Academic Petitions and Appeals

Where to find Academic Petitions/Appeals forms 

• SpartanNet (App on MyUTampa)
• ut.edu/academicforms

Academic Policies

• Academic Policies can be found in the Current UT Catalog: http://ut.smartcatalogiq.com/Current/catalog/Academic-Policies-and-Procedures

Deadlines

• Late add/drop requests – end of the third week of term
• Late withdrawals (course and semester) – must be initiated by the 7^th week of classes of the consecutive fall or spring term
• Readmission from Dismissal: fall semester – June 1, spring semester – Jan. 2, summer term – April 1.

Required documentation based on request type:

• Late Adds
  • Current term
    • Petition form, personal statement, Late Add form with signatures of approval
  • Previous (concluded) term
    • Petition form, personal statement, Late Add form with signatures of approval, verification of final letter grade
  • For Internships – Internship Agreement form also required with dean approval
  • For Independent Studies – Independent Study form required
  • If the late add will result in an overload, must include Credit Hour Overload form 
  • Contact information for Departments and Colleges can be found on the UT Directory: https://www.ut.edu/directory/
• Late drops
  • Petition form, personal statement, email from instructor verifying last day of attendance/participation
  • NOTE: Cannot be approved under any circumstances if attended after add/drop deadline due to federal regulations
• Course section changes
  • Considered a late add and a late drop, see above for each and submit as one request
    • Petition form, personal statement, late add form, attendance verification
• Late course withdrawal
  • Petition form, personal statement, supporting documentation
• Late semester withdrawal
  • Petition form, personal statement, supporting documentation (highly recommended)
• Medical
  • Petition form, personal statement, supporting documentation/medical documentation form
• Invasion of Senior Residency
  • Petition form, personal statement, transient credit request form with advisor approval
• Credit Hour Overload
  • Petition form, personal statement, credit hour overload form 
• Extension of Incomplete
  • Petition form (indicate “other”), personal statement, email from instructor stating that extension is approved and proposed new deadline for completion of work
• Credit Hour Adjustment
  • Petition form, personal statement, email from instructor approving adjustment
• Other
  • Petition form, personal statement, supporting documentation, highly recommend contacting advising@ut.edu to let them know what you are requesting so they can inform you in advance of any additional documentation that may be required

What does the process look like?

• Student submits completed petition with all required documentation to advising@ut.edu from their Spartan email address.
  • Petitions are reviewed by designee or referred to committee and processed in the order in which they were received.
  • Average processing time is 10-14 business days. Processing time may be extended during peak times or if your petition is referred to the Petitions Advisory Committee for additional review.
  • Student is contacted via Spartan email with any updates or decisions as they become available. Decision letter will outline the next steps based on the type of request being made.
• Note: $30 late fee will be applied to your account for any approved schedule changes made after the add/drop deadline for the current semester. Additional tuition fees may apply.
• Before you petition, it is your responsibility to understand any possible ramifications, financial, academic or otherwise.

Additional Info:

• Academic petitions/appeals for graduate students and/or non-degree seeking students are handled by the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies. Please reach out to them with any questions at grad@ut.edu.
• We cannot expedite requests; late adds are prioritized for the current term.
• Attempted credit hours (withdrawn courses) still count towards your overall credits for the term and adding courses may result in additional tuition charges. Please contact the Bursar’s Office for any questions regarding tuition/fees.
• Can I attend the course I am requesting to late add while my petition is being processed? No.
• If a petition is not answered in a way that does not satisfy the student, they may advance an academic appeal to the Academic Appeals Committee. This requires:
  • Academic Appeals form
  • NEW personal statement
  • NEW documentation
• The decision of the Academic Appeals Committee is considered final. If the student believes that procedural due process was not followed, he or she may request review by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, which will render a decision as to whether the Academic Appeals Committee afforded procedural due process to the student in its consideration of the appeal. More information can be found at http://ut.smartcatalogiq.com/Current/catalog/Academic-Policies-and-Procedures/Policy-on-Academic-Appeals.