Exclusion and appeals at UCT

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

Last checked 11 October 2026, from UCT's readmission appeal forms and rules. Deadlines and criteria change every year, so check the current form for your faculty.

Being excluded is a hard moment, but at UCT it is not always final. Every faculty has a committee that hears appeals, and it is looking for an honest explanation and a realistic plan to finish your degree. This guide walks you through what the codes mean, how the appeal works and where to get help.

How exclusion works

• At the end of each assessment period, your Faculty Examination Committee (FEC) compares your results with the published readmission rules and gives you an academic standing code. You will see it on your PeopleSoft record.
• RENN (academically not eligible to continue) is the exclusion code. UCT describes it as two separate decisions: you did not meet the minimum requirements, and the FEC decided not to grant a concession because your record suggests you would not succeed. UCT's glossary says no exclusion is automatic.
• FECC is a concession from the FEC to continue, sometimes with conditions (for example, moving to another stream in the same programme). FECF is a concession to continue in a different programme in the same faculty.
• FECR means you did not meet the progression requirements but may continue. It gives you a "first miss" without exclusion, and you must get specialised curriculum advice before you register. A faculty page describes this as a probation semester that is assessed at mid-year.
• SUPP ("status pending: continue if SUPP/DE exams passed") is a temporary code. Your final standing depends on a supplementary or deferred exam result.
• CONT means you are academically eligible to continue without conditions.
• A concession (FECC, FECR) is not an appeal. It is the FEC's own decision, and you do not apply for it. The Readmission Appeal Committee (RAC) only comes in after an exclusion (RENN).

Who can appeal

• Appeals are only considered for students excluded in the most recent exclusion round. The 2026 mid-year forms say students excluded in June 2026; the earlier year-end forms said December 2023 (for 2024).
• If you were excluded in an earlier year, UCT's forms say you must apply through the Admissions Office instead.
• Undergraduates, postgraduate diplomas, honours, professional masters and the coursework part of a coursework masters go to the faculty RAC. PhD and research masters students use a different route (see below).
• You may submit one appeal to one faculty RAC. It does not have to be the faculty you were registered in.

If a supp or deferred exam is still pending

• If your record says "Status pending: continue if SUPP/DE passed", UCT asks you to submit a pre-emptive appeal on the SUPP form by the published faculty deadline.
• The RAC only looks at it if the FEC confirms your exclusion after the supp or deferred results. If you pass, the appeal is not needed.
• UCT warns that if you skip the pre-emptive appeal and are then excluded, you will get no chance to appeal that round and the exclusion stands for the year.
• For the year-end round, the 2026 rules set the deadline as the Friday before the January examinations where readmission depends on January/February supps or deferred exams. Check the exact date on the current form.

Step by step

1. Read UCT's readmissions information sheet and download the correct form. There are separate undergraduate RENN, undergraduate SUPP and postgraduate RENN forms. UCT says old forms are not accepted.

2. Find your faculty's deadline and treat it as final. UCT says dates will not be extended and late appeals are not considered. The mid-year 2026 dates on the information sheet were:

   • Commerce: 9 July 2026 by 12h00
   • Health Sciences: 13 July 2026
   • Humanities: 7 July 2026 by 09h00
   • Law: 13 July 2026
   • Engineering and the Built Environment and Science: listed as N/A for mid-year 2026.

   Year-end dates are different (the 2024 forms had deadlines in the first week of January). Your own form is the source of truth.

3. Speak to the advisor for your faculty before you submit. The form asks for a plan showing every remaining course and the year you will take it, and asks you to name the advisor you consulted. The information sheet lists an advisor email for each faculty. Law says its students do not need an advisor to complete the form.

4. Fill in the form in Adobe Reader (not Apple Preview, which can produce a blank form). The form asks about:

   • your remaining courses and plan;
   • any probation support services you used and what you gained, if you were on a concession or probation;
   • what is different from any earlier appeal;
   • your personal circumstances and how they are resolved or managed;
   • your evidence list.

5. Gather evidence. UCT says that in most cases an appeal is not considered without documents, and the RAC reads only what you attach. Examples named by UCT include medical or death certificates, sworn affidavits and travel itineraries or tickets. Dates matter: say which courses and which parts were affected.

6. Save the form and all documents as one PDF and upload it through PeopleSoft Self Service as a Readmission Appeal service request. UCT asks you not to include your UCT and matric results. Keep a copy.

7. If a document is not ready by the deadline, submit the appeal anyway, say on the form what is outstanding and when it will come, and upload it later as a new service request. UCT says it must arrive before the RAC's last meeting.

8. Check your outcome promptly. Outcomes are emailed to your UCT address and appear on your PeopleSoft service request. In mid-year 2026 the check dates were 20 July (Commerce and Humanities), 21 July (Health Sciences) and 24 July (Law) for RENN appeals.

9. Plan a back-up now. UCT urges you to prepare for the case where the appeal fails, because waiting may leave you too late to enter another institution.

Transfers. If you want to move programme within your faculty, UCT says the RAC may allow it only if it is clear you have a better chance of success there, and you must consult the programme convener or advisor first and include their endorsement. To move to another faculty, you need written confirmation from the programme convener or Faculty Manager that you meet the transfer criteria, plus (per the form) a letter or email from a curriculum advisor showing you can finish in N+1 years. Without it, UCT says you cannot appeal for an inter-faculty transfer. The deadline table also shows which faculties accept transfers.

What to write. Be specific and honest. Describe what happened, when, and which courses it affected. If you cite money problems, the form asks whether you received financial aid and why you still struggled. Then show what has changed so it will not happen again. You only get one chance, so UCT asks you to disclose everything relevant. Sensitive information is treated in confidence by the RAC.

