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Petition To Drop A Course from the Transcript

If you are using one the Generative AI tools (Chat GPT, Llama, Gemini, etc.) to help create your letter, remember:

  1. You should NOT submit what is produced without editing it;
  2. You need to ADD the details specific to your case.  The committee needs to know dates and circumstances, and it needs to hear YOUR voice;
  3. Petition letters lacking the necessary details will lead to unsucessful petitions – while you can use LLMs to help create a draft, they should onlybe used as a tool to get you started. 

A Petition to Drop a Course from the Transcript is a formal request to drop or withdraw from a course(s) after the deadlines .  Petitions will be considered if there were exceptional circumstances faced during the term(s) in question.

NOTE: You cannot petition to drop a course if you have already chosen to withdraw (notation of W on transcript).

It is strongly recommended that you meet with an advisor prior to submitting a petition.

You can submit a petition to drop a course on one of the following grounds:

  • Hardship: circumstances that affected your academic performance and also can reasonably be seen to have caused your decision not to drop/withdraw, or inability to drop/withdraw from the course.
  • First-year transition: circumstances related to transitioning to your first University session
  • Insufficient academic feedback by the course drop deadline: the instructor did not hand back sufficient work by the course drop deadline (see the Senate Policy for Grading Scheme and Feedback)
  • Non-participation: you neither attended the course nor completed any coursework.

Personal Statement(s): You will be prompted to answer specific questions about your exceptional circumstances as part of your petition, Please answer the questions as directly as possible, including all relevant dates.

Supporting Documentation: Petitions on the grounds of hardship or non-participation should normally include any relevant supporting documentation.
Think of it this way: for any statement you have made about your circumstances and the timeline, you should include documentation that supports/proves what you have written.

Some examples of supporting documentation you can use:

  •  Proof of other circumstances (e.g., death certificate, letter of support from the Centre for Sexual Violence Response, Support & Education, travel tickets, course syllabus, etc.)

The following documents cannot be considered as evidence:

  • Photos
  • Undated letters
  • Most documents that do not name you specifically
  • Documents in a language other than English or French, unless they have been professionally translated and notarized.

Course Performance Summary (CPS): You will be required to submit a CPS form, filled out and signed by the instructor or department, for each course included in your petition. If you have any difficulty obtaining a CPS, contact the relevant department , and if you still experience difficulties, contact Academic Services.

This does not apply to the first-year transition petition.

You should always submit your petition as soon as you can.

Petitions submitted on the grounds of insufficient academic feedback must be submitted promptly after receiving the required feedback.

All other types of petitions to drop a course will only be considered if they are submitted within 30 days of the last day of classes of the relevant course.

Petitions submitted outside of these deadlines may be considered for a period of one year if they are based on special circumstances. Your statements and documentation need to justify the delay.

Your petition will be reviewed by Academic Services for completion and then anonymized and sent to the Petitions Committee for a decision.

Only completed petitions will be forwarded to the Committee for review.

The Petitions Committee meets once a month, from August-June.

You will receive a decision letter by e-mail, normally within two weeks of the Committee meeting.

  • Granted as a course drop (removal):
    The course and grade would be completely removed from your transcript. The course and grade will not affect your GPA.
  • Refused:
    The course and grade will not be altered in any way. The course and grade will still appear on your transcript, and your final grade will still be calculated in your GPA, as per the normal regulations.
  • Granted an alternate solution:
    In some rare cases, the Petitions Committee may decide to apply a different solution to your file.

Please note that once the Petitions Committee has made a decision about your petition, your request cannot be withdrawn.

Please submit your petition within 30 days of the last day of classes.

*It is highly recommended that you prepare your responses in a Word processor and copy + paste them into the form. Note that you can save your progress and resume later if you need time to write your responses or gather documentation.*

Submit Your Petition