• Students initiate the petition process by speaking with an adviser at their college/campus advising center. Occasionally, the college/campus will submit a petition on behalf of a student. This may occur when for some reason the student cannot submit the petition themselves. (example: incapacitating illness) or if an administrative/college/campus error is found.

View Petition Contacts

World Campus Students

World Campus students should contact World Campus Advising 814-863-3283

For students enrolled at University Park:

• Students enrolled in a college will submit their petitions through the Dean’s office of the college in which the student is enrolled.
• Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) and degree-seeking students conditionally enrolled in DUS will submit their petitions through the Division of Undergraduate Studies.
• Students in Academic Warning or Academic Suspension status will submit their petitions through the Dean’s office of the college in which the student plans to enroll.
• Non-Degree Regular and World Campus students planning to enroll in a degree program will submit their petitions through the college/campus in which they plan to pursue a degree. Students who are not pursuing a degree at Penn State or are undecided about a college will submit their petitions through the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS).

For students enrolled at another campus:

• The petition will be submitted through the campus in which they are enrolled.

Student petitions are always submitted through the college/campus in which the student is currently enrolled, no matter where the student attended during the time of the request. Students are responsible for obtaining documentation from another college/campus if applicable. Students who are not currently enrolled will submit their petition through the college/campus in which they were last enrolled.

Non-Degree Students

• Non-Degree students planning to enroll in a degree program, will submit their petition through the college/campus in which they plan to pursue a degree.
• Students who are not pursuing a degree at Penn State, or are undecided about a college, will submit their petition through the Division of Undergraduate Studies.

Workforce Education Students

• Students who are in a Workforce Education program will work with the Workforce Education department to prepare their petition and an authorized petition submitter will submit on behalf of the student.
  • Workforce Ed students will still need to prepare a student request letter
  • Workforce Ed students will provide the required documentation to a College of Education authorized petition submitter for submission

• Student Petition Types

Students should prepare a letter using the Student Petition Letter Form at this URL (https://studentpetitions.psu.edu/student-petition-letter/). Students will use the form to create a PDF document to provide for their adviser or college/campus petition contact.

Examples of Appropriate and Inappropriate Requests

View Examples

• STUDENTS, please make a copy of all documents that are included in your Senate petition prior to your college/campus representative submitting to the Senate office. If students are working with a Penn State office, such as the Office of Student Aid for an Academic Progress Appeal or the Office of the Bursar for a tuition adjustment, documents from a petition may be released directly to the Penn State Office with a student's permission.
• Once submitted, the petition and supporting documents become a part of a student’s educational record.

Translation of Petition Documentation

• In the event that students provide petition documentation that is written in a language other than English, students are required to have the document translated before submitting a petition to the Faculty Senate Office.
  • 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.

Documentation for Different Types of Petitions

• The Senate Subcommittee on Undergraduate Petition Review requires specific documentation for each petition type.
• Please follow the guidelines on the Student Petition Types page.

• Trauma drop/withdrawal procedures should be followed when a student's circumstances require unusual confidentiality (e.g., the victim of a sexual assault or violent crime). This procedure is streamlined to reduce the number of people involved in processing.
• At University Park, a trauma drop/withdrawal is initiated by the student in consultation with the following people:
  • If the student has not met with a counselor at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the student should consult with Anna Barone, Office of Student Care and Advocacy, 120 Boucke Building, 814-863-2020.
  • If the student has met with a CAPS counselor, the student should consult with this counselor; or the Trauma Drop Coordinator for CAPS, 501 Student Health Center, 814-863-0395.
• At non-University Park campuses, a strong letter of support from a staff member, petitioning for trauma drop/withdrawal may be forwarded to the appropriate contact for processing. The appropriate contacts are:
  • If the student has not met with a counselor at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the student should consult with Anna Barone, Office of Student Care and Advocacy, 120 Boucke Building, 814-863-2020.
  • If the student has met with a CAPS counselor, the student should consult with this counselor; or the Trauma Drop Coordinator for CAPS, 501 Student Health Center, 814-863-0395.
• A student letter is not required. The appropriate Registrar form(s) must be submitted with this request.

