Once completed, your personal statement should thoroughly answer the following questions. The online petition form provides questions that will help guide you as you write your statement.
Retroactive Withdrawals are an official change of record, therefore petitions are infrequently approved and only done so for extreme extenuating circumstance that prevented the student from withdrawing during the semester.听Speak with your academic advisor or academic coach to learn all options available to you when deciding if this process is right for you.
If your petition is approved, you will be fully withdrawn from the requested term(s).
The term approved for听a retroactive withdrawal will have their grades officially changed to a "W" grade. These "W"' grades听will appear on your official transcript. The retroactive withdrawal process does not offer expungement of courses from student records.
Tuition reimbursement is not automatic. Students who received an approval have the option to听pursue a听Tuition Dispute Form听through the Office of the Bursar. The听official retroactive withdrawal approval letter must be included as documentation.
All tuition disputes are handled through the Office of the Bursar and are separate from the Retroactive Withdrawal and Office of Undergraduate Education.
As a retroactive withdrawal petition request is an appeal of University procedure regarding withdrawal deadlines, all decisions are final and requests for the same semester will not be reviewed in the future. Once the official decision has been reached by the committee students are encouraged to meet with their academic advisor as soon as possible to discuss their options moving forward.
The grade replacement policy remains a helpful avenue for eligible coursework.听Students can work with academic advisors, in conjunction with the Deans of each college,听to explore any other options that may be available.听
The official means of communication for the Retroactive Withdrawal Petition process is via email at听retrow@colorado.edu.听
The retroactive withdrawal committee will accept any documentation but unfortunately does not have access to translations. For documentation to be strongest, it is recommended for the student to have it听translated听by a University department, instructor, or other verified source.听
The original document and translation should both be uploaded as documentation for the committee to review.
The听final processing of withdrawing is completed through the听Office of the Registrar听and can take听one to two weeks after you receive notification. You will not be notified when this occurs so please be patient and make sure to check Buff Portal.
Retroactive withdrawal petitions are accepted only in the case of extenuating circumstances such as health problems (mental or physical), a family emergency (such as a death in the family) and unexpected financial difficulties (such as a parent losing their job).听
Failure to verify a听class schedule听or confirm whether an enrollment action was processed as sole reasoning for a petition will not be considered.
The committee does an extremely thorough and holistic review of each petition, which includes any information available to them outside of the documentation and statement provided.听No approval is ever guaranteed.听
The committee process is a completely confidential one for听the students we are serving and for the committee members themselves. Due to this, in-depth information regarding the committee's deliberation or context regarding the decision will not be shared.听
A retroactive withdrawal request that has be denied does not imply that a student was not going through challenging circumstances as approvals are rare.听
In addition to the information/documentation a student provides, the committee considers all information and records they have available to them, which includes听but is not limited to: