Academic Resources

Adding, Dropping, or Withdrawing from a Class, or Grading Option Changes can be performed in DuckWeb on your own up until the end of Week 7. A refund can be completed after a withdrawal or complete withdrawal in a course in order to get some money back. For any of these changes to occur after the deadline, you’ll need to file a petition.

There are a lot of restrictions about who is applicable for a petition. Most of the time, there must be a significant emergency or life event that occurred that forced you to miss the Week 7 deadline. Simply forgetting about the deadlines or being on-track for a bad grade is not enough reason for the University to modify policies on your behalf. A full list of reasons can be found on the petitions page of the Registrar’s Office.

There are a few differences depending on the type of petition, and those differences are detailed below. It is important to note that some petitions require supporting documentation, so check whichever one you are filling out. The next step is typically to email the instructor or department head, depending on the petition. All emails must be sent from a UO email address. Then, the instructor or department head will email back with an approval. Finally, you should send one email to the registrar’s email containing the completed petition, approvals from those required, and the necessary supporting documentation.

The Office of the Registrar here at UO has specific descriptions of all forms and what processes you have to go through to complete them. The Scholastic Review Committee also has information about their petitions.

Don’t worry, you are not the only person who feels this way. Schedule a meeting with our Peer Advocates over Zoom or in person, or feel free to stop by our office during our drop-in hours.

This petition is for switching between grading options past the deadline (from graded to pass/no pass) or to change credits on variable credit courses past the deadline.

This petition requires approval from both the instructor in the class and the Department in which the class takes place.

There is a fee associated with this petition, charged to a student’s billing account. It is not specified on the Registrar website beyond “$25-$50”, but there is likely flexibility for students encountering financial barriers.

The deadline to submit this petition is the Sunday prior to finals week each term. After this date, petitions should be submitted to the Scholastic Review Committee; more information about this process is below.

For additional information about the Grading Option or Variable Credits Change Petition process, click here.

This petition is for students requesting to drop a class and receive a partial or complete tuition refund after the deadline has passed. This is oftentimes used to support students who experienced a crisis that prevented them from attending the class or from dropping the class until it was too late to do so, and who will not be able to take the class in a meaningful way this term.

This petition does not require approval from the instructor of the class, but does require supporting documentation. Oftentimes, this is medical or mental health documentation. If you are requesting a refund due to a crisis, medical issue or mental health issue, you are encouraged to work with the Care and Advocacy Team within the Office of the Dean of Students prior to submitting your petition.

There is not a fee associated with this petition.

This petition does not have to be completed within the term. It may be completed any time within one year, because it is intended to assist students who have experienced a crisis or emergency and may not be able to respond within the term.

If you need to withdraw completely, you may do so by talking to an advisor in the Office of Academic Advising.

For additional information about the Refund Petition process, click here.

This petition requests an exception to the UO Repeat Policy, which says that students cannot take non-repeatable classes again if they received a C or better, or a P grade. If the class is marked “repeatable” in the course catalog, or if the student received a C- or less, or a NP, they may repeat the class without a petition.

There is not a fee associated with this petition.

This petition requires a signature from the student’s major department and the department offering the course.

For additional information about the Petition to Repeat a Course, click here.

It is very important that your petition not include certain justifications. If you mention these things in your petition, your petition WILL NOT be considered, even if these things are completely true in your case, and feel unfair to you.

• Lack of knowledge of dates, deadlines, or policies
• Date midterm results were received
• Failure to carefully check registration and bills on DuckWeb
• Errors in personal judgment
• Dissatisfaction with instructor, grade, content, or services
• Lack of participation
• Failure to follow procedures
• Ability to pay for the penalties

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you do not include these reasons for appeal in your petition, and that you supply reasons outside of these as the justification for your petition.

This petition allows a student to change a course in a previous term from graded to pass/no pass (or back to graded), typically in cases where the student faced an unexpected disruption to their education that prevented them from changing the grade option by the deadline.

This petition requires a statement from the student and from their instructor(s), as well as supporting documentation. Students are encouraged to talk with their Advisor or with the Care and Advocacy Team about this documentation, because it rarely needs to include evidence that students find uncomfortable or invasive to share.

For all petitions reviewed by the SRC, the student is required to meet with an Academic Advisor in the Office of Academic Advising. These meetings can be scheduled on their website.

This petition allows a student who has previously been Academically Disqualified to return to campus. In many cases, these petitions are completed by students who have taken coursework elsewhere while they were disqualified from UO and who have demonstrated that they are ready to return. Students will submit a statement discussing what impacted their success in the past and what has changed now, to demonstrate they are prepared to be academically successful in the future.

This petiton requires a statement from the student, a transcript for any coursework completed at other instutitions in the interim, a three-term academic plan completed with an Advisor, residency and re-enrollment information and any additional supporting documentation.

For all petitions reviewed by the SRC, the student is required to meet with an Academic Advisor in the Office of Academic Advising. These meetings can be scheduled on their website.

