If you are using Generative AI tools (Chat GPT, Llama, Gemini, etc.) to create your letter, remember:
- You should NOT submit what is produced without editing it;
- 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;
- 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.
Petition for Deferred Standing is a formal request for deferred standing in a course when one or more of the following conditions applies:
- The course director/department has refused your request for deferred standing;
- You missed your deferral due date and the course director/department has refused your request for a further extension;
- The deadline you are requesting to submit your coursework and/or complete your final exam are after the final deadlines for deferred grades to be submitted. For Glendon courses, the regular deadlines are:
- April 1st for Term F;
- August 1st for Term Y or W;
- September 1st for Term S1 or other courses in the first half of the summer session;
- October 1st for Term S2, SU, or other courses in the second half of the summer session.
Petitions will be considered if there were exceptional circumstances faced during the term and/or regular deferral period in question. It is strongly recommended that you meet with an advisor prior to submitting a petition
You can submit a petition for deferred standing if you have experienced exceptional circumstances during the term and/or regular deferral period that negatively impacted your ability to complete your final coursework, and you anticipate being able to complete the coursework soon.
If your circumstances are ongoing, and you don’t anticipate being able to complete the outstanding coursework or caused you to miss too much of the course, a petition to drop the course from your transcript might be more appropriate.
Deferred Coursework Form: You must complete the top section of this form, and have the course director or department complete the section in grey. Once you have the signatures, you must upload it during the submission process. You should obtain this form as your first step.
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 should normally include 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:
- Attending Physician’s or Attending Counsellor’s Statement
- 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.
Petition for Deferred Standing - Deferred Coursework Form: You will be required to submit a two-page Deferred Coursework Form with Course Performance Summary, filled out and signed by the instructor or department, for each course included in your petition. If you have any difficulty receiving a copy from your instructor, contact the relevant department, and if you still experience difficulties, contact Academic Services.
You should always submit your petition as soon as you can.
The deadline to submit a petition for deferred standing is no later than five working days after the end of the examination period for the appropriate term.
The deadline to submit a petition for an extension of deferred standing is no later than five working days after the missed deferred exam or the deferred due date of the assignment.
Petitions submitted outside of these deadlines may be considered 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.
NOTE: You should continue to complete your coursework based on your own proposed schedule, and to study for any tests or exams, in anticipation of a potentially successful petition. If your petition is granted and you have missed your proposed deadlines, a further extension is unlikely to be granted on the grounds of inadequate notice.
- Granted with the deadlines you have proposed:
Continue with your coursework submission as you had originally proposed. If you are approved to write a deferred test or exam, it is your responsibility to follow up with the department to ensure arrangements are made to write the test/exam. - Granted with alternate deadlines:
The Committee may approve your request with different (usually earlier) deadlines. - Refused:
No additional coursework can be included in your final grade. Your professor will submit your grade, if it hasn’t already been submitted, with a 0 calculated for any outstanding coursework or tests/exams. - Granted an alternate solution:
In some rare cases, the Petitions Committee may decide to apply a different solution to your file.
Please submit your petition using the online form linked below. Once you have successfully submitted your petition, you will receive confirmation of its receipt by e-mail.
*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.*
Do you have a quick question that you would like an immediate answer to? Check out our FAQ page!