Guidelines for the Consideration of Petitions/Appeals by Faculty Committees
These guidelines should inform the actions and decisions of Faculty committees and administrative personnel in responding to student academic petitions and appeals. They are not intended to direct the decisions of the Faculty in these matters; jurisdiction to waive academic regulations, extend deadlines and reappraise work clearly resides with Faculties in the first instance. These guidelines are to advise the relevant parties in their work to help foster equitable and consistent decisions across the University. It is recognized that the nature (performance, professional, graduate) and size of the various Faculties make it highly improbable to have uniform procedures and processes. There are areas in which greater consistency among the Faculties’ processes can be achieved and it is to that end that these guidelines are proposed.
Structure
a) Academic Petitions Committee/Associate Dean: As all Faculties have agreed to consider requests for exceptions from Faculty regulations, there shall be a committee or a senior academic administrator charged with the responsibility of reviewing the academic petitions and rendering decisions on the basis of the reasons and supporting documentation provided by the student.
b) Administratively Approved Academic Petitions: To help offset large caseloads, academic petitions may be recommended for approval by the Petitions Officer (or equivalent) and confirmed by the Chair of the Academic Petitions Committee (or designate).