It is important to note that there are other reasons you may feel you’re being graded unfairly in a class, and not all follow these steps.

If you believe you are being graded unfairly because of issues related to discrimination, we encourage you to consult with the Care and Advocacy Team within the Office of the Dean of Students to make sure you’re getting the full support you deserve. This is a serious concern and you deserve additional support to navigate it.

If your grade was changed due to an accusation of academic misconduct, you still have options to appeal your grade change. Please reach out to the Peer Advocates or SAP Attorney to discuss your options in more detail.

The first step in any situation like this is to attempt to resolve the dispute with the instructor directly. You have support options for this conversation; the SAP Attorney may be able to attend the meeting with you. The Peer Advocates can help consider the points you would like to make. The Student Conflict Resolution Center can help you use interperonal conflict management skills to navigate the conversation.

Professors are required to put their attendance policy in their syllabus. Some professors do not require attendance for their classes, others require that you attend every class session. It varies from class to class, so make sure that you check for each one. Again, the new policy does not require that a professor grant you an excused absence, but it does encourage professors to consider their attendance policies and maximize the number of penalty-free absences a student can have.

If you know that you will be missing class for a university-related event, give your professor a list of all the dates that you expect to miss class. You and the professor can work out a solution that works for the both of you. However, professors cannot offer another option that would be unfair to other students in the class.

Professors are required to make reasonable exceptions for students who have a conflict with their religious observations. To do this, a student must file with the Registrar’s office and complete the “Student Religious Accommodation Request” to be officially recognized. After completing this, inform your instructor by the second week of the term.

Each professor conducts their class differently, so check your syllabus for the professor’s policy. It may also be worthwhile to reach out to the professor or GE through email to let them know that you have missed a class and ask about anything you should be aware of from the missed class. Professors are not allowed to ask why you missed class, so you don’t need to worry about justifying your absence. They may (but are not required to) offer alternative assignments to make up for the grade. Also, reaching out to a classmate to get their notes for the class may be a good idea, so you don’t miss out completely on a lecture.

There are a couple options here, depending on what point of the term it is.

Changing your grading option to Pass/No Pass could reduce the impact of a lower grade on your GPA.

Another option available early in the term is to withdraw from the class. You should be aware that you are unlikely to get a 100% refund for the term; depending on what week in the term it is, there are different levels of refunds available for the money paid for the class. Check the University schedule to see when those dates are for the term. The last day to drop a class is by the end of Week 7.

A final option if something comes up past Week 7 is to file for an Incomplete, which happens if you are unable to finish the course for outside factors. There are specific criteria that must be met for an Incomplete, so make sure that you meet all of them before approaching your professor with this idea. You will still have to complete the work for the class, but an Incomplete gives you an extended deadline to complete the requirements of the course.

To receive an Incomplete in a class:

1.  Talk to your instructor. You and your instructor must agree with each other that you meet the criteria (you were doing well and trying hard, but something happened at the end of the term that disrupted you) and that you’ve previously been an engaged, active member of the class. If your instructor can offer you ways to make up the coursework within the term, they may offer you alternative options that don’t require you to take extra time.
2. Make a plan. Work with your instructor to figure out what you need to complete and how much time you need to complete it, and that the plan feels doable. Remember, you can take extra time if your crisis has not resolved.
3. Request the grade of incomplete. Log in to the request form on the Registrar’s website and complete the form.
4. Ensure you have everything you need to complete the course. You can request access to the Canvas site for the course, or request materials from your instructor.
5. Complete your work by the selected deadline and submit it to your instructor. They will then finish out your course and submit the grade to the Registrar’s Office to be updated on your transcripts.

The most important thing to know is that an Incomplete grade is a collaboration between you and your instructor. They will work with you to set the timeline, choose the work you need to complete and give you the tools you need to complete it. This process is a form, rather than a petition, meaning that the UO doesn’t need to give you permission to receieve an Incomplete. Rather, your instructor gives you permission and you inform the UO.

An Incomplete grade means that when the course ends in week 11, your instructor will put an “i” on your transcripts, rather than a letter grade or P/NP. Your instructor will work with you to give you new deadlines to complete the remaining coursework, and when you finish it, your grade will be replaced with the grade you earned in your class, the same as your peers who finished in 11 weeks. This is an excellent tool to preserve your hard work in the term when you have a crisis that disrupts the end of your term, and gives you some extra time to demonstrate that you’ve mastered the materials and receive the grade you deserve.

The “i” on your transcripts doesn’t negatively effect your GPA, and will be changed to the grade you earned when you complete the coursework.

You will select new deadlines with your instructor, and there’s a lot of flexibility for choosing the deadline.

Coursework needs to be completed by whichever date comes first:

• The grading deadline of the term you apply to graduate
• One academic year after the term you took the course originally
• The deadline on the Incomplete Request Form

Because there’s flexibility up to one year, students are encouraged to choose timelines that feel comfortable for them. If you are still recovering from the original disruption, piling more work on the following term will only disrupt you more.