The Separation Appeal Process
Undergraduate students experiencing academic separation from Ball State University can appeal to return to Ball State for the next consecutive fall or spring semester.
Tips for Making a Separation Appeal
- Be thoughtful, detailed, and specific when answering all questions
- Provide official documentation to support your appeal. Examples include but are not limited to: Personal or immediate family member's medical or mental health records such as hospital visits, medication, or doctor’s notes confirming treatment and/or death notice of immediate family member
- View these sample responses to the written questions you will be asked to complete in your appeal
- Please note: The Academic Separation Appeal Form will become available only after your academic standing has been finalized. If you try to access the form before that time, it will not be available for submission. Please review the timeline below to see when you can expect the appeal form to be available for students.
Fill out Academic Separation Appeal Form
Timeline for the Separation appeal process
1.December 11, 2026: Fall term ends
2. December 16, 2026: Deadline for instructors to submit final grades and academic standing is assigned
3. December 17, 2026: Academic Separation notifications are sent to students, and the appeal form opens for eligible students to submit an appeal
4. January 4, 2026 11:59 p.m.: Deadline for students to appeal academic separation for Fall 2026
5. January 5 and January 6, 2027:Separation Appeal Committee convenes
6. January 7, 2027:Students are notified of appeal decision
7. January 11, 2027: Spring 2027 classes begin
*All materials must be submitted by the deadline.
Common Questions
We recommend you go ahead and submit an appeal in the case that the grade is not changed prior to the start of the next semester.
Students who are enrolled in summer classes prior to being academically separated as a result of the spring term will be invited to “opt-in” and keep their summer classes. This will provide them the opportunity to continue progress towards graduation and potentially avoid academic separation if they meet university scholastic standards.
The committee consists of Ball State professional staff representing numerous units across campus selected specifically for their knowledge related to college student success. Units represented include the Registrar’s Office, University College, Cardinal Central, BSU Online, the Dean of Students’ Office, and Housing and Residence Life. The committee considers information from the student’s written appeal, documentation the student has provided to support their appeal, historical academic and institutional information that includes but is not limited to course grades, GPA, credits completed, and interactions with academic and other student service units on campus. The goal of the committee is to use all official student information available to them to determine whether the student is more likely than not to meet
University Scholastic Standards during the semester they are returning to appeal and beyond.
This does not change the appeal process for you. However, if your separation appeal is denied for a second time you will be required to step away from Ball State University for three (3) years following the second separation.
The Office of Housing and Residential Life will contact students through their Ball State email address once academic standing has been updated with detailed information about next steps. If a student successfully completes a separation appeal, their housing contract will remain in place. If the student’s separation appeal is denied or they choose not to appeal, their housing contract will be canceled, and they will be given a move out date before the beginning of the upcoming semester.
Have More Questions?
If you have more questions in regards to Academic Separation, you can reach out to the following offices: