Students facing a first or second academic suspension who verify with the Office of the Registrar, academic advising, and their department that successful completion of their proposed academic plan would satisfy their degree requirements in one semester if allowed to return, may petition the Dean of Undergraduates for immediate readmission. This is known as the “senior exception rule”, and students may be granted this exception only once. If granted, both the immediate readmission and the exception will be noted on the student’s academic transcript.
Senior exception students that do not complete their degree requirements in the one semester for which they were readmitted, but finish with a GPA which allows for good academic standing may be allowed to continue with their studies at Rice, but only by petitioning and receiving approval from the Dean of Undergraduates.
Senior exception students should note that if they do not complete their degree requirements in the one semester for which they were readmitted, and finish with a GPA resulting in an academic suspension, that second or third suspension will be applied to their academic record.
Students who fulfill all of their degree requirements at the end of a semester under academic circumstances that would normally place them on probation or suspension will not have the terms “academic probation” or “academic suspension” placed on their transcript for that semester, but will instead have the notation of “Good Standing with Exception”, and be permitted to graduate.
Students intending to apply for immediate readmission via the "senior exception rule" should:
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write a petition in the form of a letter addressed to Dean Gorman, briefly describing the circumstances leading to your suspension, how you have resolved those issues to remain at Rice, and provide justification for your request to be approved;
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complete the Senior Exception to the Rule Form completely, obtain appropriate signatures from the Office of the Registrar, the Office of Academic Advising, and the Major Advisor(s); and,
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submit the petition and signed form to the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates in Sewall Hall, Suite 360, by the deadline communicated by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates at the time of the suspension.