Registrar Appeals
Students who enter The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley are undertaking a serious effort to further their education. It is expected that they will make every effort to complete their courses during the term. However, in rare circumstances, students may encounter situations beyond their control that prevent them from completing their coursework. When situations like this arise, there are procedures in place to help students recover from these events.
If you find yourself in a situation like this, read further so that you can refer to these policies in a timely manner and provide complete documentation so that your circumstances can be reviewed in their entirety. It is important to understand that changes to an academic record could result in money owed back to the University.
Here are some examples of what may be considered extenuating. Any other extreme situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and appeals will only be considered for the term(s) within the respective deadline noted below.
- A severe illness or debilitating condition that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course. (excluding chronic conditions--students are responsible for properly balancing schoolwork with known chronic conditions)
- A death in the student’s immediate family.
- Active duty service as a member of the Texas National Guard or the Armed Forces of the United States.
- The student’s responsibility for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of that care affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete coursework.
It is important that you submit evidence to support your appeal and obtain the required evidence.
Deadline for 6 Drop and Withdraw Appeals
| Term | Deadline |
| Fall and AOP Modules | January 15 |
| Spring and AOP Modules | June 15 |
| Summer I and AOP Module I | August 15 |
| Summer II and AOP Module II | September 15 |
Note: The deadline to submit a term appeal is the month following the month a term ends.
You must be aware of UTRGV’s deadlines to plan your appeal. In addition, an appeal submitted after the official posted deadline will be considered invalid and will not be reviewed by the Appeals Committee.
Student may appeal 6 Course Drop, Withdraw, Excess Credit Hours and Three Peat Charges-Course(s). You may read the details of these appeals below before considering if it applies to you.
When you have read the appeal options and agree to the guidelines, you will click on “Submit Appeal.” You will be directed to our online Appeals Portal to do the following:
- Enter your UTRGV credentials to access the portal
- Review or Update your profile
- If this is your first time submitting an appeal, then you will complete your profile and click on ‘Continue’
- If you’ve previously submitted an appeal, then review your profile information. Click on ‘Update’ if any changes have occurred then click ‘Continue’
- Select the department ‘Registrars’
- Read and acknowledge the guidelines before selecting and initiating an appeal.
- Once you select the appeal type
- Select from the allowed semester
- Write your appeal statement in the available text box. If your appeal statement does not fit in the allowed text box, you may upload your appeal statement.
- Upload documents to support your appeal
- Click ‘Submit Appeal’
All appeals are acknowledged by confirmation email sent to your UTRGV email. The appeal will be reviewed, and a decision made within 15 business days from the time that it is submitted, provided the appeal is complete and submitted with supporting documentation, excluding days that are University holidays. A final decision will reach you by UTRGV email; check UTRGV email regularly. The decision should be considered final and conclusive. Note that appeal decisions may be delayed during university priority deadlines and/or campus-wide activities are occurring (i.e. graduation week, orientations, and the start of online registration).
Students Affected
All college students enrolled for the first time in a Texas public higher education institution beginning in Fall 2007 are affected by this rule. Students who started college anywhere Fall 2007 or thereafter and then transfer to UTRGV are also affected by the six-drop limit. All students previously enrolled (prior to Fall 2007) are not impacted.
Excluded Courses from Limit
Drops from the following types of courses are excluded from the course drop limit:
- Courses taken by students while enrolled in high school – whether for dual credit or early admission. Once graduated from high school the drops will begin to count.
- Courses dropped at out-of-state institutions.
- Military duty where a student gets called to active service duty in the United States Armed Forces or is deployed with the national or Texas Guard.
- The death of a person who:
- is considered to be a member of the student’s family
- is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student.
- Drops which meet the definition of a complete withdrawal.
- Courses dropped prior to census day. Check the academic calendar for all census dates.
If a student cannot drop a course because he/she has reached the drop limit, the student will earn whatever grade in the course is calculated by the instructor. If a student reaches the drop limit and appeals for a non-academic drop, the student will receive a DR grade (drop) if the appeal is approved; however, the student will receive the grade earned in the course if the appeal is denied.
IMPORTANT:
- The submitted appeal should be clear and explicit. If your appeal statement does not fit in the allowed text box, you may upload your appeal statement.
- It is important that you upload evidence to support your appeal.
- The University will not contact doctors or others on your behalf.
- It is your responsibility to upload documents and obtain the required evidence.
- The University will reach out to you if clarification is needed after reviewing your appeal and supporting documents.
- This appeal is not intended to change or waive term balances, but to petition a drop action after the student has reached the maximum number of allowed drops.
- The appeal submission must match the allowed term noted in the next step. If your submission does not match the allowed term, the appeal will be denied.
The appeal will be reviewed, and a decision made within 15 business days from the time that it is submitted, provided the appeal is complete and submitted with supporting documentation, excluding days that are University holidays. A final decision reach you by UTRGV email; check UTRGV email regularly. The decision should be considered final and conclusive. Note that appeal decisions may be delayed during university priority deadlines and/or campus-wide activities are occurring (i.e. graduation week, orientations, and the start of online registration).
In your time at UTRGV, you may encounter unexpected and extenuating circumstances that occur after the last day to drop/withdraw a class(es) without academic penalty but still significantly inhibit your ability to succeed academically. When situations like this arise, there are policies and procedures in place to help the student recover from these events, but it is important that the student utilize these policies in a timely manner and provide complete documentation so that their circumstances can be reviewed in their entirety. Below are some examples of what may be considered extenuating. Keep in mind that an appeal for withdrawal based on other extreme situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- A severe illness or debilitating condition that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course. (excluding chronic conditions--students are responsible for properly balancing schoolwork with known chronic conditions)
- A death in the student’s immediate family.
