Academic Advising

Undergraduate Appeals, Academic Requests, and Exceptions to Policy

At George Mason, we expect that you, the student, are responsible for knowing the rules, regulations, requirements, and academic policies of the university and your school or college. All academic policies and guidelines are outlined in the University Catalog. At the same time, we also understand that circumstances may arise that warrant a student to request an exception to policy or submit an appeal.

You can request exceptions to academic policy or appeal decisions made by your academic program (such as request for a late withdrawal from a course, appealing a grade, curriculum requirement substitution, etc). Academic requests, exceptions, and appeals follow the general flow described below, but the specific processes vary based on your home school or college.

For graduate students who wish to seek an exception to an academic policy, which always precedes a graduate academic appeal, all requests must begin within the graduate student’s department/academic program. For further information, click here.

Steps in the Exception and Appeals Process
  1. Requests should always begin with communication between you and your academic advisor and/or faculty member.
  2. If you need more information or you want to appeal a decision, the next step is to contact the department or program chair.
  3. If the issue or concern is not resolved at the department level, then you can appeal to your school or college academic affairs, student services, or dean’s office.
  4. If an issue is still not resolved, and only after the request has gone through all of the appropriate levels listed above, you may appeal a decision by submitting your request to the Provost’s Office by emailing apugsubs@gmu.edu.
  5. If you do not feel your request was handled fairly by the Provost’s Office, requests can also be reviewed by the University Academic Appeals committee.
    • However, if a request has already been appealed at the school/college level and the Provost’s Office with the same outcome, the request cannot be submitted and reviewed by the Academic Appeals committee.
    • Requests are submitted to this committee from apugsubs@gmu.edu directly. Once the request is submitted, you will then be able to submit any additional materials or communication directly to the committee.

(Grade appeals cannot be made at the Provost level or to the University Academic Appeals committee; those decisions reside with the school or college.)

Seek Guidance and Information
Keep in mind your assigned academic advisor can assist you in navigating this process and answer any questions you may have along the way. We understand this can be a confusing and complicated process, and your advisor can help you.

Please also visit your school or college’s appeals website (links below) to determine the specific appropriate steps based on the type of request:

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution 
College of Education and Human Development 
College of Engineering and Computing 
College of Humanities and Social Sciences 
College of Public Health 
College of Science 
College of Visual and Performing Arts 
Costello College of Business 
Schar School of Policy and Government 
Exploratory and Non-Degree 
Honors College (for appealing termination from Honors College or a grade appeal of an HNRS or HNRT course only) 

If you are unsure of which school or college your major belongs, please refer to the Majors at Mason handout or Find Your Program in the catalog. Late add requests and grade appeals start with the instructor of the course. If you have any questions navigating the process or determining if you need to submit a request or appeal, contact your assigned academic advisor.

Still not sure what to do?

If you ever have trouble finding your academic advisor or if you are unsure of what to do, you can email advisor@gmu.edu, and we can get you connected with your advisor or the appropriate office.