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Academic Struggles: What are my Options?

If you are worried about not being able to complete a course (or all courses), you have options!

Before the end of Week 6, students can drop a class or withdraw from the quarter.
From Week 7 until the end of finals, you still have options. Please see below for considerations.

Request an Incomplete

  • An incomplete grade is an option for students who are unable to finish part or all of a quarter due to circumstances beyond their control.
  • To qualify for an incomplete, you must be passing the course, and the professor needs to agree to the incomplete.
  • Reach out to your professor directly before the end of Finals Week to request this. If they agree, it would be between you and the professor to agree on what work still needs to be done in the class, as well as a timeline to complete it. The work for the incomplete must be finished by the end of the following quarter, although the professor or student can set an earlier deadline. There is no official paperwork to request an Incomplete, although some professors or departments may ask you to submit the Incomplete form.
  • For more information about incomplete grades, refer to TritonLink.

Petition to Retroactively Withdraw from Individual Course(s)

  • A petition to retroactively withdraw from a class would be an option for students who have extenuating circumstances that prevented them from dropping the class(es) by the deadline (Friday of Week 6) or that happened after the drop deadline. The result would be a “W” grade on your transcript. 

  • Petitions to retroactively withdraw must be submitted no later than the end of the following quarter. They are not meant to be used to “clean up” an academic record in the future. They are an exception to Academic Senate policy 501.B.3. –  An undergraduate student may not drop a course after the end of the sixth week of instruction unless permitted to do so by paragraph (D)(1) or by petition for emergency reasons before the end of the tenth week of instruction. 

  • Petitions to retroactively withdraw from an individual course are unlikely to be approved unless a student can demonstrate why only one course was impacted by the emergency.

  • Students cannot have taken the final exam or completed the course if they are petitioning for a retroactive withdrawal.

  • If you choose to move forward with the petition process, you will need to complete an Undergraduate Student Petition. Choose “University Exception” and the request will be “retroactive drop with W grade”.

    • You must include documentation* of any extenuating circumstances that prevented you from withdrawing prior to the deadline or explain the emergency reason after the deadline.
    • You must provide a personal statement addressing what’s been happening.
    • If you are petitioning to withdraw from just one class (and not the whole quarter) you need to explain why this one class was impacted and not all.
    • You will need signatures from the professor and academic department chair. Send the petition to the department advisors and they can help route the petition. If the instructor and department chair both approve the petition, it will come to Revelle College for review. If you submit the petition after the end of the quarter, the Academic Senate Educational Policy Committee will also need to review the petition.

  • These petitions are not guaranteed to be approved and can be denied at any step. If you have questions about the likelihood of your petition being approved, please consult Revelle Advising - we are committed to being transparent about this process!

  • *Documentation varies by situation. It might include a medical visit summary, CAPS after-visit history, hospitalization dates, or a letter from your provider. It might be a death notice, obituary, funeral program, or letter from a family member’s medical provider or social worker. It might be a pay stub, employment termination, flight itinerary, or travel documents.

  • **The reviewers are going to wonder:
    • How are the circumstances so severe that they impacted the class, but not severe enough to impact all classes? 
    • What objective details, timelines, and facts does the statement include?
    • Why did the student not drop the course by the Week 6 deadline?
Examples of Approved Petitions Examples of Denied Petitions
  • Hospitalization or emergency room visit the day of a midterm (after the drop deadline has passed) in one specific course  
  • Leaving San Diego (after the drop deadline has passed) due to family emergency, and all courses are Remote except one
  • Documented change in medication/treatment plan that happens during the quarter (after the drop deadline has passed) that impacted one course due to when it was scheduled (e.g.: student has to take parent to chemo at 8 am; student cannot get out of bed due to medication change in Week 9)
  • Documented technical error that prevented the course from being dropped before the deadline
  • CAPS letter stating student has anxiety
  • I was able to keep up in other classes because the professors were more flexible.
  • I was allowed extra credit in other classes.
  • I fell behind in classes but was able to catch up in all of them except this one.
  • I could keep up in other classes because there were homework points but this class was only two midterms.
  • I thought I had to stay enrolled for financial aid
  • I should have dropped the class but thought I could catch up / make up work
  • previous quarter single course withdrawal because student did not finish the Incomplete
  • previous quarter single course withdrawal because student is worried about GPA / medical school application

Petition to Retroactively Withdraw from the Quarter (All Courses)

  • A petition to retroactively withdraw from the full quarter may be an option for students who have extenuating circumstances that prevented them from withdrawing by the deadline (Friday of Week 6) or that happened after the drop deadline. The result would be a “W” grade in all courses. 

  • Petitions to retroactively withdraw must be submitted no later than the end of the following quarter. They are not meant to be used to “clean up” an academic record in the future. They are an exception to Academic Senate policy 501.C.3. – An undergraduate student may not withdraw from the University after the end of the sixth week of instruction unless permitted to do so by petition for emergency reasons before the end of the tenth week of instruction.
  • Students cannot have taken the final exams or completed the courses if they are petitioning for retroactive withdrawal.

  • If you choose to move forward with the petition process, you will need to complete an Undergraduate Student Petition for every class. Choose “University Exception” and the request will be “retroactive drop with W grade”.

    • You must include documentation* of any extenuating circumstances that prevented you from withdrawing prior to the deadline or explain the emergency reason after the deadline.
    • You must provide a personal statement addressing what’s been happening. This does not need to be lengthy - just tell us why you can’t complete the quarter.
    • Send the petitions, statement, and documentation to Revelle College at readvising@ucsd.edu.  If you submit the petition after the end of the quarter, the Academic Senate Educational Policy Committee will also need to review the petition.

  • These petitions are not guaranteed to be approved. If you have questions about the likelihood of your petitions being approved, please consult Revelle Advising - we are committed to being transparent about this process!

  • *Documentation varies by situation. It might include a medical visit summary, CAPS after-visit history, hospitalization dates, or a letter from your provider. It might be a death notice, obituary, funeral program, or letter from a family member’s medical provider or social worker. It might be a pay stub, employment termination, flight itinerary, or travel documents.

Examples of Approved Petitions Examples of Denied Petitions
  • Hospitalization or emergency room visit the day of the withdrawal deadline  
  • Leaving San Diego due to family emergency, and unable to complete the quarter
  • Family emergency / death that prevented student from finishing all classes
  • Serious chronic health condition (mental or physical) that prevent the student from engaging in coursework
  • past quarter without documentation dated from that time period verifying the circumstances
  • petitions submitted more than one quarter later, attempting to modify the academic record/GPA for graduate school applications

Fail the Course and Repeat it

  • If you do not qualify for an Incomplete or a petition to retroactively withdraw, your final grade will be posted. If you fail the course, you can retake it.* For the first 16 units of D, F, or NP grade that a student earns and then repeats, the original grade is removed from the GPA calculation when you repeat the class. In other words, if you fail the class then the F grade would remain on your transcript but be removed from your GPA when you retake the class. See the How to Repeat a Class webpage for full details.

  • If you are concerned about the impact of failing grades on your GPA and academic standing, please contact Revelle Advising to discuss your particular situation.

  • *To take a course for a third or more time, you need approval (not guaranteed) from the Revelle College Dean of Academic Advising.