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Academic Petitions

Petition Information and Package

An academic petition is a formal request by a student for the waiver of a Faculty regulation or deadline.

Students have the right to petition with grounds for special consideration. However, submitting an academic petition is not always the best solution to an academic problem. Be sure to connect with an Academic Advisor in the Faculty of Health to review your options to remediate your situation.

Please watch the video and review the information below for further guidance.

The presentation which will guide you through the process of submitting a petition.

HH Petitions Informational Video Transcript (PDF)

Types of Petitions and Their Requirements

Please read the information below regarding the type of petition you plan to submit. Please remember that incomplete petition packages will not be reviewed by a Petitions Committee. Incomplete petitions missing required documents will be cancelled and students will be notified via email to resubmit the complete petition package. Petitions must be submitted online, so prepare to scan and upload all your petition documents when making your submission.

What is Late Withdrawal?

A petition for late withdrawal is a request to drop a course after the official drop deadlines.

It's important to note that if a student chooses the "W" option for a course before the withdrawal deadline using the Registration and Enrollment Module, they will not be permitted to file an academic petition to drop the course.

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter that explains the exceptional situation you encountered that affected your studies and prevented you from dropping or withdrawing from the course by the term’s deadlines.
    • The petition letter must be entered directly in the form and can be a maximum of 1500 words. Letters prepared in another program can be copied/cut and in the form.
  • Recommended: Supporting Documentation (i.e. Attending Physician Statement, Counsellor Statement, etc.) or other documentation to support the request.

Potential Committee Decisions

Petitions Committees can choose to:
a) refuse the petition
b) grant a withdrawal (W) on the transcript, or
c) grant a full drop of the course from the transcript.

For further information on the “Withdrawn from Courses” policy, please visit: Academic Forgiveness Policies, Senate

Late Withdrawal Letter Petition Resources:

Submission Deadlines

Petitions pertaining to the late withdrawal of specific courses must be submitted within 30 days from the last day of classes. Petitions may be considered for up to 1 year if there are extenuating circumstances to explain the lateness.

If your petition is late, please be sure to explain the reasons for the lateness, preferably with supporting evidence for the Petitions Committee to consider waiving the submission deadline.

What is Deferred Standing?

A petition for deferred standing or extension of deferred standing is required when a student has missed a final exam or has missed the deadline to submit a final assignment and would like to request an extension of the deadline.

Required Documents

  • A petition letter that explains the exceptional situation you encountered during the time of the final examination date and/or final assignment submission deadline and strategies you will implement to successfully complete the final if the petition is granted.
The highlighted section must be completed by the course director.

If applicable: other documentation to support the request.

Note: there is no provision to rewrite a final exam. Such requests will not be considered by the Faculty of Health Petitions Committee. Special accommodations for coursework/exams in a course are at the discretion of the Course Director or Department of the course and are not guaranteed.

Submission Deadlines

A request for deferred standing must be communicated to the Course Director within 7 days from the missed final exam or missed submission deadline for term work. If a request for deferred standing is refused by the professor, a petition must then be submitted.

Petitions for deferred standing normally will not be considered if submitted more than one month after the date of a missed final exam, or more than one month after the last day to submit term work.

The maximum course load for the Fall/Winter academic session is 36 credits. The maximum course load for the Summer academic session is 15 credits.

Students who wish to take more than the maximum-allowed course load must petition for a course overload.

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter that explains the exceptional reasons you require a course overload and strategies you will implement to manage the overload if the petition is granted
  • A sample timetable with potential course load.
    • Build your timetable using the Visual Schedule Builder to generate your sample timetable.
    • Include the course(s) you are already enrolled into.
    • Include the course(s) you wish to take if you are granted the course overload.

What is Waiver Honours Standing?

A petition to waive Honours standing regulations is required for students who do not meet the required cumulative grade point average (CGPA) to continue in an Honours program.

This petition is applicable to BA/BSc/BHS students who have earned 84 or more credits and do not have the required 5.00 (C+) CGPA to proceed in an Honours program

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter that outlines the following:
    • The intended program of interest (including degree type and major)
    • An academic plan that addresses:
      • Remaining courses needed to complete the program
      • The grades necessary to continue in Honours
      • The resources and strategies that will be implemented to achieve the required grades and support your academic progression
      • The exceptional situation that affected your studies and how that situation has been resolved or is in the process of resolution
      • Recommended: supporting documentation

Academic Waiver Petition Letter Resources:

What is Honours Standing?

A petition to waive Honours standing regulations is required for students who do not meet the required cumulative grade point average (CGPA) to continue in an Honours program.

