Disqualification Request Action

Owned by Rickie Smith
Last updated: Sept 24, 2024 by Ashley Bradbury
4 min read

Overview

Only the Graduate Dean may disqualify a graduate student for academic reasons. See Academic Senate Regulation 270B. Students who have been disqualified for academic reasons are not eligible to register for future quarters unless the Graduate Dean readmits them. Please see the Graduate Division website for the full policy: https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/policy-procedure/academic-performance-and-progress#Academic-Disqualification.

Please consult with the Academic Services Director to discuss potential disqualification cases prior to initiating a formal request.

Things to Know

  • Usually students are placed on probation for at least one quarter before a department requests that a student be academically disqualified.

  • Departments have the discretion to ask the Graduate Dean for disqualification under an earlier time frame if warranted.

  • Once a Disqualification Action is complete, the student may choose to appeal the decision by following the Procedures for Appeal of Academic Disqualification for Graduate Students.

Procedure

Step 1 - Submit Disqualification Request Action - Completed by the Faculty Graduate Advisor or Department Chair

  • Navigate to the student’s Action Tab in GradPoint Academics by searching for the student and clicking on their Action tab. Note - this must be initiated from the student’s action tab (not the Main Actions Tab)

  • Click the Begin Action button

  • In the Action Category dropdown, select Academic Performance & Progress Tracking, and in the Action dropdown, select Disqualification Request and then click Begin

  • Enter the Situation Description (required)

    • Clearly state the degree requirements that the student did not meet

    • Provide evidence that the student was notified of their deficiencies and given an opportunity to meet the requirements

  • Upload Supplemental Documentation (optional)

    • Upload any documents that support the situation description and will help the Graduate Dean evaluate the case such as relevant email communications, exam outcomes, etc.

    • Check to make sure you uploaded the correct document by selecting Preview File Upload, if incorrect, you can click the Browse button again to upload the correct document

  • Enter Step Comments (optional)

    • This can be used to relay information to other users in the workflow as needed

  • Submit the step, which will move the workflow to Step 2 - Graduate Division Review and Finalization

Step 2 - Graduate Division Review and Finalization

  1. Graduate Division Review

    1. The Academic Services Director will review the request and may reach out to you if additional information is needed. Additional information is collected in one of two ways:

      1. The request is denied, which will send the request back to Step 1 so you can edit and re-submit the request. You can view the comments box to find out what additional information/documents are being requested.

      2. You are contacted outside of the system for additional information, and then your Situation Description/Supplemental Documentation is edited by the Academic Services Director before the step is approved

    2. If the request is mistakenly submitted, or it’s decided that the request should not move forward at all, the Academic Services Director can cancel the Action at this step

  2. Graduate Division Prepares Disqualification Packet

    1. The Academic Services Director will select the appropriate Disqualification Quarter, prepare all necessary documents relevant to the disqualification case, and create the Disqualification Notification Letter for the Dean’s review

  3. Graduate Dean’s Review

    1. The Dean will review the disqualification request including the information provided by the department, the disqualification packet, and the notification letter

      1. The Dean can click Deny in order to send the workflow back to the previous step so the Academic Services Director can make any necessary revisions, or click Approve to move the workflow to the next step

  4. Graduate Division Finalizes Disqualification

    1. The Academic Services Director selects the reasons that the student was disqualified, which will be recorded with the disqualification record. Once the reasons are submitted, the Action is complete

    2. The Disqualification Notification Letter will be scheduled to send to the student with the Staff Graduate Advisor and Faculty Graduate Advisor copied

      1. The notification job runs at noon each day

    3. The student’s Standing Tab will be updated with the Disqualification and reasons:

  5. Notification of the Registrar

    1. The Academic Services Director notifies the Office of the Registrar that the student has been academically disqualified

    2. The student’s degree objective is closed