We use cookies on this site to enhance your experience.
By selecting “Accept” and continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies.
Note: The information on this page applies to undergraduate students only. Graduate students should follow the graduate student petitions process.
You should become familiar with the university's policies and procedures on petitions as stated in the undergraduate academic calendar. Carefully read all the information required and provided by the university with regards to petitioning. It is your responsibility to fully understand the requirements and the petitions process.
The Illness Self-Declaration Form can be used to request academic consideration for course work due to medical reasons, in lieu of a medical document.
This form will automatically be forwarded to the instructor teaching the course to support your request.
There are two categories of petitions to a faculty petitions committee:
In both types of petitions, a faculty's petitions committee will review your circumstances and supporting documentation and exercise its discretion to decide whether or not to grant an exception.
If you have questions regarding the petition process, arrange to meet with an academic advisor.
Petitions are commenced by submitting the appropriate petition form of the faculty in which you are registered. Students registered in double major programs across two faculties (e.g. Faculty of Science and Faculty of Arts) will have a designated home faculty.
Exceptions:
Petitions should be filed within six weeks of the onset of the issue impacting your academic success. Faculties may waive this deadline in special circumstances, which you must justifiably account for in your petition. Petitions will not be considered for students who have graduated from the university or who have left their studies at Laurier for circumstances that occurred prior to the granting of their degree.
Where appropriate, submit relevant documentation with your petition. Supporting documents must come from an official source and be specific to the dates of the applicable term.
All documentation is subject to confirmation. Fraudulent information and/or altered supporting documents provided on or with your petition submission is considered a serious academic offense and will result in immediate denial of your petition. Allegations of academic misconduct will also be considered by the associate dean for possible further penalties.
Documentation may include, but is not limited to:
Redacting
Petition submissions may include a redacted version of documentation, in addition to a clean version. In the redacted version, the student name and WLU student ID number should be redacted. The redacted version of the documentation will be provided to the Petitions Committee, while the clean version will be reviewed by Petitions Committee Chairs and support staff to ensure validity. In the event that a redacted version of documentation is not provided, the clean version of documentation will be shared with the Petitions Committee. Student should contact the Petitions Committee should they wish to provide redacted versions of documentation.
Supporting medical documentation must contain the dates and reasons you were examined as well as the functional impact the illness has on learning and attending class.
Incomplete medical documentation will delay consideration of your petition or result in denial by the petitions committee. It is important to communicate these expectations to your medical professional(s) if your petition is being supported by medical documentation.
The Laurier Verification of Illness Form is preferred. Check with your faculty to see if alternate documentation, such as an original medical certificate, will be accepted. It is your responsibility to ensure that all requested information is included on your submitted medical documentation.
There is no guarantee that a filed petition will be approved. Each faculty's Petitions and Regulations Committee takes into account not only what is in the best academic interest of the student filing the petition, but also to what is fair and equitable for all students and what is allowable under university Senate regulations.
The faculty petitions committee will consider and decide all petitions within six weeks of the filing of the petitions, providing that all documentation and information required from the student are submitted with the petition.
You will receive the petition decision and its rationale in writing through an email to your Laurier student email account.
For information on appealing a Petition Committee decision, see the Senate Student Appeals procedures.
Academic petition decisions may have financial implications (i.e. financial aid or scholarship eligibility). Financial issues are not taken into account in the academic decisions made by a faculty's Petitions and Regulations Committee. The committees will not be held responsible for any financial implications of their decisions. Contact Service Laurier for more information on how your tuition or funding may be affected.
You may use the tuition fee appeal process to apply for any reversal or adjustment of tuition costs associated with a change in academic record.
The course instructor bears primary responsibility for assigning the final grade. Students who believe that the final grade received in a course does not reflect their academic performance should informally consult with the course instructor. The instructor may review the final examination with the student.
If the course instructor is unavailable or if the student remains dissatisfied, an official request for a grade reassessment may be submitted to the chair of the department or equivalent. In the case where the chair is the instructor, the dean of the faculty shall assume the functions of the chair.
The request shall be filed in writing and shall contain a statement of the specific reasons for the belief that the grade does not reflect the student's academic performance in the course and must be accompanied by any relevant assignment or test which has been returned to the student. The student may review the final examination in the department office in order to prepare the official request. The request for grade reassessment shall be filed no later than six weeks following the formal release of grades from Enrolment Services.
