Appeals
Students with extenuating circumstances that warrant special consideration may request an exception to some academic, curricular, grade/transcript, graduation, or registration policies.
A desire to avoid negative academic or financial consequences resulting from circumstances within the student’s control are not usually considered an extenuating circumstance.
It is the student's responsibility to obtain all necessary supporting information and documentation from instructors, physicians, counselors, etc. to present to the appropriate office authorized to make a decision about the relevant matter.
Financial consideration for current and prior term only.
UW-Whitewater academic record policy states that "no changes will be made to course entries that are not appealed within one year of the posting date, and changes will not be made to a record after a degree is officially entered". In practice this means that a change to an undergraduate or graduate student's academic record (i.e., a record that does not have a degree posted) must be made within one year after the end date of the term for which the change is requested. Requests for exceptions to the one-year change policy must be submitted as a formal appeal by the student. Please note, if a degree has been posted to a student's record, no appeal will be permitted to change a part of the student's academic record that is related to the degree.
No financial refunds (changes) will be awarded (made) for potential academic record changes.
The student, instructor, and department chairperson (undergraduate student appeals) or graduate program coordinator (graduate student appeals) are required to submit information to support the appeal. The dean (dean of the college of the student's major for undergraduates; dean of the School of Graduate Studies for graduate students) is the final authority and will approve or deny the request. The steps for submitting an appeal are as follows:
Student
Prepare a written appeal for an exception to the UW-Whitewater policy regarding the one-year requirement for academic record changes. The appeal must include an explanation of the extraordinary reasons why the late record change should be considered and must document the reasons why the change could not have been appealed within the one-year period cited in the university policy. In addition to this statement, include all of the following information in the written appeal:
- Your name, address, and phone number
- Your UW-Whitewater student ID number
- An email address at which you can be contacted
- The Term the course was taken (e.g. 2002 Fall)
- The course's 4-digit Class Number (e.g. 2345)
- The course's Subject, Catalog, and Section Number (e.g. English 101 section 03)
- Course Title (e.g. Freshman English)
- Indicate if you have applied for graduation
- Specify if this record change will complete your degree requirements
Submit your complete appeal to the instructor.
Instructor
After receiving the appeal information from the student, please indicate your own support/non-support for the late change and the reasons why it should/should not be considered. This statement should be in memo* form, must include an email address where you can be contacted, and be on official letterhead. Submit your statement along with the original copies of the student's written information to the department chairperson (undergraduate student appeals) or graduate program coordinator (graduate student appeals).
*Note: if the appeal is for a grade change, please include in the memo the OLD grade and NEW grade. For a Late Add and a grade, please include in the memo the official grade that should be added to the student record.
Department Chairperson or Graduate Program Coordinator
Review the documentation from the student and the instructor. Via written memo on departmental letterhead, indicate:
a) your recommendation for approval or disapproval of the appeal and the reasons for your decision;
b) an email address where you can be contacted.
Submit your memo and the original copies of the student and instructor written documentation to the dean.
Dean
Review the documentation from the student, the instructor, and the department chairperson or graduate program coordinator. If you do not support the request for a late change, respond to the student in writing and copy the instructor, department chairperson or graduate program coordinator, and the Registrar's Office. The student's appeal for the late change will end here and no change will be made to the academic record. If you approve the late change, prepare a memo* verifying the approval decision and submit it and the appeal packet to the Registrar's Office. The Registrar's Office will update the student's academic record and will send an email notification confirming the record change to the student, instructor, department chairperson or graduate program coordinator, and the dean.
*Please let the Registrar's Office know if this student is intending to use this appeal to complete final requirements for graduation in your memo.
If a student has reason to believe the grade is incorrect the student may act on that by taking the steps outlined in the University Policies & Resources Handbook.