Petition Letter Guidelines – Waivers (i.e. waiver of required withdrawal, debarment, Honours standing regulations, upgrade GPA/take additional credits)
When petitioning for a waiver to proceed in your studies without interruption (i.e. waiver of required withdrawal, debarment, upgrade GPA) or to continue in an Honours program (i.e. honours waiver, upgrade GPA), it is important to address a concrete academic/personal plan with which you will proceed in your studies and explain how any extenuating circumstances have been rectified to support your studies.
Be sure to:
- Explain your academic plan for meeting the conditions of the waiver you are requesting, including:
- Courses you plan to take/repeat and the grades needed to meet the conditions of the waiver; the course load you will maintain
- The resources/strategies you will implement to support your studies. See examples below related to academic advising, student success/support programs, York University resources, etc.
- Discuss your circumstances and how they align with any course that were negatively impacted
- Explain how the hardship will be addressed/rectified. What steps have you taken to address/rectify any hardships that were negatively affecting your academic performance? What resources have you accessed? Examples could be:
- seeking academic advising through the Faculty of Health Office of Student Academic Services
- attending Learning Skills workshops (i.e., time management, note-taking, exam prep etc.) offered by Student Community and Leadership Development
- seeking support from Student Counselling, Health and Well-being:
- seeking academic support through Calumet and Stong Colleges Student Success Programs
- seeking mentorship through the Calumet and Stong Colleges Peer Mentoring Program
- seeking academic support for non-Faculty of Health courses through other student support/success programs at other Colleges, departments/Faculties, or at York University (e.g. Student Accessibility Services,)
- any other plan of action or resources you have implemented to support you
- Include supporting documentation where at all possible (e.g. medical note, email records, counsellor statement, death certificate, resources being accessed etc.) and make reference to documents within letter
Additional Writing Tips:
- Letter should begin with greeting to Petition Committee (i.e. Dear Faculty of Health Petitions Committee)
- Use paragraphs to separate out each point you are making
- Paragraphs should refer to supporting document included in petition to support grounds
- HELPFUL RESOURCE: use the relevant Petition Letter Outline Template for your petition type to help organize your thoughts/points
- Edit and proofread the letter multiple times prior to submission
- Allow trusted others to read your letter and incorporate their feedback prior to submission
Download the Petition Letter Outline Template (Waivers)