Best Practices: Academic Disqualification

The student’s home department should recommend disqualification only after a student has been informed in writing of deficiencies, given an academic plan, and provided adequate time to correct deficiencies through the Academic Notice process. Programs may allow a student the chance to withdraw before recommending Academic Disqualification. When recommending a student for Academic Disqualification, programs should include the specific terms of their Academic Notice that were not met. Criteria relating to program coursework or program milestones must be consistent with those documented in the General Catalog. Once received, the Dean of Graduate Studies will review the request to determine the best course of action. The Dean may request to meet with the student, the Staff Graduate Representative, and/or the Faculty Graduate Representative before a final decision concerning Academic Disqualification is made. Requests that do not adequately note the academic qualifications for disqualification or that do not document that the student was given a reasonable timeline for improvement will not be considered.

If the Dean grants the request for Academic Disqualification, the Graduate Division will notify the student, the Faculty Graduate Representative, and the Staff Graduate Representative via electronic mail and update their official academic standing. If disqualified from a graduate program, a student is no longer eligible to work toward their current degree objective in that program. With approval of the program, doctoral students who are disqualified may be eligible to earn a master’s degree in their home department. Admission to another program is to be determined by the usual program procedures and must include consideration of the factors pertaining to the earlier disqualification. 

An individual may appeal the academic disqualification decision if they believe and can provide evidence indicating that it was based on: (a) procedural error or (b) non-academic criteria in violation of the University of California nondiscrimination policies (see Appeals process Step II below). Disagreements over evaluation of academic quality will not be considered as an appropriate basis for appeal. Further, the decision to disqualify a graduate student for failure to meet the minimum program and university requirements (e.g., handbook/catalog xxx) is not subject to appeal. More information about the nondiscrimination policies is available in the General Catalog on the UCSC Registrar’s Office website. If an individual believes that their academic disqualification violated UCSC nondiscrimination policies, they must submit the appeal on this basis on the timeline indicated below starting at Step II. If they have initiated a complaint with a campus investigative office, the Graduate Division will set the appeal in abeyance pending the outcome of the investigation.

IN THIS SECTION