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Late Tuition Adjustment Instructions

Evanston-campus undergraduates who wish to pursue a petition (previously referred to as an appeal) for a late tuition adjustment should first thoroughly review the Registrar's guidance on Part-Time Enrollment, and the policy and criteria for submitting a petition as described under the heading ‘Dropping a course’ on the Student Finance site. Only in extremely rare circumstances will a petition be granted for an exception to the deadline for tuition adjustment published on the Academic Calendar.  

Once a student has determined they understand the policy and the criteria for a petition and believes their circumstances are eligible for review, they must follow the procedure below to write and submit a petition.   

Writing and Submitting a Late Tuition Adjustment Petition 

  • An undergraduate is strongly encouraged to seek guidance in writing their petition letter from their academic adviser/Undergraduate Engineering, or school representative, or anyone identified on the Petitions Overview page.    
  • The petition letter should:    
    • Be written and submitted by the student. 
    • Be addressed to the Undergraduate Enrollment Petitions Committee.   
    • Include your student ID number. 
    • Start with a clear statement of what is being requested, ie. a late tuition adjustment.
    • Provide a clear and concise explanation of the exceptional circumstances for why the deadline for tuition adjustment was not met and why an exception should be considered. Exceptional circumstances are those that are beyond the student’s ability to control, such as illness, family hardship, or a death in the family and are supported by documentation.
    • Include documentation, if appropriate, of correspondence with instructors, advisers, or others that supports the explanation provided.
  • If health circumstances are identified as a factor in missing the tuition adjustment deadline, include a letter from the health provider that verifies the explanation.  No treatment details are necessary. 
  • Additional materials the student feels support the petition.    
Petitions are reviewed by a panel of the Undergraduate Enrollment Petitions Committee as described on the Petitions Overview page.  Petitions received by the 15th of the month will be included for review in the following month Committee meeting, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Petitions should be sent to enrollmentexceptions@northwestern.edu.