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Consulting with College Contacts

Students are required to consult with the retroactive withdrawal contact person from the college of their primary major. These individuals are there to help answer questions and ensure students are providing appropriate materials for an appeal. Students may not submit an appeal before consulting with the college contact. Find yours below.

View College Contacts

College Contact Person Email
Agriculture, Food and Environment Grace Hahn gracehahn2@uky.edu
Arts and Sciences Jesse Hedge jesse.hedge@uky.edu
Business and Economics Stephanie Lynch stephanie.lynch@uky.edu
Communication and Information Suanne Early suanne.early@uky.edu
Dentistry Emily Winfrey emtu223@uky.edu
Design Elizabeth (Liz) Swanson lizaswanson@uky.edu
Education Nate Hibbitts hibbitts5@uky.edu
Engineering Michael T. Johnson mike.johnson@uky.edu
Fine Arts David Kaiser (Undergraduate)
Rachel Shane (Graduate)
davidjkaiser@uky.edu
rachel.shane@uky.edu
Health Sciences Karen Badger kbadger@uky.edu
Law Beau Steenken beau.steenken@uky.edu
Medicine – Biomedical Education Beth Garvy beth.garvy@uky.edu
Medicine – MD Program Stephanie White Stephanie.L.White@uky.edu
Nursing Karen M. Butler karen.butler@uky.edu
Pharmacy Frank Romanelli frank.romanelli@uky.edu
Public Health Paula Arnett paula.arnett@uky.edu
Social Work Jaime Wainscott jaime.wainscott@uky.edu
Martin / Patterson Schools Kristen Perry kristen.perry@uky.edu

Retroactive Withdrawal Appeals

Please note: Staff are not permitted to discuss any aspect of a student’s retroactive withdrawal or status at the University with anyone outside of the University or with anyone who is not the student (i.e. family member, friend, guardian, etc.) unless a formal FERPA release of information is on file.

In order to be eligible for a retroactive withdrawal, a student must demonstrate satisfactory evidence that they have incurred one of the following that impacted the semester from which they are requesting to withdraw from:

  1. A serious injury or illness;
  2. Serious personal or family problems;
  3. Serious financial difficulties; or
  4. Permanent disability verified by the Disability Resource Center and diagnosed after the semester for which the withdrawal is requested.

Completed applications – including all required attachments – must be received within four years from the last day of classes of the semester from which withdrawal is requested AND prior to graduation (note: a student’s status in a course cannot be changed after graduation). Four years is defined as four  consecutive periods of 365 days (or 366 if leap year) from the last day of classes for the semester for which the withdrawal is requested.

For request to withdraw from:Last day of classes for that semester:Completed application submission deadline:
Fall 2021December 8, 2021December 8, 2025
Spring 2022April 27, 2022April 27, 2026
Fall 2022December 7, 2022December 7, 2026
Spring 2023April 26, 2023April 26, 2027
Fall 2023December 6, 2023December 6, 2027
Spring 2024April 24, 2024April 24, 2028
Fall 2024December 11, 2024December 11, 2028
Spring 2025April 30, 2025April 30, 2029

Appeals are reviewed by the Retroactive Withdrawal Committee each month. Appeals received by the first of each month will be on the monthly agenda. Appeals received after the first of the month will be placed on the following month's agenda. All decisions will be issued by the end of the month in which the appeal is reviewed.

Committee Review Dates

Appeal Submitted by Committee Review Date Decision Issued by
June 1, 2025 June 24, 2025 June 30, 2025
July 1, 2025 July 17, 2025 July 31, 2025
August 1, 2025 August 21, 2025 August 31, 2025
September 1, 2025 September 18, 2025 September 30, 2025
October 1, 2025 October 16, 2025 October 31, 2025
November 1, 2025 November 20, 2025 November 30, 2025
December 1, 2025 December 18, 2025 December 31, 2025
January 1, 2026 January 15, 2026 January 31, 2026
February 1, 2026 February 19, 2026 February 28, 2026
March 1, 2026 March 19, 2026 March 31, 2026
April 1, 2026 April 16, 2026 April 30, 2026
May 1, 2026 May 21, 2026 May 31, 2026
June 1, 2026 June 18, 2026 June 30, 2026
July 1, 2026 July 16, 2026 July 31, 2026
August 1, 2026 August 20, 2026 August 31, 2026

Required Documentation for Appeal

All students are required to submit a personal statement which should explain:

  • Which criteria impacted their academic performance: serious illness, serious personal or family problem, serious financial difficulty, and/or permanent disability verified by DRC and diagnosed after the semester in question
  • Why the student did not withdraw during the semester
  • If applying for a partial withdrawal, why the criteria did not impact all courses
  • Communicate how the situation impacted performance
     

In addition to the required personal statement, students must also provide additional supporting documentation to support their reason for withdrawal. Incomplete submissions and appeals with missing personal statements or documentation will not be reviewed by the committee.
 

Reason for Withdrawal Type of Documentation Accepted
Serious injury or illness A letter from a medical provider detailing that the medical issue you experienced during the semester from which you are requesting to withdraw impacted your academic performance during that semester and your ability to withdraw during that semester. Letter must be on official letterhead, dated, and signed by a certified/licensed professional who is qualified to diagnose the serious injury or illness. Documentation like prescriptions, medical test results, and/or after-care summaries are not considered to by sufficient documentation.
Serious personal or family problem

This type of documentation may vary. Examples may include:

  • A letter from UK's counseling center that explains a serious personal or family issue impacted your academic performance during the semester from which you are requesting to withdraw and your ability to withdraw during that semester.
  • Legal documents that pertain to a personal or family issue.
  • Other official documentation that illustrates that your academic performance was impacted by this issue during the semester you are requesting to withdraw from.
Serious financial difficulties

Documents that help explain financial hardship during the semester from which are you are requesting to withdraw such as:

  • W2s
  • Income statements
  • Bank statements
  • Current expenses such as rent or mortgage payment, utilities, etc.
  • Receipt of public assistance such as unemployment insurance, food benefits or EBT, etc.

The more pieces of documentation of this nature that you can provide to help illustrate your situation the better the committee will be able to understand your request.

Permanent disability verified by the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and diagnosed after the semester for which the withdrawal is requested Specific documentation is provided by the DRC to fulfill this criterion.

Submit an Appeal

This form is for any student who is withdrawing from a course (or courses) that you took in a previous semester.

BEGIN APPLICATION