Academic Termination Process

Academic Termination Exception Request Process and Criteria

Students who have been notified that they are eligible for Academic Termination have five (5) business days from the first day of the notification to submit an email request for exception to that termination to the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA).

Students must submit the following to initiate a request:

  • A Termination Exception Request (Graduate) form, available on the Office on the Registrar Website
  • A statement detailing the events that have negatively impacted your ability to succeed
  • A letter of support from your Academic Advisor or Program Director
If you have a non-academic, time-sensitive issue (e.g., international student deadlines), you are encouraged to begin the process as quickly as possible and notify the Office of Academic Affairs of these issues.

When reviewing a Termination Exception Request, CVPA Academic Affairs will consider the following:

  • Provisional status
  • Incidence(s) of Academic Warning, grades of XN and IN
  • Cumulative and major GPA
  • Whether the student has been subject to termination in the past
  • Violations of the George Mason University Honor Code
  • Whether the student has supplied documentation of an isolated unforeseen and significant one-time event that coincides with when the insufficient grades were earned
  • Satisfactory progress toward the degree

Approved Request

  • Academic and Time Limit Termination Exception Requests if approved by CVPA Academic Affairs, will be sent to the Associate Provost for Graduate Education (APGE) for consideration.
     
  • If the Associate Provost for Graduate (APGE) approves your Termination Exception Request, you will be notified by CVPA Academic Affairs via email.
    • Academic Termination policy exception approvals allow you to continue your studies in the enrolled degree and or/certificate program or change programs in the same college. Any additional grade of F (or grade of C if there is already another C grade on the transcript) will result in being again at risk of termination. (AP.6.6.2)
    • If the Associate Provost for Graduate Education (APGE) denies your Termination Exception Request, you are entitled to submit an appeal to the Graduate Academic Appeals Committee. The Graduate Academic Exceptions website has detailed information regarding this appeal process.

Denied Request

  • You will be notified by CVPA Academic Affairs via email.
  • You are entitled to submit an appeal beyond the college to the Associate Provost for Graduate Education (APGE), whose decision is final. The Graduate Academic Exceptions website has detailed information regarding the appeal process.