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Student Academic Petitions & Appeals Committee

The Student Academic Petitions & Appeals Committee works to create a fair and open environment in LA&PS by supporting hearings for student academic petitions & appeals in our Faculty.

The Committee meets twice a week every other week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday in four rotating panels. Each panel meets twice per month.

From section 6.7 of the rules and procedures of council, updated April 2021.

When constituted as the Petitions Committee, the Committee shall: 

1. Track statistical data and, in light of them, make recommendations to Council on policy matters and procedures relating to student academic petitions.

When constituted as the Petitions Adjudications Committee, the Committee shall: 

2. Receive and act on student academic petitions and grade reappraisal appeals, including petitions against the application of Faculty, Departmental and School rules and regulations;

3. Meet in panels for consideration of cases for the adjudication of petitions and appeals against previous committee decisions. 

  • 16 faculty members elected at-large for a two-year term.
  • Eight students appointed by the Student Council of the Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (SCOLAPS) on an annual basis.
  • Ex-officio (non-voting) members: Dean or dean’s designate, Chair of Faculty Council or designate and Secretary of Council or designate.

Faculty members will be elected at-large for two-year rolling cycle. Each year, half of the membership turns over and will be replaced on a rotational basis. Normally, no more than 2 members elected at-large will be from the same School/Department.

The Chair of the Committee is selected by the voting members of the Committee for a one-year term.

At all times there shall be at least one member from each of the professional, humanities, and social sciences Departments/Schools. Units will self-identify as one of the following: humanities, social science, or professional studies, reported to the Council Office by January 1.

At least half of the voting members of the Committee, the majority of whom are full-time faculty members, constitutes a quorum.

Panels will consist of six voting members of whom two are students, elected by and from the Committee on Student Academic Petitions. Normally, a panel will have at least three members to adjudicate student academic petitions, of whom one must be a student. During the summer months, or when quorum requirements cannot otherwise be met, membership may be supplemented by a reserve membership drawn from among former members of the Committee.

There shall be no ex-officio members.

2024-2025 Members


Faculty Members

Arik Senderovich, Chair of the Committee, School of Information Technology
Sheetala Bhat, Department of English
Matthew Bucemi, Writing Department
Zeyad El Nabolsy, Department of Philosophy
Emma Feltes, Department of Anthropology
Tom Hooper, Department of Equity Studies
Ibtissem Knouzi, Department of Languages, Literature and Linguistics
Na Li, School of Administrative Studies
Kinnon Ross MacKinnon, School of Social Work
Joel Marcus, School of Administrative Studies
Marcel Martel, Department of History
Christopher Morris, Writing Department
Ayana Samuel, Department of Philosophy
William Wicken, Department of History
Deanne Williams, Department of English

Representatives from SCOLAPS

Daphne Adegbaju
Alejandra Aispuro
Rajveer Dhunna
Liam MacDonald
Danielle Margi
Faridah Mazhar
Hale Seeger-Mahon
Anjali  Subryan
Aron Tsehaye
Alissa Yilmaz

Ex-Officio Members (non-voting)

Michele Johnson, Associate Dean, Students
Amanda Rodrigues, Interim Manager, Academic Petitions & Student Relations
Phuong Do, Petitions Liaison Administrator
Parisa Namazi, Petitions Liaison Administrator