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Petitioning For A Waiver Or An Exception

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Petitions:

  1. What is it?
  2. What is in a petition?
  3. How is the decision made?
  1. What is it?
    The LS&A faculty has created the LS&A Academic Standards Board (partly) to hear requests from students about waivers or exceptions regarding academic rules and requirements. Any LS&A student can petition the Board about any academic rule. But there aren't that many situations where a petition is useful.

  2. What is in a petition?
    You write a letter explaining what you are requesting and giving all relevant circumstances about why an exception is justified. In every case, you need to verify that you should not be expected to fulfill the rule as it applies to everyone in the College. For example, you might ask to change an election from grade to pass/fail . The only basis for the petition is that you can document having processed the election as pass/fail and can show where the system subsequently altered the election not at your request. It isn't good enough to say that you meant to take the course pass/fail or to show that your friends and your instructor believed you had elected the course pass/fail.

  3. How is the decision made?
    A panel of Board members reads the petition, looks at the advising file and your academic history, and makes a vote in light of all similar petitions already decided. A Board member from that panel then writes you a letter telling you the answer and the reasons for it. Board members try very hard to hear requests and produce answering letters no later than two weeks after the petition is submitted.

    You are responsible to know academic rules and requirements of the College. All that information is spelled out in the LS&A Bulletin. Not very many petitions ever could be granted which are based on "I didn't know." You always can meet with an academic advisor or a Board member about any academic problem or concern you have. You might wind up petitioning, and whether or not a petition could be granted, advisors always can help you to deal with the results of the problem you have.

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