Rhodes exclusion appeal: when Senate can exclude you and how to appeal

If you have been excluded at Rhodes: a step-by-step guide

Last checked 12 October 2026, from Rules G.7 and G.8 of the Rhodes University Calendar (updated 22 May 2026) and the Registrar's forms page. The appeal system opens each time results are released, so confirm the dates there.

Being excluded is hard, but you have the right to appeal, and the people who read your appeal are looking for honest reasons and a realistic plan. This guide sets out when Senate can refuse you permission to register and how to appeal.

When exclusion can happen

Rule G.7 says the Senate may refuse students permission to renew registration in any faculty if they are deemed unable to benefit from further study, or if they have failed to meet the following.

• Education, Humanities and Science: after your first year of full-time study, you must have completed courses worth 60 NQF credits; after the second year 120; after the third year 180, at least 60 of them at NQF level 6.
• Commerce (BBusSc, BCom, BEcon, full-time): after your second year 150 credits; after your third year 210, at least 60 at NQF level 6.
• Every faculty listed above: at the end of every calendar year, pass at least half of the courses you registered for with the Dean's approval.
• Time limit: complete an undergraduate degree within five years for a 360-credit qualification and six years for a 480-credit one (Education, Science, Humanities, Commerce, Pharmacy and Law).
• Extended studies programmes (Commerce, Humanities, Science): normally pass all courses and average 60% in the first year to enter mainstream courses.
• Pharmacy: complete second-year courses worth 60 credits plus all first-year courses to enter second year, then 70 credits a year.
• Law (LLB): you are excluded if you were registered for five or more courses and failed 65% or more of them, or if you did not meet the terms of your academic probation.
• Mid-year (Rule G.8): after the mid-year exams, Senate may cancel your registration for the rest of the year, and refuse permission to renew it, if you cannot meet the faculty's minimum requirements by the end of the year.

Step by step: appealing

1. Check ROSS once results are released. The Registrar's forms page says the appeal system opens when results are released, with a closing date. Late applications are not accepted.
2. Complete the Academic Exclusion Appeal Form on ROSS (ross.ru.ac.za). Explain honestly why your results fell short and what you will do differently.
3. Support it with evidence. Attach medical certificates or other documents that match the periods your results suffered. Keep copies.
4. Watch your record. An older Rhodes notice says receipt shows on ROSS within 24 hours of being captured.
5. The appeal is heard by the Dean first. An older university notice (2012) says that if the Dean refuses it, it goes automatically to an Appeals Review Committee, whose decision is final. Confirm with the Dean of Students' office or your faculty that this is still the process.

If you are not readmitted

• An excluded student may not be admitted to any other faculty without the special permission of Senate (Rule G.9).
• Talk to the Dean of Students' office and the Counselling Centre about options, including other institutions, before the next registration period closes.

What we could not find

• The current closing date for the appeal system (it is on ROSS once results are out) and whether the two-stage Dean then review-committee route is still used.
• Any Rhodes page that walks students through the appeal step by step.

Practical checklist

1. Read the exclusion rules above and see which one applied to you.
2. Open ROSS as soon as results are released and note the closing date.
3. Gather your marks and supporting documents.
4. Submit the Academic Exclusion Appeal Form before the closing date.
5. Book the Counselling Centre (046 603 7070) while you wait.

Source: Rhodes Rules G.7 and G.8 from the 2026 Calendar (PDF) · Rhodes Registrar: forms · Rhodes notice: appeal against exclusion on academic grounds (2012) · Official