• When students indicate failure of or interaction with the Lion PATH system as part of the basis of their petition, a summary of actions within the system will be attained from the Office of the University Registrar.
• LionPATH logs show the date, time and action for all activity. (For example, the log will show the date and time a student attempted to late drop a course and whether they completed all the necessary steps.)
• An LionPATH summary is included with the petition which is then reviewed by the Senate Committee on Education.

• If a student petitions for a retroactive late drop, withdrawal, or any other request that would involve changing or removing a grade, verification is done through the Office of Student Accountability & Conflict Response to determine if there are academic integrity violations in the referenced course(s).
• Students with violations that resulted in an academic sanction for a course or courses will not be permitted to retroactively remove a grade for the course(s) being petitioned.

• There is no time limit for submitting a student petition.
• Occasionally students may even submit valid retroactive requests post-graduation. However, prompt resolution of transcript discrepancies is encouraged for the best outcome.
  • When submitting a petition post-graduation, students should carefully review their academic record to ensure that removing credits (via retroactive late drop or retroactive withdrawal) will not compromise their degree conferral.

• The Senate Subcommittee on Undergraduate Petition Review has the authority for reviewing all petitions, and the subcommittee reviews petitions continuously throughout the academic year, including summer terms.
• Petition reviewing is not coordinated with plenary meetings of the University Faculty Senate.
• Student petitions are first reviewed at the college/campus level and authorized submitters will make a recommendation of support or non-support to the Senate Committee. The petition will then be submitted to the Faculty Senate Office.
• The Senate committee reviews each petition individually, and evaluates it based on its unique circumstances and supporting documentation.
• There are no guarantees of approval of any petition.

• First committee member reviews the petition.
  • If reviewer decides to approve, the petition is officially approved.
  • If reviewer decides Not to approve, the petition is forwarded to a 2nd Reviewer.
• Second committee member reviews the petition.
  • If reviewer decides Not to approve, the petition is officially Not approved.
  • If reviewer decides to approve, the petition is forwarded to a 3rd Reviewer.
• Third committee member reviews the petition.
  • If reviewer decides Not to approve, the petition is officially Not approved.
  • If reviewer decides to approve, the petition is officially approved.

• After a petition has been submitted, students can expect a decision within one to three weeks from the time the petition is received by the Senate Office.
• If there is a valid reason for a petition to be expedited, (such as quickly approaching graduation), petition submitters may request that.
  • We are aware that all students/submitters would like their petitions to be processed as quickly as possible. Please use the Expedited Review option only when there is a legitimate reason for the petition to be processed faster than normal (i.e., Quickly approaching graduation, Visa issues, Student Aid issues, etc.)

• Approved petitions for retroactive late add and retroactive late registration will be viewed by the Bursar's office to determine if the petition will result in the student being billed tuition and fees. Tuition and fees are based on the current tuition rates.


• If a petition is Approved, it will move on to the Registrar's office for revisions to be made to the student's transcript. After the Registrar's office has completed its tasks, a decision email will be sent to the student, the authorized petition submitter, and the student's adviser (if applicable) indicating that the petition has been approved.


• If a petition is Not Approved, a decision email will be sent to the student, the authorized petition submitter, and the student's adviser (if applicable), and will include reasons for not being approved and suggestions for an appeal (for all petitions except alternative grading petitions).

• If a petition is Not approved by the Senate committee, students may appeal the decision only one time, and only if they can provide new, additional information and documentation to support their case.
• Prior to beginning the appeal process, students should be sure to read their petition decision email, which contains reasons for their petition not being approved, and suggestions for making their case stronger for an appeal. Students should do their best to provide what the Senate committee suggests. However, there is no guarantee of approval.
• The appeal process is the same as the original petition process, and appeal petitions are initiated by students at their colleges/campuses.
• The Senate processing time for an appeal petition is the same as with the original; one to three weeks from the time the petition is received by the Senate office.
• If an appeal petition is Not approved, this is the end of the Senate process, and no further action can be considered for the term(s)/course(s) requested.

Student Petition Staff
University Faculty Senate Office
101 Kern Graduate Building
Phone: 814-863-1203