Policies and Forms

Complete details on UWM Academic Policies for undergraduate students can be found in the Catalog.

Registration Changes

Before the semester begins and until published deadlines, changes can be made on a self-service basis in PAWS. The Registrar’s Office provides information and some video tutorials on how to do this. See the Registrar’s Calendar for exact deadlines for adding and dropping each semester.

Appeals for Late Drop or Withdrawal

Students are expected to have all program changes completed prior to the deadlines published in the Add/Drop Calendar.  Registration changes after published deadlines require permission.  Students must formally appeal to request permission and provide documentation of extenuating circumstance for their late request.  See below for instructions.

  • Medical Drop/Withdrawal Appeals: Appeals for late course drops and complete withdrawals (dropping all courses) due to medical circumstances are managed by the Dean of Students. Their Medical Withdrawal site provides information on qualifying and non-qualifying circumstances, details on the process, deadlines, directions on how to apply and a link to the required appeal form. 
  • Non-Medical Drop/Withdrawal Appeals: If you do not qualify for a Medical Drop/Withdrawal but believe you have documentable, extenuating circumstances to justify a late course drop or withdrawal, follow one of the appeal instructions below.
    • Withdrawal (drop all courses)
      • Fill out an Appeal form. (PDF)
      • Write a letter of appeal explaining why you are requesting a withdrawal. You must address what happened after the Drop Deadline that prevented you from withdrawing on time.
      • Gather documentation that supports the appeal. (e.g. police report, letter of eviction, loss of job, etc.).
      • E-mail all items to Deona Mickens at ellisond@uwm.edu.
    • Course Drop (drop one or some courses)
      • Obtain the instructor’s signature on a Registration Change Form for each course you seek to drop.
      • Fill out an Appeal form. (PDF)
      • Write a letter of appeal explaining why you are requesting to drop late.  You must address (a) what happened after the Drop Deadline that prevented you from dropping on time, and (b) why the course(s) you are appealing were impacted by your circumstances while other courses were not.
      • Gather documentation that supports the appeal.
      • E-mail all items to Deona Mickens at ellisond@uwm.edu.

Appeals for Late Add

  • Obtain the instructor’s signature on a Registration Change Form.
  • Fill out an Appeal form. (PDF)
  • Write a letter of appeal explaining why you are requesting a late add.
  • Gather documentation that supports the appeal.
  • E-mail all items to Deona Mickens at ellisond@uwm.edu

Appeal a Grade

View the Letters & Science procedure to appeal a grade.

Appeals for Late Change to Grade Option or Credit Value

  1. Fill out an Appeal form. (PDF)
  2. Write a letter of appeal explaining why you are requesting a change after the deadline.
  3. Gather documentation that supports the appeal.
  4. E-mail all items to Deona Mickens at ellisond@uwm.edu.

Repeat Policy 

Unless a restriction is stated in the Schedule of Classes, undergraduates may repeat a course only once. However, there are exceptions. Read our full Repeat Policy to understand the full implication of how repeated classes impact GPA and how to request permission if needed for a particular repeat.

Concurrent Enrollment Policy

Attending more than one college at the same time is called concurrent enrollment. Students must request permission for concurrent enrollment in fall or spring. Permission is not required for summer or winter sessions.

To request permission for concurrent enrollment, send an email to Jennifer Deroche, Assistant Dean for Student Success and Academic Services. Include in your email all of the following information:

  • the name of the other institution where you like to take the class
  • the name of the class you would like to take and its equivalent course at UWM
  • the semester you would like to be concurrently enrolled
  • why you would like to take the class at a school other than UWM
  • your student ID number and full name

Please use the subject line “Permission Request for Concurrent Enrollment” in your email. You may be asked to provide evidence of your enrollment at the other institution before final approval is granted.

