• Responsible Department: Acadmic Affairs
• Approving Body: President/Cabinet
• Effective Date: 01-OCT-2025
• Review/Revision Date: 01-OCT-2025

PURPOSE: 

The purpose of the Program Dismissal Appeals Policy is to provide students with a pathway      for appeal in the event of a student’s dismissal from a program. Western New Mexico University (WNMU) is committed to providing a fair, equitable, and timely appeals process for any student who would like to appeal their dismissal from a program.  

If the appeal involves concerns related to discrimination, please contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX via the following link: https://titleix.wnmu.edu. 

POLICY: 

PROGRAM DISMISSAL APPEALS PROCESS 

After a student has been dismissed from a program, they can appeal the decision to the dean of the college from which the student has been dismissed.  The appeal must be in writing, using the Program Dismissal Appeals Form, to the appropriate Dean of the College (hereafter referred to as Dean). If there is a recognized conflict of interest, another designee will be chosen by the VPAA to receive the original student appeal.  

Level I: Appealing to the Dean 

1. The written appeal should be submitted within ten (10) university business days of the date of dismissal from the program.  
   • The Program Dismissal Appeals Form should be attached to an e-mail through official WNMU email. 
   • The Dean or designee will review the appeal of the dismissal. 
   • The Dean will issue a written decision to the program and student within ten (10) university business days of receipt of the appeal. The written decision will be sent through official WNMU email. 

Level II: Appealing the Dean’s Decision 

1. If the student wishes to appeal the decision of the Dean, the following procedure applies: 
   • The student must appeal the Dean’s decision within ten (10) university business days of receipt of the Dean’s decision. 
   • A written description of the student appeal should be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) or their designee. The e-mail should be sent through official WNMU email. 
2. Upon receipt of the level II appeal, the Vice President of Academic Affairs or their designee will convene the University’s Program Dismissal Appeals Committee (PDAC). 
   • The appeal will be reviewed by the Program Dismissal Appeals Committee (PDAC). 
   • An Appeals Resolution Meeting (ARM) will be scheduled, and the date communicated to participants, within ten university business days. 
   • At the time of submission of the level II appeal, the student may elect to have one support person attend the ARM.  
     • A support person is a non-participating person invited to the meeting by the student to offer support to the student. 
     • The student must identify their support person, and the support person’s relationship to the student at the time of the submission of the Level II appeal. 
3. The ARM is an opportunity for the student and the program to present their cases to the Program Dismissal Appeals Committee.  
   1. The meeting will be scheduled and shall proceed as follows: 
      1. Introduction and overview of the meeting. 
      2. Up to ten (10) minutes for the student to present their   appeal to the Committee. 
      3. Up to ten (10) minutes for the program representative to present their information to the Committee. 
      4. Up to ten (10) minutes for the Committee to ask questions of the student and the program representative.  
      5. The program representative, student, and support person (if present) will then be dismissed, and the Committee will deliberate and reach a final decision. 
   2. The student and the program will be notified of the Committee’s decision within five (5) university business days of the meeting’s conclusion.  
   3. The decision of the Program Dismissal Appeals Committee is final and cannot be appealed. 

Program Dismissal Appeals Documentation  

The Program Dismissal Appeals form is located on the Policy Office website at policy.wnmu.edu.  

Level I: To the Dean: 

• The student must provide a written description of the situation and their reasoning for why they should be reinstated.  

Level II: To the Program Dismissal Appeals Committee: 

• The student should provide a written description of the situation and their reasons they should be reinstated.  
• The appeal must be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) or their designee. 
• At this time, the student must identify any support person and disclose the name and relationship to student. 
• The VPAA or their designee will then convene the Program Dismissal Appeals Committee and disseminate the appeal information to the assigned members for review. 

Program Dismissal Appeals Committee 

The Program Dismissal Appeals Committee (PDAC) consists of one faculty member from each   of the following programs: Counseling, Education, Nursing, and Social Work.  

• Program leadership will assign one faculty member to participate on the Committee. 
  • Consultants/experts may be asked to be ex officio committee members; these individuals are in non-voting positions and may be asked to provide additional information or expertise regarding the situation.  
• The Committee will be convened in the event of a level II appeal. 
• The Committee member from the program from which the student was dismissed will act as the program representative and present the program information and will recuse themselves from the Committee’s official decision.  
• The Committee will appoint a Facilitator when the meeting is requested.  
  • The Facilitator will be responsible for coordinating the ARM, all electronic communications, recording information and filing paperwork within the designated storage repository.  
• The Final Decision will be based on a consensus of the convened Committee members.  

AA310 – Program Dismissal Appeals Policy

SOP310 Program Dismissal Form