Student Guidelines: Petition guidelines for undergraduate students enrolling in a course a third time

Student Guidelines

• Students may only repeat a U of M course or its equivalent once.
• Petitions to request to take a course a third time are rarely approved.
• Petitions to take a course a fourth time will not be considered.

Requests for taking a course a third time are unlikely to be approved if the student:

• Wants to improve GPA
• Needs a better grade for admission to their major or graduate/professional school
• Wants to change probation/suspension status
• Can take an approved equivalent course at another nearby institution, either online or in person
• Did not realize the course couldn’t be taken a third time
• Earned a lower grade the second time the course was taken
• Did not take the course seriously the first two times
• Had a conflict with the instructor and/or teaching assistant
• Miscalculated the level of difficulty of the course, or took the course without taking an expected prerequisite course

Even though an instructor may suggest that a student repeat a course for a third time and/or supports the student’s request, this would not be acceptable grounds for approving a student’s petition.

Requests to enroll in a course for a third time may be considered for students who demonstrate one of the following:

• The course is needed for the student’s major (in which success has already been demonstrated) and there is no equivalent course available at another accessible institution.
• Student is returning to the University after 5 or more years absence and needs to repeat a course to continue on in their program.

Submitting a petition

Complete the Academic Policy Petition form with a detailed explanation of the reason for the request, and submit it to your college advising office.

The form can be found in the Uwide forms library > education and student life > academic policy petition

Questions

Any questions about this process or the policy should be directed to your college advising office.