This petition is applicable to BScN students who have earned 120 or more credits and do not have the required 5.00 (C+) CGPA and/or have failed to meet the conditions of program warning and are ineligible to proceed in the Nursing program.

*Prior to submitting an academic petition, please ensure that you have met with the Undergraduate Program Director or designate to discuss your progression in the Nursing program

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter that outlines the following:
    • The intended program of interest (including degree type and major)
    • An academic plan that addresses:
      • Remaining courses needed to complete the program
      • The grades necessary to continue in Honours
      • The resources and strategies that will be implemented to achieve the required grades and support your academic progression
      • The exceptional situation that affected your studies and how that situation has been resolved or is in the process of resolution
      • Recommended: supporting documentation

Academic Waiver Petition Letter Resources:

A petition to take additional credits is required for:

  • Students in a Bachelor program that have taken the maximum allowed credits and whose GPA is below the required 4.00 (C).
  • Students in an Honours program that have earned 120+ credits and whose GPA has fallen below the required 5.00 (C+).

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter with an academic plan that outlines:
    • The number of credits being requested and the remaining courses to complete the program
    • The grades necessary to achieve and maintain the required CGPA for the program
    • The resources and strategies that will be implemented to achieve the required grades and support your academic progression
    • The exceptional situation that affected your studies and how that situation has been resolved or is in the process of resolution
  • Recommended: supporting documentation

Students who have been required to withdraw for 12 months at the end of an academic session may petition to waive this decision and continue their studies on Debarment Warning without the 12-month interruption.

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter that outlines:
    • The exceptional situation that affected your studies and how that situation has been resolved or is in the process of resolution
    • The resources and strategies that will be implemented to support your academic progression and meet the conditions of debarment warning
  • Recommended: supporting documentation

Academic Waiver Petition Letter Resources:

Students who have been debarred for 2 years at the end of an academic session may petition to waive this decision to continue their studies on Probation without leaving York University for 2 years and having to re-apply for admission.

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter that outlines:
    • The exceptional situation that affected your studies and how that situation has been resolved or is in the process of resolution
    • The resources and strategies that will be implemented to support your academic progression and meet the conditions of probation
  • Recommended: supporting documentation

Academic Waiver Petition Letter Resources:

With extenuating circumstances, students may petition to have a degree requirement waived or altered. Examples of requirements include: upper level, general education, elective or residency.

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter that explains the exceptional reasons why the degree requirement(s) should be waived or altered.
  • Recommended: supporting documentation

Academic Waiver Petition Letter Resources:

Students who have missed the last day to add a course with permission by the course instructor may petition to enroll late in a course.

Required Documentation

  •  A petition letter that explains that exceptional situation you encountered that prevented you from adding the course by the required deadline.
  • Recommended: supporting documentation

A repeated course is excluded from the grade point average and credit count and is denoted on the transcript with an NCR notation beside the grade. Students who wish to have a repeated course included in their grade point average and credit count may petition to alter the course repeat legislation.

Required Documentation

  • A petition letter that explains the exceptional reason why the course repeat legislation should be altered
  • Recommended: supporting documentation

What is an Appeal?

Students who disagree with the result of a petition, have new evidence to support their request that was not available at the time of the petition, or find evidence of bias, prejudice or procedural irregularity in the handling of a petition file may appeal the decision.

An appeal is reviewed by a separate Petitions Committee composed of members who were not on the panel that adjudicated the original petition.

How Do I Appeal a Petition Decision?

Appeals may be submitted using the petition online submission form. Please be sure to select “Appeal” as the type of request when completing the online form.

An appeal package must include:

  • An appeal letter explaining the new grounds and/or evidence you are addressing to support your request. It is recommended to address why this new information or evidence was not included in the original petition.
  • Strongly recommended: new supporting evidence that was not available at the time of the petition

NOTE: The Petition Committee adjudicating the appeal package will also have access to the original petition package. Students who are appealing do not need to resubmit the original petition in the appeal package.

NOTE: Appeals are reviewed by a different panel of members than the panel that adjudicated the original petition.

A course performance summary is required for late withdrawal and deferred standing petitions. This form must be completed by the Course Director for each course being petitioned. If the Course Director is unavailable, the form may be brought to the Department of the course for completion by the Undergraduate Program Director or Chair if they are acting on behalf of the Course Director.

The highlighted section must be completed by the course director.

Course Performance Summary (PDF) 

Petitions based on medical grounds should include an Attending Physician Statement form. The APS is a required form for deferred standing requests based on medical grounds.

The APS must include a stamp/license number AND signature from the physician. APS forms without the required signatures and stamps from the physician will not be considered.

