Retroactive Withdrawal

• Review the Medical Withdrawal process to determine if it is a more appropriate request.
• Connect with your assigned CLAS Academic Advisor to discuss the possible impact on progress for your degree.
• Contact the Financial Aid office to see what financial consequences a retroactive withdrawal might have.

• The Retroactive Petition Form
  • Sometimes circumstances may span more than one semester. If you are requesting a withdrawal for more than one semester due to the same, continuing circumstances, please complete one form for each semester.
• A Personal Statement   

  • Describe in your own words the circumstances you experienced.   

  • At the beginning of the statement, be clear in what you are asking for (e.g. “I am asking the committee to grant me a retroactive withdrawal from SOCY 1001-004 for Spring 2018.”) 

  • Explanation of the special circumstances for the semester in which you are requesting a retroactive withdrawal. 

  • Timeline of events.

**If the withdrawal is not for the entire semester, explain why you were able to pass/withdraw from other classes in the term but failed to pass/withdraw from the course(s) you are now petitioning. 

• Supporting Evidence 

  • This is any kind of evidence that confirms the circumstances you experienced.   

  • Documentation can include formal items such as a letter from a health care professional, medical after visit summaries or obituary, or as informal as emails or screen shots of online accounts.  This is by no means an exhaustive list.  The kind of documentation you provide will depend largely on the circumstances.  Keep in mind that you should provide documentation of all the factors you note in your personal statement.   

  • Provide as much documentation as you think necessary to communicate your circumstances to committee members who won’t have the chance to hear from you in person.  All documentation is held in strict confidence and DOES NOT become part of your academic record. 

• Instructor Letter(s) 

  • You will need to request a statement from the instructor of each course that you are petitioning for.  You don’t have to disclose the details of your situation but remember that having a basic understanding of your situation may help them in crafting their statement.   You are encouraged to provide a link to the instructor information page, which will help your instructors understand your request.

  • The statement should include the following: 

    • The date that you stopped attending, or a statement indicating that you never attended the class 

    • Reason(s) you earned the grades you did at the time 

    • If the instructor wishes, they may indicate whether they support the retroactive withdrawal petition and why.  This is not required, and it is up to the professor to include it if they desire. 

    • If the instructor no longer teaches at CU Denver, you can reach out to the department chair to provide the requested information. 

    • Instructors may email their statements directly to the committee at clas.academic.standards@ucdenver.edu. 

• An Unofficial Transcript 

  • You can obtain an unofficial transcript through your UCDAccess portal.

Students can email their petition materials to the Academic Standards Committee at clas.academic.standards@ucdenver.edu or they may drop off paper copies at the CLAS Academic Advising office in 1030 North Classroom. Please save electronic documents in PDF format. Petitions will be scheduled for review once all items have been received.

There are many considerations for any petition.  Students should connect with their assigned CLAS advisor to discuss petitions and policies. 

A Medical Withdrawal request must include all courses for the requested semester - partial withdrawals are not allowed.  As detailed on the Case Management website, a Medical Withdrawal is specifically for: Students diagnosed with either physical or psychological medical conditions that significantly impact their safety or ability to be academically successful.  If accepted for review, the Medical Withdrawal request process also includes a Tuition Appeal review.  For questions about the Medical Withdrawal request, please review the details on the Case Management website and connect with a representative from Case Management (CSM@ucdenver.edu) if you have questions about that process.

No.  Unlike a Medical Withdrawal request, the CLAS Retroactive Withdrawal process does not include an appeal for tuition and fees.  If you would like more information on the Tuition Appeals process, please visit the university's Tuition Appeals page.

Courses must have occurred no more than seven years prior to the date of the Retroactive Withdrawal Petition to be eligible.  Courses used for a degree completed at CU Denver are not eligible.

A completed petition requires an instructor statement for any courses that are part of the request.  If you have used the CU Denver Directory to confirm that you have the appropriate email address and it has been five university operating days without a reply, please message the instructor again.  If after 10 operating days you have not received a reply, please connect with the chair/program director of the subject area.  Please update that contact about your request and inquire if there is a more appropriate way to connect with the instructor.  In certain situations, the chair/program director may submit a statement on behalf of the instructor.

After a completed petition has been submitted to the Academic Standards Committee, an email will be sent to the student's campus email account confirming the completed petition has been received and the expected review date for the petition.  After the Academic Standards Committee has reviewed a completed petition, an email will be sent to the student's campus email address within 5-10 university operating days.  In addition to the decision, next steps/actions will be detailed in the message.  Assigned academic advisors (and other offices as appropriate) may be included on the message.  All messages will be sent to students' campus email address and be sent from: clas.academic.standards @ ucdenver.edu.