Academic appeals

Undergraduate academic appeals in the School of Business are processed through the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

APPEAL AN ACADEMIC REGULATION

Appeals for an exception to VCU academic regulations must be made to the Academic Regulations Appeals Committee. These waivers are granted only in exceptional cases.

Before submitting your petition for appeal, review the:

The ARAC cover sheet should be attached to your letter, along with any supporting documentation and a copy of your unofficial transcript from eServices.

If you’re seeking a retroactive withdrawal or drop, you’ll also need to complete the ARAC Faculty Memorandum for each course taken in the semester being appealed.

Complete packets are due to usib@vcu.edu by noon on the Monday before the ARAC meeting.

Appeal decisions

The committee’s decision is final, and there is no other appeal except reconsideration of the petition if new information is provided. If you’re dissatisfied with the outcome of your case, contact the dean’s office.

Financial aid

Students petitioning to drop, withdraw or change the status of courses from credit to audit risk losing some or all of their financial aid. Prior to submitting your petition, you should obtain a written statement from your financial aid counselor explaining the financial impact of the proposed actions.

Bill payment for retroactive adds

Students approved for a retroactive add into a course may need to pay tuition for the credits being added and must do so before the course will be added to their schedule. Prior to submitting your petition, you should check with Student Accounting to see what charges you may be responsible for.

EXTENSIONS FOR DECLARING YOUR MAJOR

Students who have not completed the requirements to declare their major and move into the Advanced Program by the deadlines described in the VCU Bulletin will be asked to seek a major outside of the School of Business. Students may request an extension of their deadline through their academic advisor, who will make an appeal on their behalf to the Director of Advising or Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the School of Business. The Director of Advising or Associate Dean may, at his or her discretion, extend the period needed to meet the requirements, generally by only one semester. If an extension is not granted and the student wishes to appeal the decision, students must contact usib@vcu.edu and state that they wish to appeal their outcome. The appeal will be heard by the School of Undergraduate Programs Committee (SUPC), which may establish a subcommittee for this purpose.

To request an extension for declaring your major, please complete the following:

Step 1: A business letter of attention to the School of Business addressing the following areas:

Why you missed your deadline. This could include any special circumstances that should be considered, such as medical concerns, personal situations/events, academic troubles, etc.
Describe what changes you will make, resources you will utilize, or anything else that will ensure academic success. We recommend you complete the Mindset Inventory to help you identify areas of opportunities to aid your success.
What business foundation requirements do you still need to complete, and when do you plan on completing them? This should include a list of courses and what grades you need to earn in them. This should also include courses you plan to repeat if needed.

Step 2: Mindset Inventory (optional)

Step 3: Support documentation (optional): Please include any documentation that may be key to your appeal, such as a letter from a treating physician in the case of illness.

Step 4: Email your academic advisor your appeal for further review. Your academic advisor will submit your complete appeal to the Director of Academic Advising and/or Associate Dean of the School of Business for a decision.

All correspondence regarding appeals and extension requests will be communicated via your VCU email account. Please contact your academic advisor if you have any questions.

RETURNING TO THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

If you’ve missed the deadline to declare a major in business or have been separated from the business program, you may appeal to re-enter the School of Business no sooner than 24 months after the end of your most recent semester in the program.

You can request a deadline extension through the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

If an extension is not granted, you can appeal to the School Undergraduate Programs Committee.