TUT exclusion appeal: probation, DAEAC and FAEAC explained

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

Last checked 12 October 2026, from the TUT Students' Rules and Regulations (2026 Prospectus, Part 1, Chapter 2) and TUT's 2026 calendar. Closing dates change every year, so use the current academic core calendar.

Being excluded is hard, but at TUT you can appeal, and the committee that reads your appeal is looking for evidence of what held you back and of what you have done about it. This guide sets out how probation and exclusion work and how to appeal.

Probation and exclusion

• What exclusion means. TUT describes academic exclusion as readmission refused from a specific qualification, department or faculty for a set period. (Rule 2.1.2)
• You earned enough credits: 50% or more of the maximum credits for the period, and you carry on without interruption. (Rule 2.5.2.2)
• Probation. You earned 30% or more but under 50% of the maximum credits. The percentages rise after the second year, so check the tables for your qualification's length. Your department tells you in writing, refers you to Student Development and Support (SDS) for counselling or academic interventions, and may set compulsory conditions. You must sign a probation conditions contract, and the calendar lists the last day to do so in late January and late July. (Rule 2.5.2.3)
• Failing the same module. Failing the same module in two different study periods puts you on probation. Failing it a third time means exclusion, with the right to appeal. (Rule 2.5.2.5)
• Exclusion. You were on probation and then earned under the threshold (30% in the early years, rising later), or you cannot finish within the maximum time even on a maximum load. The maximum is twice the minimum duration (six years for a three-year qualification, eight for a four-year one). You may appeal on extenuating circumstances and proof of the interventions you completed. (Rules 2.5.1.5, 2.5.2.4, 2.5.2.6)
• If you did not fulfil your probation requirements you are excluded and, under the rules, cannot appeal any further. (Rule 2.5.2.1)
• First-year students. After the first test, poor performers can be given compulsory tutorial attendance, a 50% reduction of load at the end of the semester, and an earlier chance to move to another programme. (Rule 2.5.1.8)

Step by step: the appeal

1. Find the closing date on the academic core calendar. It is strictly applied. A late appeal is only considered in the next term's process. The 2026 calendar listed 27 January and 31 July as closing dates for exclusion appeals, and TUT extended the January date to 29 January 2026, saying that was the final extension. Watch TUT's official notices and your student email.
2. Complete the prescribed appeal application form and give the Departmental Academic Exclusion Appeals Committee (DAEAC) complete evidence of what should be considered for readmission. This can include records of the interventions you attended at SDS.
3. Include extenuating circumstances with proof. TUT says it uses guidelines for special considerations and extenuating circumstances. Attach medical certificates, letters or other documents that match the periods your results suffered.
4. The DAEAC recommends. The Faculty Academic Exclusion Appeals Committee (FAEAC) decides. Its decision is final: the rules say no further appeal, at departmental, faculty or institutional level, will be considered. Distant campuses have their own committee, and research-based postgraduates go to the Faculty Postgraduate Exclusion Appeals Committee.
5. The Registrar's Office tells you the outcome. If you are readmitted, your department gives you written feedback with all the conditions. If the conditions include a referral to SDS, it is your responsibility to book the appointment and bring the letter.

If your appeal is not successful

• Same qualification: you may apply for readmission to the same qualification only after one year, through the normal admission route before the admission closing date. After readmission you should get counselling, career testing and development programmes. (Rules 2.5.1.15, 2.5.1.17)
• Appealing during that year: an appeal received before the end of the one-year period is only considered if you can show proof of academic success or development. (Rule 2.5.1.16)
• Another qualification. An exclusion from a qualification may leave you eligible for another qualification in the same department or faculty, or in another faculty, if you meet its admission requirements and there is space under the faculty's enrolment plan. If you were excluded from the faculty, SDS can help with career counselling. (Rule 2.1.2)
• The rules also say a student who appealed and was readmitted, or who is readmitted after two years by the head of department, is "readmitted to studies". The one-year and two-year wording is not the same in TUT's document, so confirm the period with your department.

What we could not find

• Where the prescribed appeal form is published online, and 2027 closing dates (the 2027 calendar was not out when we checked).
• A TUT page that walks students through the appeal. The rules above are the source.

Practical checklist

1. Read your exclusion or probation letter and check the date on the calendar.
2. If you are on probation, sign the contract by the date in the calendar and attend every intervention. Keep proof.
3. Gather medical certificates, letters and your marks.
4. Submit the appeal to your department before the closing date.
5. Book SDS counselling now. If you are readmitted it may be a condition anyway.

Source: TUT Prospectus Part 1: Students' Rules and Regulations (PDF) · TUT notice: extension of the date for academic exclusions (Jan 2026) · Official