Course Repeat Exception Request

Catalog Policy AP.1.3.4 Repeating a Course

Undergraduate students (degree-seeking or non-degree) may repeat undergraduate courses that are not repeatable for credit. There is a limit of three graded attempts for all courses. Academic programs may have more restrictive limits. A W does not count as a graded attempt. This policy applies only to repeating the same course, or courses that are designated in the catalog as equivalent. 

Appeals to this policy begin with the student’s academic advisor.

Requesting an Exception to Course Repeat Policy

  1. Review all policies within the University Catalog pertaining to repeating a course.
  2. Meet with your major academic advisor to discuss the situation and complete a draft Student Success Plan, which is a form available on the Forms page of the Registrar's website.
    • The Plan draft should include information about circumstances affecting previous performance in the class and, importantly, a specific plan for addressing previous issues and strategies for successfully completing the course.
  3. Seek permission to repeat the course by submitting the Student Success Plan to the department that offers the course. 
    • Please note: Some units are more restrictive in approving repeats. The department offering the course has the final authority in these cases.
    • For ENGH 100, 101 and ENGH 302 requests, contact Dr. Courtney Wooten, Director of Composition, via email (cwooten3@gmu.edu) to make an appointment. Mason Korea students with ENGH 100, 101, and 302 requests should contact Mason Korea English Coordinator Alice Wrigglesworth via email (awriggle@gmu.edu) to make an appointment. Ideally, meeting requests would be made at the start of the registration period for the following semester to try to ensure class seats will be available. At the latest, meeting requests for summer and fall semesters should occur by the last week of spring semester classes and meeting requests for spring semesters should occur by the last week of fall semester classes; otherwise, there may be a delay in setting up a meeting.
  4. Once the department offering the course has signed the Student Success Plan (approved or denied), submit the plan back to your major academic advisor.
    • Your major advisor will send the signed plan (approved or denied) to our office.

If the course repeat is approved, forms will be submitted from our office to the Registrar's Office for processing. The Registrar's Office will issue you an override to register (or waitlist) for any section of the course, and email you once the override is in place. You must check your Mason email regularly so that you can register in Patriot Web as soon as possible. If you waitlist for the course, standard waitlist policy applies.