Academic Scholarship Policies

Merit Scholarships

(Trustees, Presidential, Provost, Deans, Excellence, International, Transfer)

Academic scholarship recipients should refer to the initial letter that accompanied their letter of admission regarding scholarship amounts and specific criteria required for renewal. Unless stated otherwise on this letter, annual scholarship awards are renewable for up to 4 years of undergraduate study.

Academic scholarships are offered to incoming undergraduate students by the Admissions Office and are renewable but never increased regardless of a student’s academic standing, course load, financial need, leadership activity or any other criteria. Quinnipiac University does not offer a separate scholarship program for students who did not receive one as an incoming student, regardless of their GPA.

Academic scholarship awards are applicable toward full-time tuition costs during the fall and spring terms. Should a student also receive an athletic scholarship or other award denoted for “tuition only” including Yellow Ribbon benefits, tuition exchange or any other tuition-based scholarship, Quinnipiac University reserves the right to reduce or cancel the academic scholarship in excess of full tuition costs.

Academic scholarships are applicable toward tuition charges only and not applicable toward ancillary charges such as student and technology fees, room and board, course overloads, books, part-time enrollment, summer and winter intersession terms, clinical rotations or other incidental costs. Academic scholarships are not available for graduate coursework (unless specifically stated on the initial award letter for PT, OT, PA and 3+1 majors). Undergraduate students who transfer into one of the majors mentioned above (in parentheses) are not automatically eligible to have their scholarship continued into the graduate portion of their new program. Students majoring in these programs may also have a more stringent set of renewal criteria listed on their initial award letter.

Academic scholarships are not applicable for periods of non-enrollment or increased when a student earns their bachelor’s degree in less than 4-years. Annual academic scholarship award amounts are applied equally across fall and spring terms in a single academic year, cannot be consolidated into one semester nor carried forward into other academic years. Students must be matriculated as a full-time undergraduate student and meet all renewal criteria to receive their academic scholarship award. Scholarships are also not transferable to other family members or students.

Scholarship Renewal Policies and Procedures

Quinnipiac University awards scholarships in recognition of student achievements and future potential. The requirements for continuation of scholarships are often higher than those required for renewal of other types of financial aid.

First-Year Students

The Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid will email a warning notice to first-year students at the end of the fall semester whose GPAs appear to be under the minimum required for renewal. These notices are sent as a courtesy to assist students in meeting the requirements before the evaluation period at the end of the spring term.

All Scholarship Recipients

Scholarship renewal criteria are normally measured at the end of the spring term. Students falling below the minimum cumulative GPA or credit requirements for renewal are identified and the following notices are generated:

Scholarship Loss

Students who fall below scholarship renewal criteria will receive a scholarship loss letter or email that will include instructions on appealing the loss of the academic scholarship.

Scholarship Warning/Loss

Students with a previous warning or probation on file who continue to fall short of renewal requirements will receive a scholarship loss letter or email that will include instructions on appealing the loss of the academic scholarship.

Filing an Appeal

Appeals should be submitted within two weeks from the date the scholarship loss letter or email is received. Appeals should be submitted by completing the Appeal Form for Financial Aid/Scholarship Reinstatement online.

Complete the appeal form

Questions about the form may be directed to the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid at finaid@qu.edu or 203-582-8750.

Appeals received by anyone other than the student will not be reviewed. Once the Appeals Committee Chair receives the student’s written appeal, (s)he will review the merits of their request. A written response will be sent to the student within 10 days of this review outlining the results of their appeal. The Committee Chair will also notify the University Director of Financial Aid of this decision, All appeals should include any mitigating circumstances that may have caused the student’s deficiency, documentation to support the student’s circumstances and a corrective action plan. The Committee Chair will submit to the student, by email, the outcome of their appeal and any corrective measures necessary to maintain eligibility for financial aid and/or academic scholarship. The decision of the Committee Chair is FINAL. Review and/or consideration of appeals will cease after the add/drop period of the semester.

Summer Coursework

Oftentimes students will take summer courses to work on improving their cumulative GPA. It is important to note that taking classes at another institution will only help improve credit deficiencies as the GPA from another institution is not transferable.

If a student on scholarship warning/probation brings their cumulative GPA above the minimum required for renewal as a result of taking “part-time” winter or summer session coursework, they will remain on scholarship probation for the subsequent term until they demonstrate the ability to perform at levels consistent for renewal while also maintaining a full-time course load.

Scholarship Probation

When a student is placed on scholarship probation, it is expected that they make every reasonable effort possible to move beyond the issues that caused the academic deficiencies and craft a personal academic improvement plan that may include:

1. Scheduling regular meetings with the Learning Commons

2. Meeting regularly with professors and advisers

3. Demonstrate an ability to perform at the minimum academic levels consistent for scholarship renewal

If a student continues to uphold the terms of their probation, scholarship eligibility will continue until the minimum standards for automatic renewal are met. Should the student fail to meet these renewal criteria, the scholarship will be terminated for the semester following the end of the probationary term. Academic progress is measured once per year for students who continue to meet the terms required for renewal and once per semester for students who are on scholarship probation.

Denial of Appeal

While the appeals committee may be sensitive to evaluating mitigating circumstances that may have caused a scholarship loss, there are instances where a student’s appeal may be denied. Students are encouraged to re-appeal their scholarship denial at a later date once they meet the minimum terms required for renewal OR have adequately demonstrated their ability to perform at academic levels consistent for scholarship recipients.

Finally, it is important to note that academic scholarships have more stringent renewal criteria than regular financial aid. Students who fail to meet the renewal criteria for academic scholarships should meet with their financial aid counselor to discuss the process of applying for other types of need-based aid.

Rev. 05/22