Student Petition Process: GATHER

GATHER Information and Documents related to your petition type. Talk with your adviser and/or your College/Campus Petition Submitter.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION: PLEASE KEEP ALL PETITION DOCUMENTS IN A SEPARATE FILE  as you will need to upload them separately using the petition eForm (Except for Supporting Documents, which can be combined into one document or uploaded separately).

PETITION DOCUMENTATION

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 affected their academic performance, and establish why they did not follow existing University policies before the established deadline. Please remember that all documents need to be as official as possible, meaning if it is a letter, it should include letterhead and signature. If it is an email, it should include the email header (To; From; Date; Time).

To determine documentation requirements for a petition, view the Where to Upload Requirements Tool (based on petition type).

REQUIRED STUDENT LETTER

Students are required to prepare a petition letter using the Student Petition Letter Template

After completing all required fields in the letter, students should:

  • Click on the “View and Print” button at the bottom of the page, which will bring up a formatted letter.
    • Most information in the student letter is required (indicated with *), and students will not be able to “View and Print” until these fields contain content. If one or more of the required fields are empty when they try to “View and Print” they will get a message saying that there is a problem and the required field(s) will be indicated in red. Students should complete the form by adding text in the required field(s), and then click the “Review and Print” button again to bring up the formatted letter.
  • Check to be sure the letter is satisfactory.
    • If not satisfactory, students should click the back arrow in the browser, edit text, and click on the “View and Print” button again to view revised formatted letter.
  • When letter is satisfactory, students will click on the “Print this page” button at the bottom of the formatted letter.
    • The letter can be printed to a printer or saved as a PDF file using Microsoft Print to PDF.

Students will upload their petition letter using the Petition eForm.

REQUIRED CURRENT TRANSCRIPT

Students will need to acquire a current transcript to upload using the petition eForm. This needs to be an advising transcript. Please DO NOT upload an official transcript. View instructions on acquiring an advising transcript in LionPATH.

REQUIRED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Along with the student request letter, students should provide documentation of the extenuating circumstances that they claim justify an exception to University policies. To the best of their ability, students should provide documentation for each extenuating circumstance mentioned in their student letter.

Examples of documentation

  • For a Medical or Mental Health circumstance: Letter from a medical (or mental health) professional with a diagnosis, and detailing the time frame, duration, and severity of the illness and how it may have affected academic performance. Documentation of hospital stays, appointments, and medications may also be provided.
  • For Illness of a Friend or Family Member: Medical (or mental health) documentation for the friend or family member.
  • For a Death of a Friend or Family Member: Death certificate or obituary.
  • For a Military Circumstance: Letter from commander with time frame and duration of deployment or other military-related event.
  • For a Divorce or other Court-related circumstance: Court documents.
  • Letters from Advisers and/or Instructors: It is always a good idea to provide these showing attempts to mitigate the situation during the semester being requested.

REDACTING PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII) FROM  PETITION DOCUMENTATION

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) needs to be redacted from all student petition documents before initiating a petition with the SUPR Petition eForm.

VIEW INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE ADOBE REDACTION TOOL

These are examples of Personally Identifiable Information (PII):

  • Social Security number
  • Driver’s license number or a state identification card number issued in lieu of a
  • driver’s license
  • Financial account number, credit or debit card number, in combination with any
  • required security code, access code, or password that would permit access to an
  • individual’s financial account
  • Passport numbers
  • Biometric data (including fingerprints, retina/facial images, and DNA profile)
  • Individually identifiable health information
  • Username or email address, in combination with a password or security question and answer that would permit access to an online account

Please Remember that simply crossing out Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or covering it up is not sufficient because when doing that, the PII can still be obtained from the document. The PII must be redacted to sanitize and remove it. Adobe Acrobat has a Redaction Tool.

TRANSLATION OF PETITION DOCUMENTATION

If students are providing petition documentation that is written in a language other than English, they are required to have the document translated before initiating a petition.

  • Students may use a translation service, which will provide a cover sheet with verification of translation.
  • Students may know or be directed to a Penn State faculty member who speaks the language and request translation. In this case, the faculty member should include a cover letter with letterhead and signature verifying the translation.

ADVISER LETTER (Required by Some Colleges/Campuses)

Some Colleges/Campuses require that students provide an adviser letter with their petitions. Be sure to check with your Adviser or College/Campus Petition Submitter to see if your College/Campus requires this document.

REGISTRAR DOCUMENTS

When we say “Registrar Documents” we mean the forms that are needed to process the petition if it is approved. For instance, the Withdrawal Form for a Retroactive Withdrawal petition or a Registration Drop/Add form for a Retroactive Late Course Drop petition.

View Required Documents on the SUPR Landing Page to determine which registrar documents are required for each petition type and where to upload them with the form.

View the Student Petition Forms page on this site to get the appropriate form for your petition.

STUDENTS NEED TO SAVE A COPY OF ALL DOCUMENTS

STUDENTS should save a copy of all documents that are included in their Senate petition prior to initiating using the Petition eForm. Once submitted, a petition and supporting documents become a part of a student’s educational record .

RETROACTIVE WITHDRAWAL AND STUDENT AID

Students who are requesting a retroactive withdrawal AND received federal student aid at any time while at Penn State must complete the Student Aid Review for Retroactive Withdrawal form prior to initiating a petition using the Petition eForm. This form must be complete, including a signature from an Office of Student Aid representative, and be ready to upload using the eForm.

If a student did not receive federal Student Aid at any time while at Penn State, they will answer NO on the form. No Student Aid consultation is needed, and no form will be uploaded.

View instructions here.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS – IMPLICATIONS FOR IMMIGRATION AND SPONSORSHIP

International students who are requesting a retroactive withdrawal must consult with a Penn State Global staff member to determine implications for immigration and sponsorship should the petition be approved. When an international student initiates a petition for Retroactive Withdrawal, Penn State Global staff will be notified, and will reach out to the student. After consultation with the student has taken place, a Penn State Global staff member will move the student’s petition along within the SUPR system.