The reinstatement process outlined below is for students who are premajors or whose major is in the College of Arts and Sciences. If you are declared in a major outside the College of Arts and Sciences, you should contact your School or College directly as their process will be different. Since the vast majority of majors outside the College of Arts and Sciences are highly competitive, if you've been dropped from one of those majors it may be very difficult to be reinstated back into it; consequently, you might end up petitioning the College of Arts and Sciences reinstatement committee to re-enter the UW as a premajor on a trajectory toward a major in the College of Arts and Sciences.
One important note: Even if you've been dropped from the university, if you've already registered for next quarter, your classes will be retained for the first few days of the quarter1. This gives you a chance to explore your options and petition for reinstatement if desired. If you are petitioning for reinstatement you should attend the first few days of your classes so if you get reinstated you don't start the quarter already behind.
All of this points to the following rule: if you've been dropped, come and see an adviser—as outlined below—as soon as possible, as your options will begin to melt away as days pass.
Reinstatement is not automatic upon request, nor does the university grant it often. Before you apply for reinstatement, reflect on the causes that led to your academic difficulties.
If issues such as too many work hours, unreasonable academic goals, on-going health problems, or other impediments to success still exist in your life, consider remaining out of school for a period of time until you have dealt realistically and completely with those issues. Your adviser can help you decide if this is your best course. If you have been dropped at the end of your freshman year, attending a community college for a year, taking at least 10 credits per quarter and getting a GPA of at least 2.75 will demonstrate your ability to be successful in a college setting. That will not guarantee your reinstatement but will certainly be a factor in future consideration of a petition.
You may need to redirect your interests away from highly competitive majors to those that have open admission or minimum requirements. A petition that demonstrates a mature assessment of problems and concrete changes in behavior has a better chance of being considered.
If you have been dropped for low scholarship and wish to petition for reinstatement, you must meet with a reinstatement counselor in your school or college.
Download Reinstatement Petition
Your reinstatement counselor will forward your petition to the Reinstatement Committee. College of Arts and Sciences students should contact Undergraduate Advising in the Gateway Center, 171 Mary Gates Hall, (206) 543-2550. All Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students should contact the EOP Academic Advising and Counseling Center, 365 Schmitz Hall, (206) 543-7132. Students outside the College of Arts and Sciences should contact their School or College.
To be considered for reinstatement, your petition must include a brief personal statement that analyzes the barriers to your academic success and a statement that details the behaviors you have or will change to ensure your future academic success. For example, if you have not managed your time well, what steps are you taking to correct that (fewer working hours, attendance at a time management workshop, enrolling in fewer credits). Promising to "change" and "do better" is not a change of behavior. Your statement and any documentation you provide will be available only to the Reinstatement Committee and will be kept confidential, but will remain on file.
In addition to the personal statement you must include the following:
- A Course Plan. Students with fewer than 135 credits must present a plan that includes your intended major and the courses you intend to take for the next academic year, if reinstated. Students with more than 135 credits must present a detailed course plan developed with and signed by a department adviser that will lead to degree completion in your major within the next 4 quarters. If you have grade changes pending (X or incomplete grades, or a grade challenge), submit documentation from your professor that such action is pending.
- If you are applying for hardship withdrawal, attach a copy of your hardship withdrawal petition.
- An Academic Success Contract that identifies specific actions recommended by your adviser.
- Transcripts or grade reports for any coursework taken elsewhere since you were dropped from the UW. If you are currently attending another college, submit a copy of your current class schedule.
Your completed reinstatement packet must be turned in to your reinstatement counselor by September 1 for autumn quarter, or day 3 of winter, spring, or summer quarters for reinstatement that quarter. Petitions received after the deadline will be considered for the next quarter.
If you are reinstated you will be on probation. You must achieve either a 2.5 or higher grade point average during your reinstatement quarter or raise your overall cumulative grade point average to 2.0 to remain in school. For more on this, see I'm on Warning or Probation.
If you did not complete either of the two immediately preceding quarters (not including summer), you must also file a Returning Student Reenrollment Application by the application closing date.
A student who is petitioning for reinstatement may file an application before reinstatement is approved, and should do so if the application deadline is approaching. There is a non-refundable application fee. Further information and forms are available online.
