Tips for Submitting Requests
- Familiarize yourself with your Student Rights and Responsibilities before submitting any requests.
- Know the academic policies of the university, college, and your degree program. This information is published in the University Catalog.
- Submit requests well before any deadline associated with the request. Requests are reviewed in the order that they are received, and requests cannot be expedited based on late submission.
- Ensure your university record is free of all holds. Holds can delay or prevent the processing of a request, including financial and immunization holds.
- Check your official Mason email regularly. The Costello College of Business Office of Student Success and Academic Services will only respond to your request via your George Mason email.
- Check with busreqst@gmu.edu to confirm that your documentation (fax, email, or other supporting information) has been received if submitted separately from your initial request and statement. Contact masonbus@gmu.edu if you have not received a response within two weeks.
- If you want anyone else to receive information about your request, an official FERPA release must be completed with the Registrar's office before private academic information can be shared with anyone but the student via their official George Mason email.
Most Common Issues and Delays
All student requests are reviewed in the order they are received. Delays in review and/or processing can be caused by the following:
- No Formal Submission: Students must submit their requests in to busreqst@gmu.edu for official review.
- Prior discussion with Mason personnel (dean, academic advisor, faculty member, etc.) does not automatically initiate a request.
- Requests must be submitted via the student’s Mason email account; all follow-up communication including decisions of approval/denial will be sent to the student’s Mason email and nowhere else.
- Any 3rd party that communicates on a student’s behalf (family member, employer, etc.) must have FERPA on file; FERPA does not allow somebody else to act on behalf of the student under any circumstance.
- Issues with Documentation: Students must submit requests in their entirety (form, written statement, supporting documentation, etc.) in order to be considered.
- Missing or Pending: If documentation is missing or pending, the request will not be officially reviewed until all information has been received and the student has communicated that they have submitted everything as intended. Failure to provide complete documentation will result in denial.
- Unverifiable Source: Documentation must come from a verifiable, 3rd party source and must be legible with dates and signatures.
- Inaccessible or Unreadable: For security purposes, we cannot accept drive links for submission of documentation; all documentation must be submitted directly to busreqst@gmu.edu. All documentation received is considered confidential and is not shared with outside offices or personnel.
- Administrative Holds: The Office of Student Success and Academic Services cannot override any administrative holds on a student’s account.
- It is the student’s responsibility to ensure their records are free of any holds before submitting a request.
- Examples of administrative holds that affect enrollment/registration include student accounts/financial, parking, library, immunization, etc.