Academic petition

At some point in your undergraduate academic career, you may have a reason to request that an exception to a standard policy be made for you. Your academic advisor will help you determine whether or not to submit a Petition for academic policy or tuition refund for UMD students form. If you are an inactive student and have difficulty logging into this form, please contact your college for further help or instructions.

If you need to add a class or swap after the deadline, submit a Class Addition and Adjustments form. Find more information about making changes at Tips for Registration.

Contact your Collegiate Advising and Academic Services Office to determine:

  • Whether additional documentation may be necessary.
  • Whether your request is due by a specific date.
  • Where to submit your complete request.

Petition requirements

To have your Academic Petition considered, you must provide a completed form and the appropriate documents.

  • Personal Statement: Why are you asking for an exception to a policy? Please explain your circumstances.
    • University policies are set to ensure fairness and equity for all students. Your explanation must be compelling.
    • How did the timeline of your circumstances cause you to miss a deadline or make decisions that contributed to the need for this exception?
    • Have your circumstances changed? If prior events got in the way of your academic success, you may want to show how they have improved.
  • Supporting documents: Evidence to support the reasons you are requesting an exception.
    • If your circumstances were medical, please provide the Medical Condition Verification form.
    • If there are other supporting documents (e.g., support letter or email correspondence, a letter from an access consultant from the Disability Resource Center, deployment orders, coursework from another institution, police reports, obituaries), please consider providing them.

Commonly requested changes

Please refer to the Drop/add and refund deadlines appropriate for your petition term. 

Steps in the petition process

  1. Fill out the Petition for academic policy or tuition refund for UMD students form, upload all necessary documentation, and submit. Tuition refund petitions must be received no later than August 31 of the academic year for which a tuition refund is requested.
  2. The petition will be reviewed by the UMD Petition Committee.
  3. The UMD Petition Committee will notify you of their decision via your UM/UMD email account.
  4. Petitions will be processed by the Office of the Registrar.

If you have questions about the petition process or your individual circumstances, you are encouraged to talk to your advisor or college office.

Appealing a decision

  • Appeals can be submitted only once.
  • Include an updated Academic Petition and any additional/new documentation that would support the appeal request.
  • Submit all documentation to the UMD Office of the Registrar at [email protected].
  • Members of this committee are different than the members of the UMD Petition Committee.

Options if denied by both committees

Contact the Associate Vice Chancellor or Dean of your program in writing.

Undergraduate
Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education
UMD Exec Vice Chan Acad Affairs
Darland Administration Building
1049 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
Email: [email protected]

Graduate
Associate Vice Chancellor and Graduate Director
UMD Exec Vice Chan Acad Affairs
Darland Administration Building
1049 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
Email: [email protected]

Medicine
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
UMD Associate Dean for Student Affairs
DMED Student Affairs
177 SMed
1035 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
Email: [email protected]

Pharmacy
Senior Associate Dean at the College of Pharmacy
UMD Senior Associate Dean at the College of Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy, Duluth
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences
1110 Kirby Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
Email: [email protected]