and we look forward to having you back on campus soon.
Sincerely,
Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships
Intervention Intended Outcomes:
The goal of this outreach is to leverage the established relationship with an academic advisor (a person whose name students can identify reaching out), to make students aware that their scholarship is at risk. Advisors also have the curricular context to assist students in credit hour or GPA needs to retain scholarship.
Timeline for Intervention:
Early-Mid May
Intervention Process:
- The UAC will receive a list of students from Financial Aid who are identified as being at risk to not retain their scholarship, either due to GPA, credit hours, or both.
- The UAC will add these students to the appropriate Watch Lists in EAB Navigate and open cases in Navigate for those students based on their circumstance.
- Cases will automatically be assigned to the student’s assigned advisor. If the assigned advisor is a faculty advisor, the UAC will reassign the case to an Undergraduate Academic Advisor, departmental contact, or an Exploratory Advisor.
- Advisors will reach out to their students via EAB text message and email to inform
them of their situation and provide support.
- Students’ Life GPA and hours can be found in Self Service Carolina by going to the Student Profile and selecting “Life GPA” in the left menu bar. This is important because many students Life GPA and hours will be different from their institutional GPA and hours.
- Advisors will document the outreach in EAB and close the case with appropriate case close reason.
This can be sent as a mass text.
Hi! This is (your name), your academic advisor. Please check your email for a very important message from me regarding your financial aid for next year.
Advisors should customize this language and send individual emails to each student.
Hi (name),
I wanted to reach out because I have received notification from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships that you are at risk of losing your LIFE/PF/HOPE Scholarship for (upcoming semester) due to (credit hour completion/GPA/both). (insert details here – i.e. your current LIFE GPA is a 2.8 and you are required to have a 3.0, you have currently completed 27 credit hours but are required to complete 30, etc). You have through the summer term to meet these requirements in order to retain your scholarship. Please reach out to me if there is anything I can do to support you or any questions I can answer. You may also wish to reach out to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at 803-777-8134 or uscfaid@sc.edu.
Best,
(your name)
Advisors should attempt multiple outreach efforts over a period of days including email and text messaging through Navigate. Once advisors have either made contact with the student or have exhausted outreach efforts, they can close the case by clicking the “Close Case” button.
This will prompt the advisor to note how the case was closed. You can choose one of several options:
Select “Contact Made” if you made contact with the student via phone call, text, or email and helped the student resolve the issue at hand.
Select “Student Unresponsive to Multiple Approaches” if you were unable to make contact with the student after several outreach attempts using various platforms email, phone calls, and/or text messaging.
Select "Contact Not Attempted - GPA Too Low" if it is not possible for the student to earn a 3.00 GPA after taking two summer classes.
Select “Alert was Issued in Error” if the alert seems to be erroneous – use sparingly, contact Financial Aid first