Your student representative organisation can provide advice and support when preparing a show cause submission.
If you are an undergraduate student, contact the SRC’s Caseworker Help service.
If you are a postgraduate student, contact SUPRA’s Postgraduate Advocacy Service.
Your show cause notification will include information on what you need to provide in your letter, how to submit it through Sydney Student and the deadline for when you need to make your submission. The main purpose of your show cause letter is to:
You may want to submit documents with your show good cause letter to show how your circumstances have impacted on your academic progression.
These might include:
Formal decisions on show cause are often not made until after the start of the next semester, due to the tight timelines surrounding results and holidays. It is important to keep checking your student email account for your show cause decision and any actions you may need to take.
If the Associate Dean decides you have shown good cause they will:
If they decide you have not shown good cause, then they have two options. They can:
exclude you from your award course for two years.
If you are allowed to re-enrol, and you do not meet the academic progression requirements in the next semester, you may be asked to show good cause again.
Unfortunately, if we do not accept the reasons and plan put forward at the show cause stage, then you will be excluded from re-enrolling in your course. We will email you to notify you of this decision.
To be excluded means that you will not be permitted to re-enrol in your course or any other course at the University for at least four consecutive semesters (two calendar years).
If you are in international student this is likely to affect your student visa status, and we are obliged to inform the appropriate government department about any exclusion. For any questions about your visa requirements you can contact the international compliance team at student.compliance@sydney.edu.au
If you’re excluded from your course or don't believe the conditions imposed on your re-enrolment are reasonable, you can submit an appeal to your faculty.
The email you receive with your decision will include information on how to appeal. Read more about our Academic appeals process.
If you’re appealing against an exclusion decision, you should continue to attend any classes you’re enrolled in while your appeal decision is pending. Even if we make the decision to exclude, we do not immediately cancel your enrolment because of your right to appeal.
After two years, you can apply to return to the same award course, as long as it is still offered by the University. Readmission is not automatic and is at the discretion of the Associate Dean of the faculty or school.
In your application you will need to show that during your period of exclusion you have taken steps to support your future academic progression. This could include steps you have taken to strengthen your skills, such as studying or work experience, or steps you’ve taken to address any personal circumstances that previously prevented you from meeting progression requirements.
If you're in one of the following faculties/schools you can fill out the Student application for re-admission after exclusion:
If you're in another faculty or school you will need to contact an academic progression advisor.
