UP exclusion appeal: how to apply to come back

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

Last checked 11 October 2026, from UP's exclusion brochure and appeals guide. Deadlines change every year, so check your faculty's dates.

Being excluded is a hard thing to read in your portal, but it is not always the end of your studies at UP. Every excluded student has the right to appeal, and the committee that reads your case is looking for honest reasons and a realistic plan. This guide walks you through what an exclusion means, how to appeal, and what to do whatever the outcome is.

What an exclusion means

• It is about progress. UP describes academic exclusion as not being allowed to continue because of poor academic progress. When you registered, you agreed to keep up a satisfactory level of performance and to finish your degree in time.
• The 60% / 66% rule. To register for the next year of study you must normally pass at least 60% of the official credits for a year level in a three-year programme, or at least 66% in a programme of four to six years (General Academic Regulations, G3.2). Your faculty may add stricter requirements, and its yearbook sets the exact criteria.
• The N+2 rule. You must also be able to finish within the minimum duration of your programme (N years) plus two years. Previous years of study, including at other universities and in programmes you switched from, count towards that limit.
• Online and extended programmes. Distance, fully online and extended-programme students must pass at least the equivalent of two semester modules, and faculties may set higher requirements.
• It is automatic. Under the regulations, a student who does not meet these requirements is excluded from further registration, and may then appeal. UP sends the exclusion letter after exams at the end of each semester.

Step by step

1. Check your status. Log in to the Student Portal and look for your faculty's letter under "Communications" or as a "hold", and check your email. Do this as soon as results are out, because you can miss your deadline otherwise.
2. Find your deadline. The date to submit is in your faculty letter. UP also publishes a document with each faculty's submission windows and Faculty Appeals Committee meeting dates on its Academic Exclusions page. UP is clear that a missed deadline means your appeal cannot be considered and that no late submissions are accepted.
3. Get your appeal ready. Write an honest, carefully worded appeal letter (UP also calls it a motivation) that explains why your results fell short and what you will do differently. Collect the documents that back up each claim.
4. Submit online. Log in to the Student Portal, open the Student Centre, choose the Academic Information tile, click Appeals, and click Apply for the Faculty appeal. Fill in every required field, choose the document type for each upload, and use the + option to add more. You can save the application as "In progress" and come back to it, but it only counts once you click Submit and confirm. The status then shows as "Applied".
5. Wait and keep checking. The status changes to "Under Review" once the faculty starts processing. The outcome comes to your UP email and appears on the portal.
6. Tell the people who need to know. UP suggests letting your sponsors and family know about the possibility of exclusion. If a new term starts while you wait, ask your faculty administrator whether you may attend lectures and access your modules.

What to include

• A truthful appeal letter or motivation.
• Documents that support what you say, for example medical certificates or doctors' letters if illness affected your results, or documents about a family tragedy.
• Everything in the right place and the right format, uploaded before the cut-off.

What not to do

• Do not plan on adding documents later. UP says no additional or supplementary documents are accepted after you submit, so check everything before you click Submit.
• Do not exaggerate or claim things you cannot show. UP asks for a truthful appeal.

What the faculty appeals committee considers

Your faculty's appeals committee considers the reasons you give and the documents you attach, and decides whether to readmit you or dismiss you from the programme. UP does not publish a list of criteria, so we could not confirm how much weight each type of reason carries. It is sensible to be specific about what went wrong, show evidence, and explain concretely how things will be different. If you wrote about illness, expect the faculty to want to know how you will manage it. If you wrote about mental health, UP's Student Counselling Unit is the place to start.

Possible outcomes

• Readmitted, with conditions. The faculty letter states the conditions. UP gives examples such as passing a certain percentage of modules, or addressing the reasons for your earlier failure. If you said you were ill, the faculty may expect you to manage the condition responsibly.
• Not readmitted. You receive a letter saying so, and you can move to the next step below.
• If you are readmitted, read the conditions carefully, make sure you understand the performance expected, and use your Academic Success Coach (ASC) to build a study plan. Keep evidence that you used the support you were referred to.

If the appeal fails: Senate Review Committee on Readmission

• What it is. A final appeal to the Senate Review Committee on Readmission. The regulations say its decision is final.
• What it reviews. UP's pages say it looks at the process the Faculty Appeals Committee followed, the reasons you gave, whether the progression rules were applied, your circumstances, and whether the process was consistent and fair. It does not re-run your whole case, and no additional documents may be submitted.
• How to apply. Log in to the Student Portal, open Academic Information, click Appeals, and click Apply for the Senate Review Committee on Readmission. The information and reasons you gave the faculty are carried across, and the 2025 appeals guide says you must give a clear motivation for why you want the review. The same no-late-submissions rule applies.
• Once only. UP says you can apply to this committee only once.
• Studying while you wait. UP's Senate Review page (2024 version) says you may continue studying while waiting, but entirely at your own risk and with no guarantee. An older brochure said you remain excluded during the review. We could not confirm the current rule, so ask your faculty administrator, and ask what happens to your fees.
• If the committee upholds the faculty decision you are dismissed from UP and may forfeit fees already paid. Start planning your next step straight away.
• If it goes your way, you are readmitted, and the conditions in the faculty letter apply.

If you are not readmitted

• Another programme at UP. The regulations allow a faculty to consider a student who was excluded for an alternative programme in the same or another faculty, under that faculty's rules. Ask the faculty administrator or the faculty you are interested in. This is not automatic.
• Another university. UP's guidance is to explore alternative study options at other universities. Earlier years of study count towards the total years for a first bachelor's degree, so ask the new institution how they treat them.
• Work first, return later. UP suggests gaining work experience for a few years and then returning. If you do, read the most recent faculty-specific rules for students who were dismissed and want to return. A break of a year or more means you must apply for readmission, and the programme rules of the year you return apply.
• Direction and support. UP's brochure lists career-exploration websites, and the Student Counselling Unit can give you one online session and point you to community mental health services. It cannot arrange readmission.

Practical checklist

• Check the Student Portal (Communications and holds) and your email.
• Find your faculty's submission deadline and Faculty Appeals Committee meeting date.
• Write a truthful, specific appeal letter with a plan.
• Gather medical or other supporting documents, in the right format.
• Submit and confirm through Student Centre, Academic Information, Appeals, before the deadline.
• Tell your family or sponsor, and check your email and portal for the outcome.
• Speak to your Academic Success Coach and faculty administrator.
• If the appeal fails, decide quickly about the Senate Review Committee, and have a back-up plan.

Not confirmed in the UP documents we could read: the 2026 faculty deadline list (the 2026 PDFs were not accessible, so check the Academic Exclusions page); a published list of what the committees weigh; whether exclusion affects NSFAS or other funding (UP's documents do not say, so ask your funder and the Student Service Centre on 012 420 3111).

Source: UP Academic Exclusions page, UP academic exclusion brochure, UP appeals submission guide, UP "What now / what next" infographic, Senate Review Committee on Readmission, General Academic Regulations and Student Rules 2026