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This section is designed to assist the user in understanding retroactive change notations. Retroactive petitions are submitted to the Office of the University Registrar and are reviewed by a Grade Change Deputy, who will either approve the petition in-house, return the petition to the petitioner for more information, or forward the petition to the Academic Senate Committee on Grade Changes (the "Grade Change Committee").
The Guidelines of the Committee may be found at the Committee Guidelines Page. In general, the Grade Change Deputy will approve clerical or procedural errors and limited types of retroactive adds in-house.
The Grade Change Committee meets once per month during the academic year. As these meetings are scheduled, they are posted at the Committee Information Page. The submission deadline for each meeting is the 15th of the previous month (e.g., November 15 would be the submission deadline for the meeting in December).
Timeline of Student Record Actions
| Period | Begin | End |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Start of registration (Pass One, Pass Two, open registration) | Day before the start of instruction |
| Schedule Adjustment | After registration freeze ends | 10-day or 20-day drop deadline |
| Late Action | 10-day or 20-day drop deadline | Last day of business before the start of first scheduled final (excluding Summer**) |
| Retroactive Action | Start of finals | Until degree is awarded |
After a student’s degree has been officially awarded his or her record is closed and no further changes may be made. **Summer Sessions do not have a scheduled day of finals and late actions end on the Friday of the 5th week of instruction for Summer Sessions 1 and 2.
Retroactive Notations on the Internal Transcript
When a student or instructor petitions to make a retroactive change to a student record, notations regarding the processing and approval/denial status of the request are made and appear immediately following the listing for the course on the unofficial transcript. These notations appear directly below the class to which they pertain.
These notations are divided into three sections:
- SECTION 1 / SECTION 2 / SECTION 3
-
Example: "PET/RW/APPROVED GCC JUN 11"
SECTION 1
Section 1 indicates whether the notation is for a petition ("PET") or appeal ("APL"; or "APPEAL"). Students may only appeal a petition that has previously been denied by the GCC, and so typically you will only see an appeal notation in conjunction with a previous petition ("PET") notation.
SECTION 2
Section 2 indicates the petition type. There are six types of petitions: change of grade, retroactive add, retroactive unit change, retroactive drop, retroactive withdrawal, and retroactive grade mode option change. They are noted as follows:
| Type | Notation |
|---|---|
| Grade Change | This is noted by listing the old and new grades, with the word "TO" between them. So, if the petition was asking for a change of grade from a C- to an A-, this section would read as "C- TO A-." |
| Retroactive Add | "RA." Because a notation cannot be made for a course that is not already present on the record, this notation will not appear unless the petition is approved (no pending status will be listed). |
| Retroactive Unit Change | "CHG UNITS" or "UNIT CHG" |
| Retroactive Drop | "RD" |
| Retroactive Withdrawal | "RW" |
| Retroactive Grade Mode Option Change | This is when a student wants to change their P/NP or S/U grade mode option after the term has ended. It is notated the same way as a Grade Change (see item 2a), except that it involves a P*, NP*, S* or U* grade. (The * notation symbolizes that a grade option is elected by the student). |
SECTION 3
Section 3 indicates the petition status.
- Petitions that are approved "in-house" by the Grade Change Deputy will typically be noted as "APPROVED"
- Petitions that are denied "in-house" by the Grade Change Deputy will typically be noted as "DENIED"
- When a petition is returned to the department/instructor for more information it will typically be noted as "RET DEPT" followed by the date that the petition was returned.
- When a petition is returned to the student for more information it will typically be noted as "RET STUD" followed by the date that the petition was returned.
- When a petition is forwarded to the Grade Change Committee it will typically be noted as "READY GCC" followed by the month and year of the meeting at which it is scheduled to be considered.
- When a petition is approved by the Committee, it will be typically noted as "APPROVED GCC" followed by the date of the meeting.
- When a petition is denied by the Committee, it will be typically noted as "DENIED GCC" followed by the date of the meeting.
- When a petition is deferred by the Committee it will typically be noted as "DEFR'D GCC" followed by the date of the meeting at which it was deferred.
Notation Examples
Example 1: A Retroactive Withdrawal Petition denied by the Committee, and then approved on appeal:
PET/RW/READY GCC MAR 2009
PET/RW/DENIED GCC 3-3-09
APL/RW/READY GCC JUN 2009
APL/RW/APPROVED GCC 6-12-09
Example 2: A Grade Change Petition, approved in-house by the Grade Change Deputy:
PET/C+ TO A/APPROVED
Example 3: A Retroactive Grade Mode Change Petition, denied by the Committee:
PET/P* TO A/READY GCC OCT 08
PET/P* TO A/DENIED GCC 10-8-08
Example 4: A Retroactive Drop Petition, deferred by the Committee:
PET/RD/READY GCC OCT 2008
PET/RD/DEFR'D GCC 10-8-2008
Example 5: A Retroactive Add Petition, approved by the Committee:
PET/RA/APPROVED GCC 3-9-09