I have been “Required to Withdraw” due to my grades

Students who do not meet Continuation of Study or specified program requirements (undergraduates), or who do not achieve satisfactory progress or exceed Maximum Registration limitations (graduate students) will be “Required to Withdraw”, according to policies established by the University Senate.

Refer to the information in Chapter VIII of the Undergraduate Calendar or Chapter II of the Graduate Calendar, for more information.

You may appeal your “Required to Withdraw” status first to the Academic Review Committee (undergraduates) or to the Admissions & Progress Committee (graduate students). See your program counsellor or the Office of Graduate Studies for more information about the appeal, and conditions for re-admission.

Denials of a request to rescind “Required to Withdraw” status and permit continuation on Probationary status may be appealed to the Petitions Committee. The Petitions Committee has the jurisdiction to act as appeal body for:

• a decision of an Academic Review Sub-committee (undergraduate students) denying a request for academic consideration or requiring a student to withdraw from the program;
• a decision of the Admissions & Progress Sub-committee (graduate students) denying a request for academic consideration or requiring a student to withdraw from the program;

When considering an appeal, the Petitions Committee may consider the following:

• Was the situation that the student found him or herself in unexpected, unusual, and beyond the student's control;
• Did the situation have a direct effect on the student's ability to keep his/ her grades above the threshold for Continuation of Study or to fulfill the program requirements;
• Can the issues that impacted the academic performance be reasonably be addressed within the time frame of one semester; is the student working to remedy the situation as much as possible (e.g. seeking appropriate supports or treatment) so that the issue will not be continue to be detrimental to the student’s academic progress?

Generally, you should address all three of these factors when preparing your appeal. All such appeals should be accompanied by supporting documentation.

Issues with managing work or extra-curricular activities or other time management issues do not constitute adequate grounds for the appeal.

“Compassionate” grounds are defined as “unforeseen circumstances beyond the student’s control in either his/ her personal or family life”, and appeals based on “compassionate” grounds will be considered on the severity of the circumstances.

The deadline to appeal is 10 working days from the date of the decision letter/ email you received denying your request. You will be required to include a copy of the decision letter/ email from the Academic Review Committee in the documents you submit for your appeal.

If, after reviewing the relevant policies, you wish to proceed with an appeal, contact Student Judicial Services at judicial@uoguelph.ca for more information.