Winter Session

Appeal Form and Deadlines

Access TerpEngage-EXST Forms to submit the Appeal Form.

1. Select Log In with UMD Directory ID to access the portal.
   • Former students: Reactivate your Directory ID via the Former Student Identity Verification website. After reactivation, set a passphrase and log in to the TerpEngage-EXST Forms Portal.
2. Select My Forms.
3. Select Start New Form.
4. Select Appeal Request for Exception to Academic Policy from the dropdown and select Save and Continue.
5. Complete and submit the Appeal Form.
6. Attach documentation. See How to Attach Documentation details, below.

The average review time is 30 business days (Monday - Friday, excluding holidays) from the date that the appeal and all documentation are received. Confirmation of the decision is sent to the email address listed on the appeal form.

Required Supporting Documentation

Appeal requests due to extenuating circumstances relating to a student’s registration require a formal written appeal. An exception to academic policy will not be considered until documentation supporting the claims made in the appeal is received.

• Medical: Documentation from a health care/mental health care provider must be typed and signed on official letterhead. General emails or unsigned letters on a plain stationary are not acceptable. Ask the health care/mental health provider to provide the following information:
  • Name of health care/mental health care provider
  • Type of Practice/Specialty
  • Title/Degree
  • Practice Address
  • Practice Telephone
  • Practice Email
  • License Number
  • License Board
  • Brief statement of support
  • Signature
• Death in the Family: Copy of death certificate (or verification of death from hospital or attending physician, typed and signed on official letterhead) with a statement of the deceased's relation to the student. Emails or unsigned letters on plain stationary are not acceptable.
• Course Instructor or Academic Advisor: May submit a statement of support on department letterhead or from the instructor/academic advisor’s campus email. The statement must include the student name, UID, course information, date of registration, and an explanation of why the course instructor or academic advisor supports the appeal.
• Approved Appeal from College/Department: Some Colleges/Departments require that the appeal be sent to them first for requests that have academic ramifications such as late/retroactive changes to the student record. Our office will assist with this process.

How to Attach Documentation

After submitting the Appeal Request for Exception to Academic Policy, return to the portal landing page to upload documentation to support your appeal request.

1. Locate the Application Materials Section at the bottom of the portal homepage.
2. Select Click here next to Upload Documents.
3. On the Application Required Documents page, select the desired Document Name from the list.
4. Select Upload and choose the file to submit. After uploading, the file will be listed in the File List Section.
   • To add additional files for the same document type, select Upload again and choose a new file.
   • Note: Files must all have distinct names.
5. Select Back to return to the portal landing page. 
6. To add a different document type, repeat the steps above.

Overview

• All registration-related actions have deadlines with academic and financial consequences. Some of these differ for undergraduate and graduate students. See Winter Session Academic and Financial Calendars.
• Students may make adjustments to their schedules any time after their original registration up to the start of the Schedule Adjustment Period without academic or financial penalty.

Schedule Adjustment

• For Winter Session, the Schedule Adjustment Period begins on the first day of the session and ends on the first day of the session at 11 p.m.
• Students who drop a single course during Schedule Adjustment (but remain registered for one course) will receive a 100% refund of the dropped course.
• Students who withdraw from all courses during Schedule Adjustment will receive an 80% refund.
• See Academic & Financial Deadlines for refund details. If the dropped or withdrawn course(s) have non-standard meeting dates, see Non-Standard Course Dates and Deadlines.
• Students may continue to add, change course section, change credit level (within the listed range), or change grading option with no academic or financial penalty during Schedule Adjustment. For the listed range of available credits and grading options, see the individual course listing on Testudo (Schedule of Classes).

Even Exchange

• Dropping a course and then adding one of equal credit value on the same day during the Schedule Adjustment Period is called an even exchange. To avoid incurring penalties, BOTH the drop and the add must be done during the same day. With an even exchange, the dropped course will not appear on the student's official University transcript.

Overview

• Once the Schedule Adjustment Period has ended, changes to registration require special permission. All actions have deadlines with academic and financial consequences. See Winter Session Academic and Financial Calendars.
• Students may process a Single Course Drop With a 'W' until the stated deadline. See Drop Period, below.
• Students may Withdraw anytime between the first and last day of classes. See Withdrawal, below.

Undergraduate Students

• For undergraduate students, changes to registration after the posted deadlines (add, credit level, grading option, section) requires the permission of the student’s academic college.
• Contact the academic college for specific instructions. That unit works with the student to process the change.

Graduate Students

• For graduate students, changes to registration after the posted deadlines requires different actions.
• Add Course or Change Section: To process, use the EXST contact form. Include full name, UID, and a complete statement regarding the requested action. Permission required from both course instructor and the program’s graduate director. Students must contact the course instructor and the program’s graduate director to send their approval via email to exst@umd.edu.
• Change Grade Option or Change Credit Level: To process, use the EXST contact form. Include full name, UID, and a complete statement regarding the requested action. Permission required from the program’s graduate director. Students must ask their program’s graduate director to send approval via email to exst@umd.edu.

Drop Period

• The drop period begins at the close of the Schedule Adjustment Period and terminates on the posted deadline. During the drop period, a student may drop a maximum of four credits or one course. A student must be registered for two or more courses and remain registered for at least one course; otherwise, this is a Withdrawal.
• See Winter Session Academic and Financial Calendars.

