���������̳

V. Special Circumstances

The following may be exceptions to the eligibility requirements for students with special circumstances:

• Leave of Absence. In the case of a recipient-student who has an approved personal leave of absence or is unable to satisfy one or more specified conditions because of the student's medical or personal circumstances, as approved by the Assistant Vice President, Student Success & Dean of Students, the student may receive or continue to receive an award under the scholarship program upon resuming the student's education, so long as the student continues to meet all other applicable eligibility requirements. If it is a disability accommodation, please contact the Center for Disability Access.
• Military Service. In the case of a recipient-student who is a member of the National Guard or a member of a reserve unit of a branch of the United States military and is unable to satisfy one or more specified conditions because the student is or will be in basic or special military training, or is or will be participating in a deployment of the student's guard or reserve unit, the student may receive or continue to receive an award under the scholarship program upon completion of the student's basic or special military training or deployment.
• Inaugural Cohorts. Students enrolled at ���������̳ as of July 1, 2021 who have attained junior status at ���������̳ as of July 1, 2023, or who enrolled at ���������̳ as of July 1, 2022 and who attain junior status as of July 1, 2024 and who are otherwise in compliance with RIGL Section 16-112, shall be eligible for a Hope Scholarship under that chapter.
• Students with Disability. Any student with a disability otherwise eligible for a scholarship pursuant to the provisions of RIGL 16-113 shall be entitled to access this program and shall be afforded all reasonable accommodations, as required by the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, including but not limited to, enrolling on a part-time basis and taking longer than four (4) years to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. (See Section VI.)
• On Track to Graduate. Students enrolled in certain academic programs that have been identified as needing additional time to complete (i.e., in excess of 120 credits); students who require developmental education, including multilingual learners; or students in double majors may be considered “on track to graduate” for the purposes of Hope Scholarship program, even though they are not on a path to complete a bachelor’s degree in four (4) years.  For students who meet these criteria, “on track to graduate” will be determined based on the length of their program.

Students who have one of these circumstances and are otherwise eligible for the Hope Scholarship, but have not received notification of award, should follow the appeals process outlined in Section VII of this manual and should email hope@ric.edu if they have any questions about the appeals process.

VI. Hope Scholarship for Students with Disabilities

A student with a disability shall be afforded reasonable accommodations as necessary to provide students with an equal opportunity to benefit from the Hope Scholarship. Students who are approved for a reduced course load as a disability-related accommodation by the ���������̳ Center for Disability Access may be considered as a full-time student for the purposes of eligibility for the Hope Scholarship. However, students must meet all other relevant eligibility criteria.

The Center for Disability Access is responsible for working with students to make disability accommodations. The Center for Disability Access is the College’s designated agent for determining eligibility, facilitating access, and coordinating accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. Students requesting adjustments, modifications or services related to a disability should register with the Center for Disability Access to determine eligibility.

Students with an approved reduced course load accommodation may complete no fewer than 12 credits per academic year while retaining their status in the Hope Scholarship program. However, the Hope Scholarship program will only cover tuition and mandatory fees for up to 60 attempted credit hours. Students with an approved reduced course load will not be eligible to receive additional Hope Scholarship funding after 60 credit hours have been attempted. Students must meet all other Hope Scholarship program requirements.

How to Request a Reduced Course Load Accommodation

Students who wish to request accommodations should visit ���������̳ Center for Disability Access to get started. Students may also contact the Center for Disability Access at cda@ric.edu, 401-456-2776, or visit the Center for Disability Access for more information. Please note that relevant and current documentation from a qualified professional is required to establish a non-obvious disability and disability-related need for the specific accommodation requested.

At the time of approval, the Center for Disability Access will communicate a student’s reduced course load accommodation to relevant offices, including the Office of Financial Aid. The Office of Financial Aid will note the approved exception to full-time status and will determine whether the student meets all additional criteria for eligibility for the Hope Scholarship at the time the student earned sixty (60) credits. Please note that a reduced course load accommodation may impact other forms of financial aid. Students are encouraged to confirm their status and total impact to their aid package with the Office of Financial Aid before registering for fewer than 12 credits or withdrawing or dropping from courses that will reduce their number of registered credits each semester. 

Please note: Students who are permanently approved for this accommodation do not need to reapply for the reduced course load accommodation every semester. The accommodation would apply to that academic year and future semesters.

VII. Appeals Processes

Any student who believes they have met all of the eligibility criteria under the Hope Scholarship program but has been denied may submit a . This Appeals Form should also be submitted by any students who believe they should be eligible for the Hope Scholarship due to Special Circumstances as described in Section V of this policy manual. The Hope Appeals Committee will review appeals and make decisions regarding approval or denial. The decisions of this committee cannot be appealed unless additional information is presented that was not included in the original appeal.

VIII. Return to Hope Scholarship Eligibility

(1) GPA Improvement

Any student who is removed from the Hope Scholarship program due to falling below the required 2.5 cumulative GPA may be able to return to the Hope Scholarship program eligibility. A student may return to eligibility if, after the semester they are removed, they return to ���������̳ for eligibility and they earn a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher. ���������̳ will conduct a review of students who may be eligible to return to the Hope Scholarship program eligibility once final grades are available for each fall, spring, and summer semester.  

(2) Incomplete Assignments

A student whose eligibility depends upon the resolution of an incomplete grade will be eligible for the Hope Scholarship if they successfully resolve the incomplete grade and meet all other requirements at the time that the final eligibility for the upcoming year is determined.

Should a student satisfy the above criteria, they will be able to receive Hope Scholarship funding. Any tuition and mandatory fees already paid by the student that are covered by the Hope Scholarship will be refunded by ���������̳.

IX. Mistakenly Paid Out-of-Pocket Tuition

Students who pay tuition and mandatory fees and then receive Hope Scholarship funding will receive a refund of their payment once Hope Scholarships are officially disbursed. Refunds are scheduled to begin in October each fall and March each spring.

X. Previous College Credit

All Hope Scholarship students must be enrolled as first time full-time to receive scholarship funding. Transfer students are not eligible for the Hope Scholarship program. 

Under limited circumstances listed below a student may use credits earned prior to first time full-time enrollment at ���������̳ toward the 60-credit program requirement. Students entering with any form of prior credit are still required to continuously enroll full time each semester at ���������̳ to be eligible for the Hope Scholarship.  

College credit earned through dual and/or concurrent enrollment programs that are recognized by ���������̳ (e.g. ���������̳ EEP, CCRI Accelerate, High School Enrichment and Running Start, Seal of Biliteracy, certain college-level RI All Course Network offerings and certain other transferrable programs) will be counted toward the 60 credits students must earn in their first two years to obtain Hope Scholarship eligibility.  

College credits earned through 1) Advanced Placement courses, 2) International Baccalaureate courses and/or 3) CLEP exams (and other equivalent college level proficiency exams) must be considered as part of an incoming student’s Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). Credits that are approved through the PLA will be applied toward the 60 credits students must earn in their first two years to obtain Hope Scholarship eligibility.