When students have not followed a policy listed in the Policies and Rules for Undergraduate Students and believe an exception to the policy may be warranted, they may submit a petition to the Senate Committee on Education for consideration.

The Senate committee does not grant petitions automatically. Strong, documented justification must be provided to establish the circumstances that warrant an exception. Examples are Retroactive Late Course Drops and Retroactive Withdrawals from an entire term based on extenuating circumstances that affected academic performance.

It is to the student’s advantage to submit a complete, well-documented petition. In a petition, students must describe extenuating circumstances beyond their control that warrant consideration of a retroactive action, and be able to provide written documentation of those circumstances. They must also establish why they did not follow existing University policies before the established deadline.

Course substitutions and exceptions to degree requirements do not require a petition, and are handled through the college/campus where the student is enrolled. A petition is not required for correcting registration errors such as administrative course/registration cancellations or changing a grade, if the request is made before the deadline.

View Most Recent Report on Types of Petitions Submitted in the Past