Academic Policy Petition

• All petition types (except one-time late withdrawals) require a personal essay, uploads of supporting documentation.
  • Essay: Why are you asking for an exception to a policy? Please explain your circumstances:
    • University policies are set to ensure fairness and equity for all students. Your explanation must be compelling.
    • How did the timeline of your circumstances cause you to miss a deadline or make decisions that contributed to the need for this exception?
    • Have your circumstances changed? If prior events got in the way of your academic success, you may want to show how they have improved.
  • Documents: Evidence to support the reasons you are requesting an exception.
    • If your circumstances were medical, please provide the Medical Supplement form. 
      • The Medical Supplement form can assist students in providing documentation of a medical or disability condition when petitioning for an exception to a University policy. This additional documentation must be included with your petition in order for the Student Scholastic Committee to review your request.
    • If there are other supporting documents (e.g., support letter or email correspondence, a letter from an access consultant from the Disability Resource Center, deployment orders, coursework from another institution, police reports, obituaries), please consider providing them.

Students are encouraged to consult with their Success Coach before submitting, though certain forms (like late withdrawals or credit changes) do not officially route to the coach for approval.

Both the student and their coach are notified via email of the final decision.

This form does NOT route to the student’s coach, instead, it routes to the instructor who is currently teaching the course. You are advised to consult with both the instructor and your Student Success Coach before you submit your request. In your Explanatory Essay, clearly state which program requirement you are petitioning. Then, provide evidence of how the course(s) and/or experience(s) you have completed address the learning outcomes of the course or requirement you are petitioning.  Note: If you are seeking to waive the BSHS Language Requirement, do NOT fill out this form; instead you fill out the Language Placement & Waiver Form. 

• A CAP 172 waiver is  weighted heavily on the depth of reflection on the course learning outcomes provided, and your experiences prior to UMR.
• A strong evaluation shared on the CAP 1712 essay rubric is necessary for a possible approval.
• Students should refer to the CAP 1712 Waiver Process and Guidelines for completing this request.

• A CAP 2713 waiver is  weighted heavily on the depth of reflection on the course learning outcomes provided, and your experiences prior to UMR.
• A strong evaluation shared on the CAP 2713 essay rubric is necessary for a possible approval.
• Students should refer to the CAP 2713 Waiver Process and Guidelines for completing this request.

• You can consider this option if the course(s) you are taking at another Twin Cities campus is not equivalent to CLI 3522. You will need a combination of the following to satisfy the requirement:
  • 2 approved Twin Cities CEL courses
  • 1 approved Twin Cities CEL course and 1 UMR Civic Engagement course
  • 2 UMR Civic Engagement courses 
• If you believe that a course you completed should count toward the BSHS Civic Engagement Requirement, you should petition your course to count in this category (not use the transfer evaluation process).
  • Include course syllabus, which should include if the course has a CEL attribute and description of the CEL requirement expected in the course.
• If the CEL experience is optional, you will also need to submit proof of completing the activity after the course is complete. 

• For Grading Basis Changes: In the explanatory essay, be sure to detail the extenuating circumstances that prevented you from changing the grading basis by the deadline. Upload any supporting documentation. 
• Note that relatively few UMR courses allow students to opt for different grading types.  Be sure to verify in ScheduleBuilder that this course has a grading basis of “Student Option” before you submit this form. 
• For Credit Changes: This option is only available for Directed Research, Internship, and Off Campus Directed Study. In your explanatory essay, explain what has changed about the work you are doing in this course that justifies changing your credit amount.  If you are submitting this request late, explain why it is coming after the deadline. 
• Approvals are rarely approved if the course has already ended or been graded.