Attending Physician Statement (PDF) (link to RO website)

Students receiving counselling or development support may include a Counsellor Statement completed by a counsellor or other respective equivalent professional. The Counsellor Statement does not replace an Attending Physician Statement.

Counsellor Statement (PDF) (link to RO website)

The Deferred Standing Agreement form is required for all deferred standing and extension of deferred standing petition requests.

This form must be completed by the Course Director. If the Course Director is unavailable, the form may be brought to the Department of the course for completion by the Undergraduate Program Director or Chair, if they are acting on behalf of the Course Director.

Deferred Standing Agreement (PDF) (link to RO website)

Student petitioning to enrol late in a course after the last date to add a course with permission from the instructor must include a Petition to Enrol Late form that is signed by the Course Director.

The form requires Course Director and Departmental signatures.

Petition to Enrol Late (PDF) (link to RO website)

A petition letter addresses the exceptional circumstances that have required you to submit an academic petition. It is important to be clear on the type of petition you are submitting (i.e. regulation you are petitioning), and the circumstances related to the petition.

General tips for writing your petition letter:

  • Clearly state the regulation you are petitioning (i.e. late withdrawal, deferred standing, waiver etc.), and any relevant courses being petitioned.
  • Sequence of events: outline how your circumstances aligned with the timelines of the course(s) and impacted the course(s). Address relevant dates and timelines.
  • Refer to any relevant supporting documentation that supports your grounds
  • Address selectivity: if you are petitioning some but not all the courses taken in the same academic session or term, address how the petitioned course(s) was particularly affected by your circumstances.
  • Missed deadlines: Explain how your circumstances impacted your ability to meet academic deadlines (i.e. final exam date or drop deadlines, etc.)
  • If applicable: outline the steps you have undertaken to improve academic performance, and those you will undertake if your petition is granted
  • Address each circumstance in a separate paragraph
  • Edit and proof-read the letter for errors and grammar prior to submission

The academic petition process is confidential. However, students who have privacy concerns and would like to exclude certain details from their supporting evidence may pursue the following options:

  • Redact private and personal information from personal supporting evidence. This may affect the result of the petition, depending on the information that is excluded from the evidence. It is not recommended to redact your name on personal supporting evidence. OSAS may follow-up to verify the information that has been redacted.
  • Instead of firsthand personal records (i.e. hospital records, police reports, etc.), students may provide a letter of support from a recognized third party (i.e. Attending Physician, Counsellor, Lawyer etc.) that is familiar to the situation and can attest to the timeframe of the extenuating circumstances and the effects of the extenuating circumstances on the student’s academic progress.

Petitions may take up to 10 weeks to process from the date of submission.

Graduating? Please be mindful of these processing times if you are planning to graduate. It is recommended to postpone graduation until a petition decision has been received.

Students will receive their petition decision letter via email. The petition decision letter will outline the grounds for the petition decision and will provide students with any necessary next steps.

To verify your contact information, please visit Current Students - Personal Information.

Please note that York University emails may sometimes be sent to SPAM or TRASH when using an external email. If you have a petition that is pending, please be sure to check these folders for safe measure.

The Faculty of Health will be offering webinars to guide students through the petition process. During the webinar you will have the opportunity to chat with the Petitions Coordinator and/or an Academic Advisor to discuss your academic petition questions.

To Attend Online: 

On the day of the webinar, please click on the relative access link. We recommend accessing the link at least 5 minutes prior to the start time of the webinar (noted as “Time to Join Webinar” below). Students attending online should log in promptly at the start time of the webinar. The webinar will be locked after the time to join the webinar and students will not be able to log in.

Note: you do not require video or microphone access to participate in the petitions webinars online.

To Attend In-Person: 

On the day of the webinar, please sign-in at 235 Calumet College at least 5 minutes prior to the webinar start time (noted as “Time to Join Webinar” below). Students will not be permitted to join the webinar in-person after it has started.

Note: workshop webinars consist of a presentation beginning promptly at the listed start time. Following the presentation, there will be individual appointment times where students may liaise with the Petitions Coordinator or Academic Advisor to discuss their questions. 

If you have any outstanding questions or concerns regarding your petition, please contact the Petitions Coordinator at hhpet@yorku.ca.

Academic Petitions Webinar

This webinar is open to all Faculty of Health students that require guidance on the academic petition process.

DateTime to Join WebinarAccess Link
Tuesday, December 3
Tuesday, December 17		10:30 am - 10:35 amZoom Meeting Link
Tuesday, December 102:30 pm - 2:35 pmZoom Meeting Link

All academic petitions to the Faculty of Health must be submitted online!

