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 must be made prior to the degree being conferred.
Petitions may include (but are not limited to) the following requests:
- to drop or add courses after the deadline;
- to withdraw without academic penalty;
- to take an additional course above the specified maximum for a term;
- a numeric grade be changed to a credit/no credit grade.
The Petition for Exception to Academic Regulations (Form 70A) is required and is available on the Undergraduate Studies Forms website. See the Student Petitions and Grievances Policy (University of Waterloo Policy #70). Appropriate supporting documentation must accompany all petitions and should include a timeline of events.
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.
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.