How to Submit a Petition to the Office of the Registrar
What is a petition?
A petition is the process by which students can request an exception to a policy or posted deadline. Petitions regarding processes and/or deadlines directly administered by the Office of the Registrar require review by the Committee on Registrar Standards and Policy.
A student who believes his or her situation is unusual and merits consideration for an exception may submit a petition to the Committee by completing the Office of the Registrar Petitions Form. Petitions related to the following policies will be considered:
- Course add/drop
- Course withdrawal
- Declaration of major or minor
- Change of program
- Part-time status
- Semester check-in
- Repeated courses (requesting an exception to the policies pertaining to enrolling in a course for a second or subsequent time)
- Maximum credits per term (registration of credits beyond maximum credit load that are not included in full-time tuition due to misadvising, change of program requirements, etc.)
- Eligibility for commencement participation
The following categories do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Registrar:
- tuition refunds
- disability accommodations
- visa status-related inquiries
- academic or disciplinary probation/suspension
When should a student submit a petition?
A petition should be submitted when a student has experienced events or occurrences beyond their control that have prevented them from following posted deadlines related to the policies listed above.
These types of extenuating circumstances must be documented and submitted as part of the petition, unless they are explicitly related to an error caused by the college. You are expected to gather supporting documentation (e.g., previous email correspondences with faculty or staff members or written correspondence from a physician) and submit it as part of your petition.
Please note: A petition is considered a final resort and should only be submitted after you have exhausted all other options (e.g. speaking to the relevant faculty, staff members, and/or chairs in an attempt to resolve the problem at hand). All petition results are final and any requests to revisit a petition based solely on dissatisfaction with the outcome will not be considered.
How to submit a petition
You may only submit a petition after you have discussed your concerns with a staff member in the Office of the Registrar via email or phone. This will ensure that you have exhausted all other options before submitting your petition.
To submit a petition, please fill out the Office of the Registrar Petitions Form. Once the form is submitted, you will be contacted within five business days with a decision.