The chair (or equivalent) shall provide the student with a written decision regarding the request for grade reassessment within four weeks of receipt of the official request.
Students who remain dissatisfied with the department chair's decision may, after the release of the chair's decision, petition to the faculty petitions committee in which the course is owned.
A fee of $25 per course will be applied to the student's account if the faculty petitions committee denies the student's petition.
For more information, see the Grade Reassessment section of the undergraduate academic calendar.
Note: For courses in all other faculties, students should use the appropriate petition form for a faculty-level petition. For a department-level final grade reassessment request (which should come first), submit your request to the department chair in letter form along with any supporting documentation.
A 12-week course may normally be added no later than 10 business days from the beginning of term lectures. For students taking a six-week course, the add deadline is normally 5 business days from the beginning of lectures.
After the last day to add courses for the term has passed, you may file a petition to request registration in a course. In the petition, you are expected to clearly explain why an exception should be made. The petition goes to the petitions committee in the faculty in which you are registered.
A late course registration request will not be granted if the course instructor is not supportive of the request. You should therefore provide written evidence of instructor support for the late addition of the course. Instructor support does not guarantee approval of a late add petition.
A late course registration request will not be granted if the course is at capacity or had a waitlist at the time of the add deadline.
It is your responsibility to monitor your LORIS account to ensure all student fees are paid on time. Tuition fees for a late add will be applied after your petition is deemed successful.
If you inadvertently withdraw from a course after the last day to add courses for the term, it may be possible under some circumstances to be readmitted without a petition. Contact your faculty for information. You may be required to submit validation from the professor that you have been actively participating in the course to date.
You may request withdrawal from a course(s) after the final day to drop without financial or academic penalty for the term if extenuating circumstances have impacted your ability to fully participate in the course(s). You are expected to clearly explain why an exception should be made. Original supporting documentation should be included with the petition, where applicable. You cannot request withdrawal from a course if the course has been completed and a final grade has been assigned.
If a late withdrawal appeal is granted, any tuition refund for the course(s) (if applicable) is based on the date and type of decision. Tuition refunds are not available for all course withdrawals. Not accountable terms and voluntary withdraw ("WD") petitions are not eligible for a tuition fee appeal.
If you wish to be considered for a tuition refund, you must follow the tuition fee appeal process. The outcomes of academic and tuition appeals are not related.
Withdrawing from a course after the deadline may change the number of courses on your transcript and could impact funding such as OSAP. Contact Service Laurier for more information on how your funding may be impacted.The third attempt at a course petition must be submitted to the petitions committee of the faculty that offers the course. However, for course MA129, students using it to fulfill requirements for a program offered by the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics (LSBE) must submit their petition to the LSBE Petitions Committee. If the course is used to fulfill requirements for programs outside of LSBE, the petition should be submitted to the Faculty of Science Petitions Committee.
University regulations state that no course may be attempted more than twice (including course exclusions). You may appeal for relief from this regulation in the circumstance that successful completion of the course is a requirement of your desired program and/or if extenuating circumstances affected one of your first two attempts.
It is recommended that you meet with your academic advisor as a first step to discuss a third attempt petition. Your academic advisor can help you determine the appropriate timing and academic implications of a third attempt petition.
Successful petitions for a third attempt must include a third attempt petition learning plan. The learning plan will help you develop an action plan for success and must be reviewed by a learning consultant.
Steps for completing your learning plan:
Please note that it may take up to 5 business days to schedule a learning plan appointment.
You are expected to clearly explain why an exception should be made. A third attempt petition will not receive favourable consideration if you are on academic probation. Original supporting documentation should be included with the petition, where applicable.
“Not Accountable” refers to a student not being held responsible for their grades for one (or more) term(s), where severe extenuating circumstances have affected their ability to fully participate in courses.
“Not Accountable” may be applied only when you have completed the courses and final grades have been assigned. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, you may not select the courses you wish to have deemed “Not Accountable” as such status is applied to an entire term.
You are expected to clearly explain why a "not accountable" term should be granted. Original supporting documentation should be included with the petition, where applicable..
We recommend you include details regarding your plan and the supports you have in place to ensure future academic success.
If a “Not Accountable” petition is granted, the courses in that term remain on your transcript with the phrase "Not Accountable" noted beside each final grade. However, the grades will not be calculated into your overall cumulative (and major, if applicable) GPA and the credits will not be used toward the completion of your degree requirements.
