A petition to the Faculty of Arts Examinations and Standings Committee must be submitted in those instances in which a student seeks exception from normal Faculty or University rules and regulations because of special circumstances such as illness or bereavement. Petitions should be undertaken in consultation with the student's academic advisor.
Petitions may include (but are not limited to) the following: requests to drop or add courses after the deadline; withdraw without academic penalty; take an additional course above the specified maximum for a term; take a course on a credit/no credit basis (other than courses normally so designated); reconsideration of academic standing. Petitions for Exception to Academic Regulations may not be submitted for courses that are part of an already conferred degree.
Appropriate supporting documentation must accompany all petitions and should include a timeline of events. Such documentation may consist of certification of illness/injury from a medical professional; statements from employers regarding work hours/conditions; documentation for personal difficulties from an appropriate counselling individual/body, (e.g., Counselling Services, a university chaplain or other clergy); verification of bereavement (e.g., obituary notice). The Examinations and Standings Committee respects the confidentiality of all documentation submitted to it as it deliberates. Students should be aware, however, that claims made in a petition regarding another individual/body (e.g., claims regarding interaction between a student and an instructor) may require the Committee to verify such claims with that individual/body.
The Faculty of Arts Examinations and Standings Committee will review petitions submitted within three years of the end of the term in question. The Committee may review petitions if the applicable term occurred between three and five years in the past, but only if accompanied by an explanation as to the circumstances that resulted in the submission delay. The Chair of the Examinations and Standings Committee will determine if the Committee will consider a petition if the applicable term occurred more than five years in the past.
Instructors may submit grade changes within 12 months of the end of the term in question. After 12 months, grades may only be changed with a Petition for Exception to Academic Regulations via the Faculty of Arts Examinations and Standings Committee, and only if accompanied with an explanation as to the circumstances that resulted in the delay. The Chair of the Examinations and Standings Committee will determine if the Committee will consider a petition if the applicable term occurred more than five years in the past.
The Petition for Exception to Academic Regulations (form 70A) form is available on the Registrar's Office website (see Petition Forms). See the Student Petitions and Grievances Policy (University of Waterloo Policy #70).