Your appeal is not complete and will not be considered unless you submit an appeal statement. The deadline to submit your appeals statement is 11:59 pm (CT), Thursday, January 13, 2022.
Upload your appeal statement and any supporting material to the Box folder link included in the e-mail sent by our office in response to your request to appeal. (If you have not yet requested an appeal, please do so using this form .)
Your appeal folder is individual; access to it is limited to you and L&S Deans’ authorized staff for purposes of your appeal. All submitted materials will be shared with the L&S Faculty Appeals committee with whom you will meet. L&S Deans are not able to keep reports of sexual assault and certain other incidents confidential. Such information disclosed to our office through an appeal will be provided to the proper office for investigation.
Please submit your appeal statement as a Word document.
If you did not receive (or have misplaced) a link to upload your materials, please contact L&S Academic Deans’ Services at LSDEANS@SAA.LS.WISC.EDU.
If you experience problems submitting your materials to your appeal folder, please attach your documents to an e-mail and sent them to LSDEANS@SAA.LS.WISC.EDU.
Immediate Readmission Appeal Criteria
A committee of Letters and Science faculty and academic deans will read the material you provide, meet with you, and then make a decision about whether you may be immediately readmitted to continue your studies at UW-Madison. Making this decision, the committee primarily considers:
- Demonstrated awareness of and insight into the factors that impeded your academic success
- Concrete evidence that the circumstances that interfered with academic progress have been addressed or resolved
- Likelihood that you will be academically successful in the immediately upcoming term
The Statement
Your appeal statement is your main opportunity to help the appeal committee understand what specific and concrete changes you have made to resolve the issues or circumstances that got in the way of your academic success over the past several months. It is helpful to focus on specific examples and on changes and plans that are already in place, to the extent possible.
For your appeal statement, please answer these questions in a Word document of no more than 750 words:
- What factors and/or circumstances that interfered with your academic success?
- How you have addressed these circumstances? What specific changes have you made?
- Why do you believe you have a realistic change at academic success in the fall, if immediately readmitted?
Additional Information
Please include, in a separate Word document:
- Specific plans for completing your degree, including specific courses you plan to take if readmitted
- Alternative plans if you are not readmitted to UW-Madison
Supporting Documents
You may, but are not required to, include supporting documentation with your appeals materials. For instance:
- Documentation of the factors contributing to your dropped status
- Documentation proving that you have addressed/resolved the factors or circumstances that contributed to your dropped status
- Documentation that addresses the reasons you believe you have a realistic chance of success if immediately readmitted to continue your studies
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Summer Courses and Dropped Status
Students are not eligible to take courses at UW-Madison while they are in dropped status. Since some summer courses are held before the dates when Letters & Science students dropped at the end spring term can appeal for immediate readmission, students who have been dropped will be asked to drop their summer classes. All students in dropped status who remain enrolled in early summer session classes (primarily the 3- and 4-week — YDD and ACC — sessions) will be administratively withdrawn. Students who are administratively withdrawn will not be charged tuition for these classes.
On rare occasions, an exception may be made to allow a student to remain in an early summer class. If you believe you have a circumstance that may warrant such an exception (for instance, this summer class is the last class you need to graduate AND the circumstances that led to your being dropped have been resolved), please call our office at (608) 262-0617 to meet with an academic dean.
Extenuating circumstances that have resulted in successful appeals
- Sustained illness that has now been cured and/or treated
- Sustained financial problems that have now been resolved
- Personal trauma for which a student is now being treated and will continue treatment
If one of these reasons matches your extenuating circumstance, there is still no guarantee that your appeal will be a successful one. The Faculty Appeals committee takes many factors into consideration when hearing and review a student’s appeal.
Circumstances, which, in general, are not considered extenuating for a successful appeal
- I didn’t like my major and now I’ve finally decided what to do
- I was partying a lot during the week and sleeping through my morning classes
- There was a sudden death in my family and now I’m ready to work. (Please note that if it is a long-standing illness that took a student’s focus away, the student must be prepared to document this when speaking with the Faculty Appeals committee.)
- I didn’t get along with my roommates
- I didn’t like my classes
- I’m only a science major (pre-med, pre-business, history, etc.) because my parents want me to be
- My parents will be upset with me if I don’t get readmitted and/or my parents are forcing me to appeal my drop status so I can continue my studies in the upcoming term
Criteria for considering readmission
- Whether there were extraordinary circumstances that were out of your control
- Whether you will be able (and have already shown evidence to this effect) to correct your academic course and be successful
- Whether these circumstances are likely to reappear and lead to another “Strict Probation” or Drop Status before you reach graduation
I have been readmitted?
Your course enrollment will not be discontinued for the upcoming semester(s) and you will be placed on Strict Probation. (See what is the L&S academic probation system for the rules regarding probation and maintaining good academic standing in the College of Letters & Science.)
My drop status has been sustained
If your drop status has been sustained, you will automatically be withdrawn from the upcoming semester or summer term. You will also need to work with housing (landlords or UW University Housing) to determine your status and move out, if applicable.
I do not want to appeal my drop. What do I do?
If you decide not to appeal your drop status and take the mandatory one-year time off from your formal studies at UW–Madison (or if your appeal was not successful), it is entirely up to you to determine what steps you will take next.
- Some students take courses elsewhere and have the credits transferred by to UW-Madison through the Office of Admissions and Recruitment.
- Some students take time off from studies to work full-time in order to pay off bills, save up funds for tuition, etc.
- Some students do some soul-searching to determine whether or not to return to school, etc.
Can I appeal my drop before the mandatory one year time off from my formal studies?
You cannot appeal before the mandatory one-year time period. If you do not appeal for readmission immediately after being dropped from the University, you are required to take off one full year from your studies at UW-Madison. If you do appeal and your drop status is sustained, you cannot appeal at a later date to return before the mandatory one-year time period.