NWU termination of studies: how to ask the executive dean to reconsider

If your studies have been terminated at NWU: a step-by-step guide

Last checked 12 October 2026, from the NWU General Academic Rules (Rule 7P, 2024). Faculty yearbooks can add stricter rules, so confirm the detail with your faculty.

NWU does not use the word "exclusion". It calls it termination of studies. Being terminated is a hard moment, but you have a short window to ask the executive dean to reconsider, and you may be able to study again later. This guide sets out what the rules say, in the order you will meet them.

How termination works

• A warning comes first. If in a semester you earn less than half the credits required for your qualification, you must be given a written warning about what unsatisfactory progress means for finishing. The warning is meant to lead to support: academic advice, supplemental instruction and study counselling. (Rule 1.14)
• Progression requirements. For a full-time contact student the share of the year's credits you must obtain is 50% for one- and two-year qualifications, 60% for three-year and 66% for four-year qualifications. Part-time contact and distance students need 33%, 50%, 50% and 55%. Students in extended programmes need 50% (three-year) or 60% (four-year). Missing them does not automatically let you continue. After every exam period the executive dean reviews students' records against these requirements. (Rule 1.15)
• The executive dean may terminate your registration if the warnings did not lead to compliance, if you have had two warnings and still not performed, or if you do not meet the progression requirements. Other grounds in the rules include not meeting the registration requirements, not proving active enrolment, and not completing within an approved extension. (Rule 1.17)
• Maximum time. For a full-time contact qualification the maximum is twice the usual length for one- and two-year qualifications (two and four years), five years for a three-year qualification and six for a four-year one. Time at NWU before a break counts. (Rules 1.13, 1.18)
• You are told in writing. Notification of termination must be sent before the end of the next registration period. (Rule 1.17)

Step by step: asking for reconsideration

1. Read the notice and note its date. You have ten days from the date of the notice. Do not wait until the end of registration.
2. Write a motivated request. Explain honestly why your results fell short and what has changed. Attach evidence for anything you rely on, such as medical certificates or letters about family or financial circumstances.
3. Submit it on the prescribed form to your faculty administrator through the student portal. Ask your faculty office for the current form if you cannot find it.
4. Wait for the executive dean's decision. The rules say the decision to grant or refuse the request is final. There is no further appeal inside the rules, so make the first request complete.
5. If you are given another chance, read the conditions carefully. Use academic advice, supplemental instruction and counselling from the start.

If it is not granted

• Another programme. You may apply to a different programme, but you must say in the application that your studies were terminated. The executive dean may set reasonable conditions for admission and must report them to the registrar. (Rule 1.17)
• Readmission limits. An undergraduate whose studies were terminated may not apply more than twice for readmission to the university. A postgraduate may apply only once. (Rule 1.17)
• A break of a year or more. If your studies are interrupted for a year or longer, apply for readmission through the student portal before or during the registration period, and get the executive dean's written permission. Conditions are recorded on your record card, and earlier years still count towards the maximum duration. (Rule 1.18)
• Maximum time extensions must be applied for before the end of the penultimate academic year of the qualification. (Rule 1.16)

What we could not find

• Where the prescribed reconsideration form is published and any faculty-specific wording. Ask your faculty's student administration office.
• Whether a student can still be heard after the executive dean has refused a reconsideration. The rules call that decision final.

Practical checklist

1. Check your student portal and email for the notice as soon as results are out. Note the date on it.
2. Collect your marks and every document that supports your reasons.
3. Submit the motivated request on the portal within ten days.
4. Book a session with Student Counselling and Development, and ask your faculty about academic advice and supplemental instruction.
5. Keep copies of everything you submit.

Source: NWU General Academic Rules 2024 (PDF) · NWU Student Counselling and Development: contact · Official