Academic Difficulty and Appeals

Appeals processes are for students who need special considerations due to rare and extenuating circumstances. There are several types of appeals:

• Course Drop and Withdrawal Appeals – for students who need to drop courses or withdraw from UNC (effective for current or past semesters) after the typical deadline has passed. It may apply to individual courses or complete schedules for the term, depending on your circumstances.
• Probation Appeals – for suspended students who wish to continue taking classes at UNC
• Grade Appeals – for students who want to change a course grade
• Additional Semester Appeals – for students who want to request a one-semester extension to the eight-semester limit
• Nontraditional Readmission Appeal – for students who have been away from the University for five or more years and want to be readmitted

The Course Drop & Withdrawal Appeal process applies to:

• Any requests for course drops in the current semester that results in enrollment in less than 12 hours
• Any requests for course drops in the current semester after the 8-week, semester drop deadline
• Any requests for retroactive course drops or retroactive term withdrawals

Before beginning an appeal, we encourage you to connect with an advisor to understand the process, confirm whether it is the right appeal option for you, and find appropriate resources. We also invite you to review the Student Guide to Preparing & Submitting a Course Drop & Term Withdrawal Appeal (pdf, opens in a new window).

Preparation Tips:

1. While the form will save your progress, it is best to compose your responses in a separate document prior to beginning the online form.
2. Collect supporting materials for the circumstances shared in your appeal. These documents must be ready when you submit the appeal.
3. Please use the following form to acquire any signatures you will need the Academic Appeals Signature Form (pdf, opens in a new window).
4. The Appeal must be received by Monday at 10:00 am of any given week to be heard that same week. The Appeals Committee meets weekly except for the weeks of July 4, Thanksgiving, and Winter Break.
5. Appeals decisions are guided by the Faculty Guidelines for Academic Appeals.

Decisions: An appeals decision will be emailed to your official university email address within 4 days of review. If you no longer have an official university email, the decision will be sent to the postal address indicated on the Academic Appeal Form. Appeals decisions are final; however, we invite you to meet with an advisor to discuss the ramifications of the decision and your options moving forward.

Ready to submit? Begin the Academic Appeal Form online.

Suspended students must appeal for probation to enroll in any courses in any term (fall, spring, and summer, including Carolina Courses online). You are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor to address academic concerns and eligibility issues. For more information on academic eligibility, see the information in the Academic Eligibility section below.

A student who feels he or she has been awarded an incorrect grade should first attempt to resolve the matter with their instructor. You may also consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the chair of the academic department that offers the class. If your issue is still not resolved, you can appeal the grade through UNC Advising by submitting the Grade Appeal Student Form. This form must be submitted by the last day of class of the following fall or spring term. For a grade appeal to be considered, it must be based on one or more of the following grounds: arithmetic/clerical error, arbitrariness, discrimination, harassment, or personal malice. For more on this policy, visit the Faculty Guidelines for Academic Appeals.

For more information about the University’s discrimination and harassment policies, refer to the Equal Opportunity/ADA Office’s policy summary.

• If you’re experiencing challenges due to medical, psychological, or personal difficulties, there are several offices that can help you. If you are experiencing an emergency, call 911 immediately.
• The office of Accessibility Resources & Service (ARS) seeks to meet the needs of applicants and current students with disabilities and medical conditions by coordinating and implementing appropriate accommodations and providing resources and services related to housing, dining, and co-curricular or extra-curricular campus activities.
• Campus Health Services (CHS) offers wellness and preventative care, care for injury, and acute or chronic medical conditions, consultation, and medical testing to the UNC student community.
• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides therapy, psychiatry, referral, and academic intervention services for UNC-Chapel Hill students.

The Academic Eligibility Policy guides undergraduates to maintain enrollment eligibility and to stay on track to college degree completion. You can find the full policy in the  Academic Eligibility Policy Document (Word doc).

At the end of each term, undergraduates earn an academic status that determines their eligibility to continue enrollment in a subsequent term at UNC-Chapel Hill. Academic status will be determined by the four standards of satisfactory academic progress, to find out more please visit our Academic Eligibility Standards page.

At the end of every semester, all undergraduate students must check their academic eligibility in ConnectCarolina. You can find your academic eligibility by going to Student Center then selecting Grades from the drop-down menu. At the bottom of the page, you will see Academic Standing followed by one of four descriptions representing your academic eligibility for the following semester, to find out more please visit our Check Your Academic Eligibility page.

The warning process is designed to help students and promote a successful experience at Carolina. We are committed to the academic success of each of our students, and understand that success is not always achieved in a predictable path. There are many reasons students enter the warning process, including personal, financial, health, family, or other issues. To find out more please visit our Warning page.

A student who begins an enrolled term with a status of Warning or Probation and falls short of the standards at the end of that enrolled term will earn an academic status of Suspension. Students with an academic status of Suspension cannot enroll in any courses in any term, including Carolina Courses Online and Summer courses. To find out more please visit our Suspension page.

The probation process is designed to help students and promote a successful experience at Carolina. We are committed to the academic success of each of our students, and understand that success is not always achieved in a predictable path. There are many reasons students enter the warning process, including personal, financial, health, family, or other issues. Our goal is to help you identify the factors that are relevant to you and to help you address them. You are not alone in experiencing these difficulties. Many students participate in the probation process each year and make progress toward achieving their goals. To find out more please visit our Probation page.

Suspended students with extraordinary circumstances may appeal for both Academic and Financial Aid Probation using this process. Approval for Probation is required for students to enroll in any class in any term, including Carolina Courses Online and Summer courses. Please review the content on our Appeals page to prepare your appeal.

We know that very talented and intelligent students can end up on Warning and Probation. Sometimes things get in the way of our ability to succeed. In Road to Resilience, we want to help you figure out what those “things” may be and how to best handle them.

To find out more about both Road to Resilience of these programs, please visit our Student Support page.

For any other Academic Eligibility questions please visit our Academic Eligibility FAQs page.

The nontraditional readmission appeal process recognizes that individuals can gain personal and intellectual maturity over a period of years. In such cases, the University may choose to evaluate applicants for readmission on the basis of their current academic promise rather than their earlier academic performance. This process offers a way for former students who are far from current eligibility standards to restore their academic eligibility to return to the University and reestablish good academic standing.

Under the nontraditional readmission policy, the University reviews applicants who have not been enrolled full-time in a formal educational program for at least five years. To appeal, you must submit the Nontraditional Readmission Student Form. A helpful list of FAQs is included in the appeal form. The deadlines to apply for readmission are July 25 for fall and December 5 for spring.

If you are ready to return to campus, check out some information here from admissions. If you are interested in checking in on your academic progress, consider scheduling an appointment with UNC Advising.