A student may petition for Late/Retroactive Withdrawal from a course(s) or from the university (all courses taken during that semester), if circumstances of a serious and compelling nature prevented the completion of coursework and extenuating circumstances prevented withdrawal by the deadline on the Academic Calendar. In filing a Petition for Late/Retroactive Withdrawal, withdrawal from all courses taken during the term in question is normally expected since 'extenuating circumstances' are not course-specific.

Petitions must be submitted to the University Late/Retroactive Withdrawal Committee, after consultation with student’s academic advisor. A University Late/Retroactive Withdrawal Committee is designated to make decisions on all retroactive withdrawal petitions. Approved retroactive withdrawal petitions which require a change of grade will follow standard change of grade procedures. A copy of the approved petition and supporting documentation should be attached to the grade change form when it is submitted to the Registrar's office.

Students who submit a retroactive withdrawal are not typically candidates for fee refunds. 

For courses taken while enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in the School of Graduate Studies and in the Schools of Dentistry, Law, Medicine, and Pharmacy, students should refer to the retroactive withdrawals policies and procedures of these schools, as they may have more stringent requirements.  

Students must meet one of the following conditions to petition for late/retroactive withdrawal: 

• There was a documented administrative error that affected your enrollment in one or more courses.
• You have documentation of a serious illness that affected your ability to complete all of your coursework after the withdrawal date.
• You experienced documented extreme and unusual circumstances which a) were beyond your control, b) occurred after the withdrawal date, and c) could not have been addressed during the term in which the course(s) was taken.

Petitions for late/retroactive withdrawal will not be approved when only the following conditions are true:

• You are applying because you are not satisfied with the grade you earned.
• You are applying because you neglected to formally withdraw from the course(s) in question.
• You were not aware of the withdrawal deadlines.
• You changed your major and are now working towards a major or degree which does not require this course.
• You assumed non-academic activities which restricted your time for academic pursuit.
• You were ill or you suffered stress as the result of an accident, death, family crisis, or other crisis early enough in the semester to have withdrawn during the semester.
• You have already received a UMKC degree for which the course(s) in question were applied towards degree requirements and/or your UM GPA.

The retroactive withdrawal policy is effective as of Summer 2010 and applies to all students, regardless of the catalog year the student entered the University.