What the RAC considers

The RAC reads your full appeal and the academic and funding information on your record. It asks whether you have a reasonable prospect of finishing within the maximum permitted time and have not exhausted your funding.

• The 2026 mid-year forms use two criteria, and both must be met:
  1. Can you finish within the maximum permitted time without carrying more than a standard load in each remaining year? A programme convener or curriculum advisor must confirm this.
  2. Were there extraordinary personal circumstances that held back your progress, shown with evidence, and with a clear description and evidence that they will not keep affecting you?
• Earlier forms (2023 and 2024) used three criteria, adding a funding check and requiring your transcript to be attached. Check whether your current form still carries these.
• The information sheet frames it as three questions: were the circumstances significant and beyond what most students face, is there evidence that matches the timing of the poor results, and is there evidence the difficulties are dealt with.
• The committee also looks for signs of progress in key courses that suggest you can complete the degree.
• One faculty page (Humanities) notes that committees may also weigh how long you have been registered and may suggest studying elsewhere if too little time remains.

Outcomes

• Concession codes on UCT's glossary include RACC (concession to continue in the same faculty and programme), RACF (concession to change programme within the faculty), RACT (concession to transfer from another faculty), RACB (concession to continue after semester 1 probation), RACL (return after leave of absence), RACO (return after a prescribed break) and RACP (status pending RAC decision).
• If the RAC agrees to readmit you, the rules let it limit your registration to one semester and set minimum requirements you must meet to renew. The glossary describes RACB as continuing after semester 1 probation.
• There is no further appeal to a higher body. The 2026 General Rules say a student who believes there was a procedural error may ask the Vice-Chancellor or the Vice-Chancellor's nominee to review the RAC decision within two working days of being told the outcome. They also say new evidence can be considered only at the chair's discretion and only with good grounds for leaving it out earlier. The information sheet says no new information may be sent once an outcome has been communicated.
• A refusal code was not listed in the glossary page we read. Unconfirmed: your record likely stays RENN; check with your faculty.

Postgraduate differences

• The postgraduate RAC form is only for PGDip, honours and the coursework part of a master's degree. It covers the same one-appeal, one-faculty rule and uses the same two criteria on the 2026 form.
• PhD students and students in the research component of a master's degree do not use this form. UCT's forms say they write a letter of motivation and appeal to the Vice-Chancellor's nominee under rule G17.
• In the 2026 General Rules text we read, the same provision appears as G18, with the appeal made in writing to the Registrar within 14 days of the FEC's notification. The forms say G17, so the numbering differs between documents. Confirm with your faculty's postgraduate office.
• Postgraduate funding questions go to the postgraduate funding office (pgfunding@uct.ac.za per the Careers Service page).

If you are not readmitted

• UCT's Humanities page says that if you do not appeal or the appeal fails, your record becomes inactive. Exclusion is from the whole university, not just one faculty, so another UCT faculty cannot simply accept you.
• The same page says the earliest return is normally the second year after exclusion, through a formal application to Admissions that Humanities describes as needing evidence of academic rehabilitation. It cites one semester at another institution (preferably a full year) on a full load with strong marks, and completing within N+1 years. These details come from one faculty and an earlier year's dates (31 July application deadline in its example), so confirm the current version with your faculty.
• The Careers Service says you may be able to reapply after a period if you meet remedial conditions, and suggests other universities (check admission requirements and credit transfer), online study, part-time study, a gap year and bursary or funding options.
• The Humanities page notes that credits earned elsewhere can sometimes be transferred to a UCT degree, but limits apply, so ask the head of department before choosing courses.

Where to get help

• Faculty advisors and RAC offices: emails are on the readmissions information sheet (for example com-rac@uct.ac.za, ebe-rac@uct.ac.za, humrac@uct.ac.za, law-rac@uct.ac.za).
• Student Records Office: rac-records@uct.ac.za for general process questions, and 021 650 3595 if you cannot get online to submit.
• PeopleSoft problems: sss-helpdesk@uct.ac.za or 021 650 5227/4720.
• Student Wellness Service: the Careers Service page points you to book an appointment, and gives the UCT Student Careline on 0800 24 25 26 (toll free) or text 31393 for a call-me-back.
• Careers Service: you can book a consultation about next steps.
• SRC: the Careers Service says the SRC has helped students with readmission appeals in the past. We could not find the SRC's own current appeals programme or contact details, so ask the SRC directly.
• UCT CARES: a 2025 version of the readmissions page listed UCT CARES (uctcares@uct.ac.za) for help with the RAC process. It was not on the 2026 page we read, so confirm it is still running.
• Financial aid: Student Financial Aid on 021 650 3535 or financialaid@uct.ac.za (undergraduates).

Quick checklist

• I know my exact code and why I was excluded.
• I have the current form (not an old one) for my level and my situation (RENN or SUPP).
• I have my faculty's deadline written down, and I will submit well before it.
• I spoke to the advisor and have my remaining-course plan.
• My explanation is specific, dated and honest, including money issues if relevant.
• Every claim has a document, and I have listed any that are still coming.
• If I want a different programme or faculty, I have the convener or advisor confirmation.
• My form and documents are one PDF, uploaded on PeopleSoft, with a copy kept.
• I know the date outcomes appear and I will check my UCT email and PeopleSoft.
• I have a back-up plan and have asked for support.

Source: UCT Readmissions information sheet; UG RENN appeal form 2026; UG SUPP appeal form 2026; PG RENN appeal form 2026; UG RENN form 2024; PG appeal form 2023; UCT academic standing code glossary; UCT General Rules and Policies 2026 (rules G17 to G19); Careers Service: exclusion information; Humanities: academic exclusion.