Appeal Process for Denial of Admission

Applicants to graduate programs who have been denied admission should first contact the intended academic program or department directly if they wish to inquire as to the basis for the original decision or to request reconsideration. A written request for reconsideration must be received by the graduate program within 14 calendar days of denial. Evaluating the admissibility of applicants to its program is solely the responsibility of the admitting graduate program, and it will issue its reconsideration decision within 14 calendar days of receiving the reconsideration request from the applicant.

Applicants who wish to appeal an admission denial after they have requested reconsideration from the graduate program may submit a written appeal, which must include a statement of the basis for the appeal. The appeal is to be submitted to the director of the Graduate Studies Office within 45 calendar days after the date of the initial notice denying admission. Graduate admission appeals will be considered in terms of fair implementation of Buffalo State and program admission policies and only if based on appropriate cause, such as (a) procedural error or (b) judgments based on criteria other than those specified by Buffalo State. Disagreements over evaluation of academic quality or program fit will not be considered as an appropriate basis for such appeals. The director of the Graduate Studies Office will review all relevant documentation submitted by the applicant and graduate program and, in consultation with the dean of the academic school to which the applicant applied, will render a final admission decision. Every reasonable effort will be made to transmit a decision to the applicant within 90 calendar days of the receipt of the student’s initial written appeal to the director of the Graduate Studies Office. In reporting the final decision of the director of the Graduate Studies Office to the applicant, the dean of the academic school, and the graduate program, the basis of the decision will be included. If the final decision grants admission to the graduate program, admission will be effective for the next semester unless the final decision is made before the end of the current semester’s registration period.