Students who are deemed “Not Accountable” are responsible for 100% of all tuition and incidental fees. A tuition fee appeal will not be granted.
Students should first discuss extension to course work requests with the course instructor.
You may petition for an extension to the due date(s) for course work beyond the last date of the term where extenuating circumstances have impacted your ability to complete the work by the instructor's set deadline. Petitions that may be approved, depending on the circumstances, include individually submitted course work such as essays, papers, and projects. Petitions that request extensions for the majority of coursework in a course will not be approved. Petition requests to extend deadlines for midterms, tests, quizzes, discussion posts, group work, lab attendance, and participation grades will not be approved. When extensions are granted, the Petitions Committee will determine a submission date for the late coursework; this date will typically not extend beyond the end of the deferred examination period.
A final examination deferral is not a petition for an extension to course work, see Deferred Exams.
Once the final grade of the course has been released, petitions to submit late work are typically not approved.
The extension to course work petition is submitted to the petitions committee in the faculty that offers the course.
In your petition, be sure to include:
Note: See Final Grade Reassessments for grade reassessment forms from the faculties of Human and Social Sciences and Liberal Arts.
The form below alone does not contain all the information you need to submit your petition. You must carefully review all the information on this page as well as on the form itself before proceeding with your petition. In addition, see the following faculty-specific information.
The form below alone does not contain all the information you need to submit your petition. You must carefully review all the information on this page as well as on the form itself before proceeding with your petition. Meeting with your Academic Advisor prior to completing this form is strongly recommended.
The form below alone does not contain all the information you need to submit your petition. You must carefully review all the information on this page as well as on the form itself before proceeding with your petition. Meeting with your Academic Advisor prior to completing this form is strongly recommended.
The form below alone does not contain all the information you need to submit your petition. You must carefully review all the information on this page as well as on the form itself before proceeding with your petition. Meeting with your Academic Advisor prior to completing this form is strongly recommended.
The form below alone does not contain all the information you need to submit your petition. You must carefully review all the information on this page as well as on the form itself before proceeding with your petition. In addition, see the following faculty-specific information.
Carefully review all information on this page, as well as the following faculty-specific information, before proceeding with your petition. All petitions shall be initiated by filing the online form not later than six weeks following the academic date/deadline that the petition concerns.
Form
The form below alone does not contain all the information you need to submit your petition. You must carefully review all the information on this page as well as on the form itself before proceeding with your petition. This form can be used to either petition for an academic regulation to be waived or to petition for an examination deferral due to extenuating circumstances. Meeting with your Academic Advisor prior to completing this form is strongly recommended.
At Laurier, we are committed to helping you reach your goals. We understand that sometimes regulations meant for all students will not be appropriate for every student.
Please thoroughly review Grade Appeals information above before completing the Grade Appeal Request form. This form is used to appeal your final grade in a course and includes regrading all of the course work done in the course (not just the final exam). There is no formal mechanism to regrade just the final exam.
The form below alone does not contain all the information you need to submit your petition. You must carefully review all the information on this page as well as on the form itself before proceeding with your petition. As noted above on this web page related to documentation, in addition to the signed petition form itself, you must provide a personal statement explaining why you are submitting the petition and if appropriate to the context, medical documentation. In addition, see the following faculty-specific information below related to each petition type.
Contact
When requesting to register for a course after the official deadline, you must meet the following requirements:
When requesting to withdraw from a course after the official deadline, you must meet the following requirements:
Deferred final exam petitions for courses offered by the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics are submitted to the petitions coordinator using Lazaridis Deferrals, Lazaridisdeferrals@wlu.ca. The petition form should be submitted with all supporting documentation included. For more information, see deferred exams.
A petition to have a semester deemed not accountable requires supporting documentation clearly dated by a professional and covering the timeframe in question. Your petition must include your plan to ensure academic success.
The Committee needs to see a learning plan (as mentioned above in "Third Attempt at a Course"), which will outline why you will be successful this time when you were not before. These requests are seldom approved.
Use the form below to petition academic decisions at Martin Luther University College, formerly Waterloo Lutheran Seminary. The form below alone does not contain all the information you need to submit your petition. You must carefully review all the information on this page and on the form itself before proceeding with your petition.
Contact Us:
Arts Students
Science Students
Brantford Students
Business/Economics Students
Education Students
Music Students
Public Safety Students
Luther Students