CURC

Within certain guidelines, CURC has authority to retain students in good standing or on academic warning, or to  confirm academic suspension and academic dismissal.  Decisions are based on the student's accumulated grade point average and on submitted documentation of extenuating circumstances.

In addition, CURC can approve requests for changes to the academic record, including such actions as retroactive withdrawal (typically for the entire term affected) and change of grade option Grade options include Pass/Fail, Standard Grade, Auditor, and for Spring 2020 only the modified pass/ no credit option. Requests must be supported by documentation of extenuating circumstances. The assistant dean's office can explain more fully the types of actions that CURC can take.

CURC has no authority to:

• Make admission or readmission decisions, either to selected majors/programs or to the University
• Grant exceptions to financial policies (consult the Billing and Collection Office)
• Change letter grades for courses (see the Grade Grievance policy in the Student Guide to University Policies)
• Award incomplete grades for courses (Incompletes must be negotiated directly with and approved by the individual instructor.)
• Grant exceptions to major and/or college requirements for a degree (Final decision rests with the department or college.)
• Consider requests involving graduate programs (Consult the Graduate College.)
• Make decisions involving Code of Conduct (behavioral) violations (Consult the Community Standards & Conflict Resolution.)
• Alter the academic record of students who have already graduated (such requests are not considered by the University). For Associate degree students, the Committee will not alter the record of courses taken prior to earning the Associate Degree once the Associate Degree has been conferred.
• "Clean up" the academic record by selective removal of poor grades (such requests are not considered by the University)

Good Academic Standing: Undergraduate students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 to be in good academic standing.  The CURC bases its decisions on student standing whenever a student's grade point average falls below a 2.0.

Academic Warning: When a undergraduate degree candidate has a cumulative grade point index below 2.0, the Committee on Undergraduate Records and Certification places the student on Academic Warning 1.  Students on Academic Warning 1 may not register for more than 14 credit hours (generally four academic courses plus military science, physical education activity, and SkilMod courses).

Academic Suspension and Academic Dismissal: A student  who is in Academic Warning 1 status and whose semester GPA is below 2.0 will be placed in Academic Suspension status, pending review by the Committee on Undergraduate Records and Certification.  Similarly, a student who is readmitted to UD in Academic Warning 2 status and whose semester GPA is below 2.0 will be placed in Academic Dismissal status, pending CURC’s review.

CURC reviews the case of each student who is pending Academic Suspension or Academic Dismissal. These reviews occur in mid-January for students in pending status at the end of the fall semester, and in mid-June for students in pending status at the end of the spring semester. Students with serious extenuating circumstances, such as a serious illness or personal problems, may petition through their assistant dean's office for potential retroactive actions to their academic record which may result in reinstatement to Good Standing . It is important that petitions for extenuating circumstances be well documented, preferably by medical or counseling professionals. Approval of such petitions may be granted by CURC, upon the recommendation of the assistant dean's office.

All requests for action should be submitted to CURC in writing and be signed.

• If the student is enrolled in a degree program on the main campus or is in the University Studies Program (undeclared), the request should be submitted to the office of the student's assistant dean.
• Associate in Arts students should discuss their request with the Academic Advisor on their campus and then submit it to the assistant dean for the Associate in Arts Program at the Newark office, using instructions provided by the Advisor.
• Continuing Education students should consult with the ACCESS center.

The assistant dean of the college or program will present the request at the next scheduled CURC meeting.

Documentation should be attached to the request or sent directly to the assistant dean's office. Generally, an interview will be required to discuss the request. Each college sets its own deadlines for submission of requests and documentation.  You may schedule an interview and inquire about deadlines for submission of requests by calling the appropriate number below:

Because of its far-reaching powers, CURC insists on thorough documentation of the student's extenuating circumstances. Often, such documentation is in the form of a letter from a U.S. based professional (physician, counselor, etc.) who is in a position to verify the situation, speak to its impact on the student's academic performance, as well as comment on the student's course of treatment during/following the period of the extenuating circumstance. In extenuating circumstances, documentation may be considered from a non-U.S. source. Such documentation must be in English. If the document needs to be translated, the documentation must be verified and translated by an independent source. Only original documentation (not copies) will be accepted. CURC generally disregards "character references" from friends or family members. You will be given guidance on appropriate forms of documentation when you interview with the assistant dean's office staff.

If your request is based on a disability, you must submit documentation of the disability to the Office of Disabilities Support Services and request an assessment of the disability's potential impact on your academic performance DSS may ask you to provide additional information if the documentation is incomplete (guidelines for documentation of LD/ADHD are available at www.udel.edu/DSS). In addition, you must submit your written letter of request to CURC and your documentation to your assistant dean. DSS will provide a report to the assistant dean, based upon its review of the materials made available, and the assistant dean will provide this information to CURC when your request is presented.

In the case of a request involving a claim of an error in registration, your assistant dean will confirm your attendance or non-attendance with the course instructor, and will then forward your request to CURC.

You should be aware that CURC routinely checks the authenticity of documentation. If CURC finds evidence that you have submitted falsified or forged documents, judicial charges will be brought against you in accordance with the University's Code of Conduct and, if you are found guilty, you will face penalties up to and including expulsion.

All documentation is retained in the student's file within the college assistant dean's office and then in university archives until being destroyed according to the University records retention schedule. CURC observes strict confidentiality and will not release information about the request, your circumstances, or your documentation without your written permission.

Students are notified of CURC’s decision via their University of Delaware email address. 

If your petition has been declined, you may submit additional documentation and ask CURC to reconsider your request. Requests for reconsideration are made through the same procedure as the original request. CURC generally declines to reconsider cases for which no new documentation is available.

Please contact the assistant dean in your college or program who brought your request to CURC for any request for an appeal of a CURC decision.