• Students are expected to monitor their academic performance in their course(s) and keep track of communicated withdrawal deadlines. You must provide a detailed essay explaining why you could not withdraw from the course(s) by the deadline, or that you can no longer complete the course(s) due to extenuating circumstances. 
• In your explanatory essay, please include the following:
  • Why you need(ed) to drop the course(s) after the deadline; ie what happened after the semester withdrawal deadline that made it difficult to be successful? Be as specific as possible and include dates when possible.
  • If you are petitioning to withdraw from part of your registration (ie 2 of your 4 courses), include the reasons why you should stay registered for some courses and not for others (extenuating circumstances only influence performance in a some courses).
  • If you are employed, note where and how many hours a week you work.
• Petitions will be reviewed based on the extent of the extenuating circumstance and the direct impact it had on your ability to withdraw on time. 

• One-Time late withdrawals are only available to degree seeking students who are currently enrolled in courses at UMR. We recommend that you consult with your Student Success Coach and One Stop to see how a withdrawal will impact your degree plan and consider any potential loss of financial aid eligibility.  
• You can use your one-time late withdrawal only once through your UMN career. 
• You must submit your request prior to 4:30 pm on the last business day before the final exam period begins.  You cannot have completed the final exam or final project before using your one time late withdrawal.
• Unlike other petitions, this type does not require an essay or supporting documentation.
• If you have already used your one time late withdrawal, change your petition type to “withdraw after the deadline.” 

• You must provide a detailed essay explaining the factors that lead to your academic suspension. If there are extenuating circumstances, you should include this as part of your explanation. 
• You must adhere to petition deadlines for appeal. Petitions submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed. 
• In your Explanatory Essay, include the following (and attach Supporting Documentation):
  • The issue(s) that led to the suspension
  • Changes you have made (or plan to make) to ensure the same issues will not re-occur, so academic success can be realized (what will be significantly different in the upcoming term from your Warning Term)
  • The length of time you expect it will take to return to good academic standing and the grades you will need to earn to do so, following the course plan you develop with your Student Success Coach (to be submitted as Supporting Documentation, see below)
  • Long term goals and objectives (including why you feel your academic programs at UMR is still a good fit for you)
  • For Supporting Documentation, be sure to include the following:
    • Academic Success Plan: In consultation with your coach, you should have created an Academic Success Plan for the upcoming academic term using the Google Form. Submit a PDF of your google form response submission with your petition.  If you have not received a copy, contact your success coach.
    • Planned Courses: Submit a PDF of the plan you developed with your coach to raise your cumulative GPA above the required 2.0. This plan should cover as many semesters as it will take to return to Good Academic Standing. 
• The decision made by the Student Scholastic Committee will be based on whether you have a viable and reasonable plan for returning to good academic standing. 

• You must wait a full academic year from the time of academic suspension to appeal for a return to UMR.
•  You must provide an essay that includes the following:
  • The issue(s) that led to the suspension
  • Changes you have made over the period of your suspension, and any changes you plan to make in the school year, to ensure the same issues will not re-occur, so academic success can be realized (what will be significantly different in the upcoming term from your Warning term)
  • Long-term goals and objectives (including why you feel your academic program at UMR is still a good fit for you)
  • Consider including the following Supporting Documentation:
    • Unofficial transcripts if you have completed college coursework during your suspension period
    • Optional: Letters of recommendation from employer, professor, Student Success coach, or other professional reference who can speak to the changes you have made

• If your petition does not fit into one of these other categories, use the “Other” category. 
• In your Explanatory Essay, first describe the nature of the petition and then provide evidence and/or documentation to support your petition.
• Note that many processes have specific forms that should be used instead of the Academic Policy Petition. Please review the List of Forms on the One Stop site to determine if another existing form should be used for your situation. Consult your Student Success Coach with questions. 

If a petition is denied, the notification email includes a link to file an appeal with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Innovation (VCAAI).

• The VCAAI will receive the original essay, but the appeal form allows students to provide additional or new information.
• Important: Only files uploaded directly to the appeal form will be sent to the VCAAI for review. Therefore, you will need to upload your supporting documents again.