Single Course Drop Without a 'W'

• Student drops a single course before the end of the Schedule Adjustment Period. Student must be registered for two or more courses and remain registered for at least one course.
• A single course drop before the end of the Schedule Adjustment Period will not appear on the student record, nor will it count towards the number of attempts a student has for any given course.
• Students may process single course drops via Testudo (Registration (Drop/Add)).

Single Course Drop With a 'W'

• Student drops a single course after the end of the Schedule Adjustment Period and before the end of the posted deadline. Student must be registered for two or more courses and remain registered for at least one course.
• Students are limited to dropping a maximum of 4 credits or one course.
• For undergraduate students, courses dropped during the drop period will be recorded on the student’s official transcript with a ‘W’ notation. (This mark is not used in computing the semester or cumulative GPA.)
• For graduate students, courses dropped during the drop period will not have any notation appear on the student’s official transcript.
• Students may process single course drops via Testudo (Registration (Drop/Add)).

Student terminates registration for all courses (even if registered for just one course) anytime between the first and last day of classes. See Winter Session Academic and Financial Calendars.

• A notation of Withdrawn from Term and the effective date will post to the official transcript. The courses will show on the unofficial transcript with a 'WW' notation.
• For current UMD students: this action has no effect on enrollment status for the upcoming semester.
• Students must submit a written request to be withdrawn. Use the EXST contact form. Include full name, UID, and a complete statement regarding the requested action.

Cancellation of Registration by Student

• Cancellation of registration means that the student terminates their enrollment in all courses prior to the first day of Winter Session (first day of classes).
  • A 100% refund of tuition and fees will post to the student account.
  • Courses will not appear on the student record, nor count towards the number of attempts a student has for any given course.
• Students may process the cancellation of registration prior to the first day of classes via Testudo Registration (Drop/Add).
  • See Winter Session Academic and Financial Calendars.

Cancellation of Courses by University of Maryland

• The University reserves the right to cancel courses due to insufficient enrollment or for other reasons that it deems valid. Appropriate refunds will post to the student account. Because cancellation of a course may occur so close to the beginning of classes, there is not always time to send notification.
• Notification will be made via the student’s TERPmail account.

Overview for Winter Session

• Undergraduate and graduate students may register for up to four credits maximum.

Current University of Maryland Students

• Course loads exceeding these maximums require prior approval of the college dean. If the college grants approval, students are academically and financially responsible for this course overload. The University will not consider granting exceptions to academic and refund policy resulting from an inability to manage this workload.
• Contact the college advising office to obtain approval. The college will assist with registration.

Visiting Undergraduate Students Must Submit the Following:

• A statement to exst@umd.edu detailing the request, including a full list of requested courses and sections, full name, and permanent mailing address. The statement must also include an acknowledgment that the student is aware of the associated workload and that the student is academically and financially responsible for this course overload. The University will not consider granting exceptions to academic and refund policy resulting from an inability to manage this workload.
• A statement from the home institutions' academic advisor to exst@umd.edu stating that the student is in good academic standing and should be allowed to register for above the credit limit. The statement must include the student full name and permanent mailing address.
• Registration will not be permitted until BOTH statements are received.

Undergraduate Students

• Enrollment in courses totaling three semester hours of academic credit will be defined as full-time status for the three-week Winter Session.

Graduate Students

• Enrollment in academic credit totaling 12 graduate units will be defined as full-time enrollment for the three-week Winter Session.

Additional Information

• Students receiving financial aid and/or VA benefits should check with appropriate offices to determine full-time status.
• Students enrolled in UMEI 001-004 are considered full-time.
• Courses taken for audit are not included in the calculation of full-time status.

The University uses plus/minus grading. Grade reports are not automatically mailed. One week after the end of Winter Session, students can view their course grades online. Course grades also post to the official UMD transcript. Upon course completion, a visiting student must request that an official transcript be sent to the home institution. Learn More on Transcripts.

Current UMD students should check with their academic advising office before selecting this option. Visiting students interested in registering for a course using the pass-fail option should contact their advisor from their home institution. Many institutions will not accept transfer courses if the courses were completed on a pass-fail basis.

A student may register to audit a course or courses in which space is available. Tuition and fees are the same as when taken for credit. The notation "AUD" is placed on the transcript for each course audited. Courses taken for audit are not included in the calculation of full-time/part-time status.

Final examinations must be held on the last day of class.  No final examination shall be given at a time other than the last day of a class without the permission of the department chair. A final examination will be given in every undergraduate course. Exceptions may be made with the written approval of the chair of the department and the dean.

The semester hour is the unit of credit. Credit courses are divided into three types: lectures/seminars/discussion, laboratories, and internships. There is a minimum amount of time required to earn credit.

One credit equals:

• Lecture/Seminar/Discussion - 12.5 to 15 hours of actual class time.
• Laboratory or Studio - 25 to 30 supervised hours.
• Practica, Internships, and Cooperative - 37.5 to 45 hours.
• Online courses must be comparable.

See The Graduate School policies for undergraduate students and options for registering for graduate courses.

See Office of Student Conduct for information on academic dishonesty, academic integrity, code of student conduct, and more.

See Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

See Office of Civil Right and Sexual Misconduct for contact information and an overview on these UMD policies and procedures.