1. Home
  2. Academic Appeals Process and Procedures

The College of Engineering has developed this process to review student requests to retroactively drop or withdraw from a course, or, retroactive readmission from an academic suspension or dismissal. If you only wish to appeal a course grade or file a grievance, you should complete a Grade Appeal Form (available in the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Services and Undergraduate Affairs).  Feel free to contact the Office of Student Services at studentsupport@eng.famu.fsu.edu or (850) 410-6565 if you have any questions or need additional information about grade appeals.

Important Deadlines for Retroactive Drops and Reinstatements

  • Summer 2026 appeals cycle to open by: May 7th, 2026 (for courses taken Summer 2025, Fall 2025, and Spring 2026)
  • Summer 2026 appeals cycle deadline:  June 5th, 2026
  • Results emailed to students by: July 24th, 2026 
  • Fall 2026 appeals cycle to open by: August 10th, 2026 (for courses taken Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026)
  • Fall 2026 appeals cycle Deadline:  September 18th, 2026
    Results emailed to students by: November 6th, 2026 

Retroactive Drop or Withdrawal Appeal Procedure

To file an Academic Appeal to the College of Engineering, please select this link Online Appeals Form (available May 7, 2026 - June 5, 2026).

Academic appeal requests are reviewed by a committee of engineering faculty members who vote to approve or deny the request. The committee's decision is based on (1) your written justification, (2) supporting documentation, (3) your academic record, and (4) the number of previous appeals granted. It is critical that your written justification clearly demonstrates that the situation was outside of your immediate control. The committee will not approve requests that are justified due to (a) poor time management, (b) poor decision making, (c) poor planning, or (d) bad luck. Also, courses with a grade of 'C-' or better and courses which have been adjudicated or are under review for academic honor policy violations are not eligible for retroactive actions. Need guidance on applying or have further questions, please visit Ms. Vanessa Crisler in Student Services, Room B111, call her at (850) 410-6188, or email her.

Retroactive Drop or Withdrawal Appeal Policy

The College of Engineering has developed this process to review student requests to retroactively drop or withdraw from a course, or, for retroactive readmission from an academic suspension or dismissal.

  1. Retroactive Course Drop/Withdrawal Process

    An application for a retroactive course drop or withdrawal must be made within one year of the original course attempt. Applications received after one year will not be accepted. It is recommended that you submit your application during the semester immediately after taking the course. Please note the deadline for appeals each semester listed at the top of the page. 

    In your application, you must indicate one of the following four reasons for your request:

    1. medical,
    2. death of an immediate family member,
    3. military service obligation, or
    4. other.

     

    Your written justification must make it clear that the events were outside of your immediate control. You should specifically address why this situation affected the class(es) you wish to drop and not other courses you were also taking that semester. You should also describe what steps you took to mitigate the problem. For example, the committee wants to know why you did not drop the course before the semester course drop/withdrawal deadline.

    You must submit supporting documentation by the deadline, otherwise, your application is considered incomplete and will be cancelled.

  2. Retroactive University Withdrawal Procedure/Process

    If you need to drop or withdraw from every course you took during a semester, you must request a retroactive university withdrawal. You will follow the same procedure listed above for the Retroactive Course Drop/Withdrawal process.

  3. Reinstatement from University Suspension or Dismissal

    The following options are available to students who have been suspended or dismissed from their home university and wish to be reinstated or readmitted back into the college.

    If this is your first dismissal or suspension, you may be eligible for immediate reinstatement if your GPA is close to 2.00. We define "close" as being within six (6) quality points of a 2.00. To determine if you may qualify for an immediate reinstatement, multiply the number of semester hours you have attempted by two (2) and subtract your current total number of quality points. If the difference is less than or equal to six (6), you may qualify for immediate reinstatement. You should call the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Services and Undergraduate Affairs at (850) 410-6361 for more information.

    If this is your first dismissal or suspension and you have more than a six (6) quality point deficit, you will need to apply for re-admission to the engineering program. You will need to sit out the semester while your application is under review. In your written justification, you should elaborate on what problems or challenges you faced which contributed to your dismissal or suspension, how you have solved these problems, and how you plan to avoid being dismissed or suspended again.

    If you have already been dismissed, you will need to contact the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Services and Undergraduate Affairs at (850) 410-6361 to determine if you are eligible to continue in engineering.