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.
Retroactive Withdrawals
Consulting with College Contacts
View College Contacts
| College | Contact Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 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:
- A serious injury or illness;
- Serious personal or family problems;
- Serious financial difficulties; or
- 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.
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.
| For request to withdraw from: | Last day of classes for that semester: | Completed application submission deadline: |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2021 | April 30, 2021 | April 30, 2025 |
| Fall 2021 | December 8, 2021 | December 8, 2025 |
| Spring 2022 | April 27, 2022 | April 27, 2026 |
| Fall 2022 | December 7, 2022 | December 7, 2026 |
| Spring 2023 | April 26, 2023 | April 26, 2027 |
| Fall 2023 | December 6, 2023 | December 6, 2027 |
| Spring 2024 | April 24, 2024 | April 24, 2028 |
| Fall 2024 | December 11, 2024 | December 11, 2028 |
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:
|
| Serious financial difficulties |
Documents that help explain financial hardship during the semester from which are you are requesting to withdraw such as:
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.