Dean of Students
Information Sheet
Application for Withdrawal (W Grade) after the Final Date for Withdrawal without Penalty 2007
The final dates for Withdrawal without Academic penalty in 2007 are:
28 April - First Half units
28 May - Full year units
28 September - Second Half units
If severe unavoidable disruption occurs AFTER these dates, which makes continuing your studies effectively impossible, it is still possible to request Withdrawal without Academic Penalty. Such requests must be made in WRITING in a letter addressed to the Assistant Registrar Coursework Studies Section, Macquarie University and MUST BE SUPPORTED BY DOCUMENTATION (e.g. letters from doctors or other relevant evidence) supporting your claim for unavoidable disruption. Unavoidable disruption is defined on page 40 of the 2007 Handbook of Undergraduate Studies. All students wishing to make a submission should be aware of Bachelor Degree Rules 10(6)b, 12(1) and 20. These rules are provided on the reverse of this sheet.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE
Withdrawal requests are not granted automatically. The relevant regulation stipulates that the disruption must have interrupted previously satisfactory work. In some cases there may not have been any assessment tasks required. If you have been absent from classes, your letter should explain why, especially if no assignments have been handed in.
- As a general rule (Rule (12(1)) a withdrawal without academic penalty will
not be granted if the student has sat the final exam or in the case of units
without a final examination if all the assessment tasks have been submitted.
However, in very exceptional circumstances the Dean of Students will consider an application for withdrawal if the student has sat the final exam or completed all assessment tasks provided the application is supported by appropriate documentation of unavoidable disruption affecting the performance on the final examination.
Appropriate documentation should be in the form of medical certificates dated at the time of any relevant incident(s) or documentation from institutional authorities such as solicitors, counsellors or psychologists outlining the severity of the circumstances that pertain to the request for withdrawal without academic penalty. - Requests for “W” grades are not normally considered if they are submitted later than the first day of the next succeeding examination period, Rule 10(6)b
- It should be noted that demands of employment are NOT usually accepted as unavoidable disruption UNLESS they are extreme or severe and totally beyond a student’s control.
Your application for a ‘W’ grade should be posted to or handed in at the Student Enquiry Service in the Lincoln Student Services Building. Your application may take between 4 to 6 weeks to process. You will be informed of the outcome by letter.
10(6)B
In exceptional circumstances, a change is approved by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Academic) on behalf of the Academic Senate or the Dean of the Division in which
the unit is offered, provided that the application for a change is submitted
to the Registrar not later than six weeks after the notification of examination
results for the study period; or in exceptional circumstances, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Academic) may approve on behalf of the Academic Senate an application submitted
at a later date but before the commencement of the next succeeding examination
period.
12(1)
Where a candidate is permitted to change the program of study pursuant
to Rule 4(2)(b) following application in writing to the Registrar and such change
of program includes discontinuance of a unit or units offered by the university,
or where a candidate discontinues all the units in the program of study:
- The candidate is deemed not to have been effectively enrolled in a unit if they discontinue before the unit census date;
- The candidate is deemed to have withdrawn from a unit if the candidate discontinues after the unit census date but no later than 4 weeks after the unit census date. In such cases the candidate’s record is endorsed with the letter “W” denoting “Withdrawn”.
- The candidate is deemed to have failed in any unit where the candidate’s discontinuance is other than as provided in clauses a) or b) in Rule 12(1). In such cases the candidate’s record is endorsed with the letter “F” denoting “Failed”
If a candidate claims that such discontinuance is due to unavoidable disruption, the candidate may report the circumstances in writing (supported by a medical certificate or other proper evidence) to the Assistant Registrar, Coursework Studies Section, whereupon the Dean of the Division providing any unit which the candidate has discontinued may determine that the candidate be not recorded as having failed in the unit and the candidate's record is endorsed with the letter `W' denoting “Withdrawn”
20.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) may, in extreme and unusual circumstances
and on the recommendation of the designated Head of the Division concerned, deem
that a grade of W be recorded for a unit under circumstances other than those
specified in Rule 12.
Correct as at 24th October, 2007
Mr Julian de Meyrick
Acting Dean of Students