Help appealing an academic decision

College Confidential Community
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So I’m in a weird situation. I go to UIC, and I was taking a course, BIO 100 for gpa recalculation credit. At UIC gpa recalc means whatever grade you get the second time around replaces the first. After meeting with an advisor last week I was told that my recalculation request was now voided due to the fact that I am concurrently taking a genetics course online. The recalculation website says nothing about concurrent registration, only that credit cannot be earned in a class that the current class being taken for recalculation is a pre-requisite for. My argument is that credit has not been earned and I am concurrently enrolled and on those two points alone, you can’t void the recalculation.

I’ve written a letter detailing this and citing other issues ( I was told I knew that I was going against policy which is not true, and if that was the case I should have been advised against it ( I was not) ).

Having spoke with the LAS deans at UIC last fall for an issue regarding the acceptance of a transfer credit (longer story but basically it wasn’t really helpful), is there any other academic body at the University that I can present my case to? Would it be appropriate to contact the Dean of Students or are they more for personal issues / student advocacy? I obviously do not want to present the appeal letter to the advisor I spoke with, but everything I’ve looked up regarding appeals pertains to dismissal from the university or appealing rejection from the university. If any of you have been in a similar situation, please share.

Background on this: I’m attempting to complete a dual degree in Neuroscience and Economics and I have 1 semester left at the school. Financially I can’t afford to stay into the summer / Fall 2016 so I’m taking courses online in addition to my physical classes in order to complete all the required courses for both majors.

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Credit was earned previously, or it wouldn’t be a GPA recalc, it would be retake of a pre-requisite in order to qualify to move on.

Please do NOT use the “I have 1 semester left at school” line with professors or deans. That is only if everything goes well. You need to go to the Dean of Students and discuss your situation, and say that you were never told that while retaking the course for GPA recalculation, you needed to avoid taking any other courses in that major.

Dean of Students is the one to help you and make the ultimate decision. Don’t let “an advisor” be in charge, they don’t know.

Who approved your course for GPA recalculation, the advisor who later told you you couldn’t?

(I do not think someone at an advisor level can invalidate a GPA recalculation, in general)

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Credit was earned previously. Hence why it is a GPA recalc.

To clarify the 1 semester left, I mean that in regards to 1 semester that is financed by institutional grants that will not be available to me after that final semester which would impair my ability to continue on at the school.

The advisor that approved the course for GPA recalculation is the one that is currently telling me I can no longer do it. I approached them about the GPA recalculation request ( it has to be done through the LAS advisors at UIC) the first week of classes and was approved. Not sure why they have this power tbh, but that’s how it’s been done here. This is my first time attempting to do a GPA recalc.

Thanks for the quick response.