  • Students are not allowed to be concurrently enrolled at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) during the fall or spring semester for math or chemistry.
  • Students may not repeat classes that have already been taken at UWM at another institution. Students who are unhappy with a grade received in a UWM course must repeat it at UWM.
  • The Transfer Equivalency Resources on the Registrar’s Transferring Course Credits page can help evaluate course equivalencies at other universities and technical schools.

Overload Policy

In a regular semester, the maximum credit load for undergraduates is 18 credits. A student must obtain approval for an overload from their academic advisor in Letters & Science. To be eligible for an overload, a student should have a minimum grade point average of 3.00, a GPA of 3.00 for the last semester in which s/he was enrolled full-time, and no outstanding incompletes. The maximum credit overload allowed is 21 credits.  Questions about exceptions to this policy can be sent to Assistant Dean Jennifer DeRoche. 

In a summer session the maximum number of credits allowed is the same as the length of the session. For example, a student may only take 4 credits in a four-week session. The exception to this rule is the 8-week session in which a student may take 9 credits.

In the winter session a maximum of 3 credits are allowed.

Incomplete Policy

An incomplete may be given to an undergraduate who has carried a subject successfully until near the end of the semester but, because of illness or other unusual and substantiated cause beyond that student’s control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or to complete some limited amount of term work. An incomplete is not given unless the student proves to the instructor that s/he was prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated above.

A course marked incomplete must be completed during the next succeeding semester, excluding summer sessions and UWinterim. If the student does not remove the incomplete during this period, the report of “I” will lapse to “F”. With approval of the instructor, additional time may be granted through a request to the instructor for an Extended Incomplete (“EI”), including cases where the “I” lapsed to “F”. The determination to assign an “EI” grade is at the sole discretion of the instructor or, if an instructor cannot be contacted, the department chair. The “EI” grade will lapse to “F” after one calendar year unless a final grade is awarded or another extension is requested by the instructor or department.

Incomplete (“I”) or Extended Incomplete (“EI”) courses may not be used to satisfy degree requirements. Incomplete (“I”) or Extended Incomplete (“EI”) courses will be converted to Permanent Incomplete (“PI”) prior to degree posting if not required for graduation. The PI does not change the impact of the “F” grade on the student’s record. It is equivalent to earning the lapsed “F” grade in terms of how it affects the student’s GPA and GPA credits.

Credit/No Credit Policy

Students may enroll in a course on a credit/no credit (C/NC) basis with the following restrictions:

  • The course may not be in your major, minor or certificate program.
  • The course may not be part of the Honors College.
  • The course may not be taken to complete the English and/or mathematics requirements.
  • If a student is following the degree requirements prior to Fall 2008, C/NC cannot be part of the Letters and Science language requirement. Students following the degree requirements for terms beginning Fall 2008 or later, may use C/NC as part of the Letters and Science language requirement.

To be granted credit for a credit/no credit course, a student must earn a grade of “C-” or better. The credits will be counted toward total degree credits earned but will not affect a student’s grade point average. Only one course per semester up to a maximum of eight courses may be taken using this option. If a student enrolls in a course that may only be taken on a C/NC basis, s/he may take an additional course on a credit/no credit basis that semester. Grading option selection must be completed by the add deadline each semester.  Requests for late changes require an appeal. 

Policy for Returning after Academic Dismissal

A dropped student may be reinstated immediately after a drop action or readmitted after the drop period. A readmitted or reinstated student is placed on final probation.

  1. Reinstatement immediately after a drop may only be granted by the dean or a designee of the school, college, or academic unit to which the student belonged when the drop action was earned. Contact your advisor for information on appeals for reinstatement. 
  2. Readmission may occur after the required drop period. After the assigned drop period has elapsed, a student may re-enter the program from which they were dropped. Information on applying for reentry is available through Admissions.
  3. A student who chooses to change their program following a drop action may only do so with the permission of the dean or a designee of the receiving program.
  4. A student who chooses to change from a bachelor’s degree program to an associate degree program following a drop period can do so without dean’s permission.