Two distinct situations in which a student may wish to request special consideration are the following: an appeal of an academic grade or decision, and a petition for special consideration. In the case of an appeal, the student is disputing the grade or decision for reasons which must be provided; in the case of a petition, the student agrees that the rules have been applied fairly and is not disputing grades but, rather, is requesting special consideration because of extenuating circumstances. The procedure by which such requests will be considered is described in the following paragraphs. The University policy on student grievances and associated procedures is summarized in Policy "70" and copies of the complete Student Grievance Policy, UW Policy "70," are available from the Associate Deans, the Registrar's Office, the University Graduate Office, the University Secretariat, and the Ombudsperson.
Petitions
Petitions apply in those instances where a student acknowledges that the rules and regulations of the University have been applied fairly but is requesting that an exception to the regulations be made because of special circumstances. A petition is launched by submitting a Petition for Exception to Academic Regulations form to the Assistant Registrar for Engineering (BAS, BASc, or BSE), Registrar's Office, University of Waterloo. Reasons for such requests for special treatment as well as supporting documentation, including medical certificates and similar documents, must be provided with the petition. If a successful petition would reverse an academic decision, the petition must be received prior to four weeks after the date of issue of the marks for the corresponding term in order to facilitate entry into the immediately following term if so desired by the student. Petitions which are launched later than six months after the end of the term for which the decision would be affected normally will not be considered.
All petitions are considered by the Faculty Examinations and Promotions Committee. This committee will also acquire and consider the recommendation made by the student's home department, and by the Department of Co-operative Education and Career Services if the petition concerns work term considerations, before making its decision. Students normally do not appear in person before the committee at the meeting at which the case will be considered; only if such an appearance will provide relevant information that cannot be communicated through the written petition and supporting documents will such an appearance be granted. Requests for personal appearances will be considered by the Associate Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Studies.
Since a Petition for Exception to Academic Regulations does not dispute an academic evaluation or application of the rules and regulations of the University, the decision of the Examinations and Promotions Committee with regard to petitions is final; there is no appeal of an unsuccessful petition. The Assistant Registrar for Engineering shall notify the student in writing of the outcome of the petition within two weeks of the Examinations and Promotions Committee meeting at which the petition was considered.
Appeals
If the student believes that a decision or action is unfair, or that the student has been otherwise treated unfairly, or if the student believes that an academic evaluation or judgment is incorrect, that student may launch an appeal. All appeals normally must be launched within two months either of being notified of an adverse decision or from the end of the term in which the alleged event(s) occurred. The first step of an appeal is always an informal inquiry. This may be followed by a formal review, which may be followed by a hearing, if warranted.
A student shall initiate an informal inquiry by going directly to the appropriate instructor, officer, or University authority. The appeal will proceed beyond the informal inquiry stage only after evidence has been presented to the Associate Dean 1 that a direct discussion between the student and the instructor, officer, or University authority has failed to produce agreement.
Within 10 working days of receiving the response to the informal inquiry, or if there is no timely response, the student may submit a Request for a Formal Review form to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies. The Request for a Formal Review is used both to appeal decisions and actions and to request a Formal Re-Read of a piece of work (e.g., an examination, thesis, project, work term report, course assignment, essay, laboratory report, etc.) in which the mark or assessment is questioned. The Associate Dean shall submit a copy of the Request for a Formal Review form to the Associate Chair of the department involved who shall conduct an investigation and submit a written report to the Associate Dean. The Associate Dean shall communicate the results of the Formal Review to the student. In the case of a Formal Re-Read, the Associate Chair shall select a qualified new reader or readers who shall provide an assessment of the work using the marking scheme of the original instructor. The Associate Chair may decide that a re-read is not appropriate and shall so inform the Associate Dean, with reasons; otherwise, the Associate Chair shall determine from the evidence available, including the results of the re-read, the assessment that will be given to the work. The result can be a raising, lowering, or maintaining of the student's grade. The Associate Dean shall notify the student of the decision in writing and with reasons.
The next step, and the final one for appeals concerning academic judgment or assessment of a student's work, is the Hearing. Within 10 working days of receipt of the decision of the Formal Review, the student shall submit a Request for a Hearing form to the University Committee on Student Appeals Chair or the appropriate Faculty Committee on Student Appeals Chair. For details, the student is directed to the University Student Grievance Policy, UW Policy "70."
1 BSE appeals will be handled jointly by the Associate Deans of Engineering and Mathematics. Students enrolled in Software Engineering may present their material to either the Associate Dean, Undergraduate, Faculty of Mathematics or Associate Dean, Undergraduate, Faculty of Engineering.