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Section 3 - Policies & Procedures
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Petitioning for Exception to a Scholastic Regulation

Any student may appeal for an exception to any scholastic regulation. Undergraduate students appeal to the university Undergraduate Petitions Committee. Petition forms are available in the Office of the Registrar and, when complete, should be returned to that office. You are encouraged to discuss the petition with your academic advisor before submitting it. The petition is first acted on by the petitions committee of the college or school in which you are enrolled, then reviewed by the university Undergraduate Petitions Committee. The committee has the authority to affirm or reverse the decisions of the college committees. The Office of the Registrar will notify you of the committee’s decision. The University Undergraduate Petitions Committee meets once per month during the regular school year. Ordinarily, a petition will be acted on within two to five weeks after it has been submitted.

You may petition for an exception to a scholastic regulation if you have encountered circumstances beyond your control and have been unable to fulfill the regulation or requirement. You may also petition for an exception if you consider a regulation inappropriate for your situation. Some of the most commonly requested exceptions include permission to remove hours and points, withdraw from classes after the deadline, substitute one course for another, and waive a course requirement.

Students petitioning to drop a class with a grade of W or to completely withdraw from a quarter must submit the petition to the Registrar's Office before the end of the quarter in which the withdrawal is requested. If the petition is submitted after the quarter has ended and it is approved, the petition will be approved only for the removal of hours and points from the GPA. In this case the course and original grade will remain a part of the student's record.

It is important in submitting a petition to state very specifically what you are petitioning to do. It is also important to include any reasons or justification for the exception from the regulation. Personal illness or illness in the immediate family should be substantiated by a physician's statement. Psychological and emotional problems must also be verified by the attending psychologist. Domestic afflictions that may have placed you under unusual emotional stress or responsibilities should be verified. Change in working hours or location required by an employer must be substantiated by a statement from the employer. In cases of petitioning to substitute or waive some course, the student should document the hardship that compliance with the regulation would create.

Graduate students who wish to appeal for an exception to graduate school policies and procedures may do so by submitting a petition to the School of Graduate Studies. Petition forms are available in the graduate school office, and may be e-mailed to students upon request. Students should include all supporting documents and should have the recommendation of the advisor, the instructor (if applicable), and the appropriate department or college. The completed form should be returned to the School of Graduate Studies. The petition will then be forwarded to the appropriate college's or school's petitions committee (or equivalent), which will review the petition and advise the School of Graduate Studies of its decision. Upon concurrence of the dean of the School of Graduate Studies, the decision will become final. Written notification of the final decision on the petition is sent by the School of Graduate Studies to the student within 10 days of the decision. Unresolved differences between the student, the college or school, and/or the dean of the School of Graduate Studies shall be appealed to the Graduate Student Affairs Committee. An action taken on a petition will not be considered as a precedent for any future action. Petitions of program requirements, as opposed to graduate school requirements, need not come to the School of Graduate Studies.