- Active duty service as a member of the Texas National Guard or the Armed Forces of the United States.
- The student’s responsibility for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of that care affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course.
IMPORTANT:
- When submitting an appeal make sure to note what type of appeal is being submitted and be clear as to the reason for the appeal. Should the appeal statement not fit in the allowed text box, you may upload you appeal statement.
- If you paid for your course with federal student aid (i.e. Pell, loans, etc.), your drop or withdrawal could impact your financial aid award, as well as your potential eligibility for federal student aid.
- This appeal is not an avenue to request to remove any emergency loan or Installment plan liability. These payment methods were request by student and any liability will be based on state mandated guidelines
- Term course withdrawal/drop may affect your financial aid eligibility and Satisfactory Academic Progress standards. The result may include mandatory repayment of aid previously disbursed.
- It is important that you submit evidence to support your appeal. It is your responsibility to obtain the required evidence. The University will not contact doctors or others on your behalf.
- A student withdrawing officially will be responsible for total tuition and fees (excluding nonrefundable fees) according to the Texas Education Code Section 54.006.
- Deadlines to drop and withdraw are posted at my.utrgv.edu for students to be familiar with.
- Academic Calendar
- Accelerated Programs: https://www.utrgv.edu/_files/documents/my-utrgv/ap_calendar.pdf
- This appeal is not intended to change or waive term balances, but to petition a withdrawal or drop transaction after the posted withdrawal/drop deadline.
- The appeal submission must match the allowed term noted in the next step. If your submission does not match the allowed term, the appeal will be denied.
The appeal will be reviewed, and a decision made within 15 business days from the time that it is submitted, provided the appeal is complete and submitted with supporting documentation, excluding days that are University holidays. A final decision reach you by UTRGV email; check UTRGV email regularly. The decision should be considered final and conclusive. Note that appeal decisions may be delayed during university priority deadlines and/or campus-wide activities are occurring (i.e. graduation week, orientations, and the start of online registration).
By state law, extra tuition will be charged to any resident undergraduate student who is attempting more than 30 hours above the program requirement (if the student first enrolled after Fall 2006) or more than 45 above their program requirement (if the student first enrolled prior to Fall 2006). This rule includes repeated courses which are repeated, duplicated, or courses for which the student received a grade of DR (drop) or W (withdrawal) (Texas State Education Code Subchapter C, Section 61.0595).
Students wishing to file an appeal of excessive hours-related tuition increases due to extenuating circumstances may submit a fully documented appeal for consideration. If the appeal is approved, a waiver of the tuition increases due to excessive hours will be placed on the student's account for a single semester. Students who wish to appeal these charges for multiple semesters must file an appeal each semester. Approval is not guaranteed and may not match prior term decisions.
Classes taken during or later than Fall 2002 (UTB/TSC and/or UTPA) can be taken twice within the same institution at the state resident tuition rate. The third enrollment in a class taken at the same institution will be charged a “repeat class fee” in addition to the state tuition, also known as a “three-peat fee.” To appeal this fee, students must need to complete the appeal form and submit a letter explaining why they think their circumstances deserve special consideration, what contributed to their academic difficulties in the past, and why they think their performance will be stronger in the future.
Students wishing to file an appeal for three-peat charges due to extenuating circumstances may submit an appeal with supporting documentation for review. If the appeal is approved, a waiver of the tuition increases due to three-peat rule will be placed on the student's account for a single semester. Students who wish to appeal these charges for multiple semesters must file an appeal each semester. Approval is not guaranteed and may not match prior term decisions.
IMPORTANT:
- Appeals submitted after the published deadline will be denied.
- If you have received or expect to receive financial aid for the term that you are appealing, it may be necessary for you to return the aid or return any disbursed monies. It is highly recommended that you contact a financial aid advisor prior to submitting any appeal to discuss your specific situation.
- If you are a recipient of Veterans’ Benefits, it is important to discuss your appeal with the Military and Veteran Success Center before proceeding with the appeal. It may be necessary for you to return disbursed monies and/or owe tuition and fees for the term that you are appealing (view all Cost of Attendance components).
- It is important that you upload evidence to support your appeal.
- The University will not contact doctors or others on your behalf.
- It is the responsibility of the student to upload documents and obtain the required evidence.
- Withdrawal Appeal Note for Graduate Level Students – Graduate level students in the School of Social Work submitting a withdrawal appeal are required to upload an email from the director/coordinator of their respective academic program that documents the program’s recommendation concerning the student’s request to withdraw. The program’s recommendation will be taken into consideration during the review process.
- The University will reach out to the student if clarification is needed after reviewing the appeal.
- Be advised that filing an appeal does not exempt your account from being assessed tuition and fees based on federal and/or state mandated guidelines. Please pay tuition and fees when due.
- Appeals may not be submitted over the phone, by email, or in person.
- Appeal decision is final for the term it is submitted for.
- Subsequent appeals may not be submitted on the same grounds or using the same circumstances.
- Appeals do not serve the purpose of disputing term balances or requesting they be waived.
Appeal decisions will be communicated to you via your UTRGV email address within 15 business days from the time that the appeal is submitted, excluding days that are University holidays. The decision should be considered final and conclusive. Appeal decisions may take longer than normal when university priority deadlines and/or activities are occurring (i.e. graduation week, orientations, and the start of online registration).
By clicking on “Submit Appeal”, you will be routed to our Appeals Portal and you acknowledge that you have read and understand the appeal guidelines above.