If you have watched our informational video, reviewed the necessary information and collected all the necessary documents, you may submit your academic petition using the link below:

Submit Academic Petition Online

IMPORTANT: the Faculty of Health no longer requires undergraduate students to submit hard-copy petitions to Registrarial Services. All academic petitions to the Faculty of Health must be submitted online using the link.

NOTES:

  • Please remember that incomplete petition packages will not be reviewed by a Petitions Committee.
  • Incomplete petitions missing required documents will be cancelled and students will be notified via email to resubmit the complete petition package.
  • Petitions must be submitted online, so prepare to scan and upload all your petition documents when making your submission.

Petitions decisions may take upwards of 10 weeks from the point of submission of a complete petition package during peak periods (May – September). During non-peak periods, please allow at least up to 6 weeks for a petition decision.

You will be notified of your petition decision by email. The petition decision letter will be sent to the email that is on record with York University.

Please be sure that your contact information is correct and up-to-date by visiting Current Students - Personal Information.

Note: external email addresses (such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) may receive the petition decision email in a spam or trash folder.

Please note that petitions may take several weeks to process. However, you may email the Faculty of Health Petitions Office at hhpet@yorku.ca to inquire on the status of your petition.

Reminder: Decision letters are sent via email. We have had cases where petition decision letters were sent to the email’s spam or trash folder because the student was using an external email address. Please be sure to check these folders.

Additionally, please be sure that your contact information is up-to-date and correct by visiting Current Students - Personal Information.

Congratulations on your granted petition/appeal! Please allow up to 15 business days from the date of the petition/appeal letter for the Registrar’s Office to update your record with the applicable changes.

Supporting documentation is recommended for all petitions. If your personal letter references a “documentable” event, include supporting documentation. Petitions can be denied due to lack of documentation. For example, a death in the family is recommended to have a death certificate to support the request.

As of March 2020, Faculty of Health students are no longer required to submit hard-copy petition files to the Registrar’s Office. Instead, Faculty of Health students are now required to submit their academic petitions online, using the online petition submission form.

If you are unable to visit the campus to complete required documentation for your petition (CPS, DSA, PEL), you may consult with the relevant Department to request the documents electronically.

Students are required to submit academic petitions to their Home Faculty. For example, if you are a Faculty of Health student petitioning to drop a course offered by the Faculty of Science, the late withdrawal petition request for the course must be submitted to the Faculty of Health.

Students who missed their final exam or the deadline to submit a final assignment will need to meet with their Course Director to request a deferred standing to complete the final exam or submit the assignment at a later date.

If the Course Director cannot accommodate a deferred standing, you may request a deferred standing by submitting an academic petition. For information on the requirements for a complete academic petition package to request a deferred standing, please see Types of Petitions and Their Requirements section.

Students who were granted a deferred standing to complete a final exam or submit a final assignment, but missed the set deadline, may petition for an extension of deferred standing. For information on the requirements for a complete academic petition package to request an extension of deferred standing, please see Types of Petitions and Their Requirements section.

Reminder: it is the student’s responsibility to pick up the form from the Department when it is ready.

You are required to submit the CPS to the Department of the course to complete Section 2 of the form. For example, if you are petitioning a Psychology course, the Psychology Department will assist with the completion of Section 2.

You are encouraged to contact the Department of the course via email to request the completion of Section 2. Please also request to have the completed form sent to you via email.

Reminder: it is the student’s responsibility to retrieve the form from the Department when it is ready and include it in the petition package.

Students may include all courses in the same petition package. However, when petitioning courses from different academic sessions, we recommend organizing the petition letter to address the different academic sessions in different paragraphs. You may also consider separating each thought with headings so that the petition letter is clear and organized.

Students may request to petition multiple regulations in the same petition package (i.e. petition for a waiver of required withdrawal and petition for a late withdrawal from courses). However, we recommend writing separate letters for each regulation being petitioned or clearly distinguishing the regulations with headings if they are being addressed in one letter. It’s important to make the letter clear and easy to follow!

Students who would like to pursue a grade reappraisal must do so by requesting it from the department of the course. The Faculty of Health Petitions Committee does not adjudicate on grade reappraisal requests.

For information on the Grade Reappraisal process, please visit: My Academic Record.

Please note: if you have missed the deadline to request a grade reappraisal from the department, you may petition to waive the grade reappraisal deadline. However, the Petitions Committee will only consider a waiver of the submission deadline. For further information please email the Faculty of Health Petitions Office at hhpet@yorku.ca.

For additional questions pertaining to academic petitions, please contact the Faculty of Health Petitions Office at hhpet@yorku.ca

For general inquiries regarding your academic program or record, you may contact the Office of Student and Academic Services by email at hhadvise@yorku.ca to speak with an Academic Advisor.

To consult with the Petitions Coordinator by email please complete the online inquiry form.