Faculty of Glendon | Collège Glendon

Note: the following guidelines apply to both petitions and appeals heard by the Petitions Committee and the Committee on Academic Standards, Teaching and Learning.

All forms required for the petitions process are available online.

You cannot petition to create legislation.

The petition must be filed by yourself and generally will not be considered if someone filed it on your behalf.

The petition must include a clear statement of what is being requested, the circumstances surrounding the request, and all evidence in support of the petition.

Prior to or at the time of submitting the petition, you may request an interview with the secretary of the Committee to obtain clarification of petition procedures or to discuss your case.

Upon receipt of the petition, the secretary of the Petitions Committee may solicit background information from the teaching units or department, may request additional information from you, or may request that you provide more specific documentation of the circumstances described in the petition. The individual/teaching unit/department is to be informed of your right of access to the material submitted and they will be requested to forward you a copy of the material submitted to the committee.

Once the petition file is complete, it is forwarded to the Committee for review. Each case is dealt with individually and anonymously. You may request to appear before the committee but such requests are rarely granted and any appearance will be strictly at the discretion of the committee. Requests must be in writing, indicating why a personal appearance is requested and why consideration of the written material is not sufficient in your view.

If the members of the committee require clarification of the details of the petition or additional information, they will request this information from you through either the secretary of the committee or the chairperson. The case will then be tabled until the information is available for the committee's review.

In instances where a member of the committee is directly involved with the case or has a conflict of interest for other reasons, he/she shall absent him/herself entirely from the committee's consideration of and decision in the case.

You will be informed in writing of the committee's decision and in instances of a negative decision, of the reasons for the decision and of the conditions of appeal.

You shall, upon request, be permitted access to all relevant documentation considered by the Petitions Committee, with the exception of confidential medical or other information where you have expressly waived your right of access.

If information is submitted to your file before the person submitting was made aware of your right of access they will be subsequently informed. If they do not wish you to have access you will be asked to waive your right to see all documents. If you choose not to waive that right the material must be returned to the originator and may not be considered by the Committee.

LATE WITHDRAWAL PETITIONS

Glendon has a specific petition form for withdrawing from a course after the drop deadline. The grounds upon which you may withdraw after the deadline are:

• Illness

• Personal Misfortune

• Academic Misfortune

• Unforeseeable economic hardship

The Petitions Committee will consider appeals only on the grounds of additional relevant information. You may request to appear before the Committee but such requests will rarely be granted and permission is strictly at the discretion of the Committee. Requests to appear must be submitted in writing, indicating reasons why a personal appearance is requested and why your submitted evidence will not speak for itself. A simple desire to meet the Committee in person will not be sufficient grounds.

If you feel that the Petition Committee showed bias or prejudice in reaching a negative decision, or that there were procedural irregularities in the handling of the original petition by the Petitions Committee, the appeal will then be considered by the Committee on Academic Standards, Teaching and Learning of Glendon College.

Any appeal must be filed in writing with the Office of Student Programs within 21 days of the date of the letter advising you of the Committee's decision. The Office of Student Programs will forward the statement of appeal, along with the original petition and all relevant documentation, to the appropriate committee for review.

A written request for reappraisal may be made to the Chairperson of the Department or division in which the course is offered within three weeks of the release of the final grades, and you should state clearly in your request the reasons why your work warrants a higher mark.

Reappraisals are dealt with by the Chair of the Department or the Course Director, in consultation with members of the staff. You, along with the Office of Student Programs, will be notified of the results within three weeks of the appeal.

A deferred standing agreement can be requested to defer the date of a final exam or final assignment.

The professor and the student should arrange a date for the student to write the missed exam or submit the remaining workload.

The student must have supporting documents for the reason of deferral. Supporting documents would include any documentation from the attending Physician, the Counselling & Development Center, or other appropriate University offices.

DEADLINES AND SUBMISSION

Senate policy states: “normally requests for deferred standing must be communicated within one week following a missed examination or the last day to submit course work”. The period during which the University is officially closed for December holidays and statutory holidays is not counted in the determination of deadline days.

Any student who misses the deadline for submitting a completed Final Exam/Assignment Deferred Agreement form may petition for deferred standing through the Office of Student Programs, C102.

If a course director does not agree to consider requests for deferred standing, students may petition for deferred standing through Academic Services C102, York Hall.

Note: Petitions for deferred standing may not be successful.

CONDITIONS

Both deferred and aegrotat standing are granted only due to cases of recognized hardship under one of the following four categories:

• Illness

• Personal misfortune

• Unforeseeable economic hardship

• Academic misfortune (unforeseeable inability to obtain necessary research

• Materials or a confirmed error on the part of the institution).

You may petition through the Office of Student Programs, if you have the appropriate evidence for:

• Withdrawal from any number of course without penalty.

• Deferred standing in one or more courses, for work expected to be in progress during the period of hardship.

• Aegrotat standing in one or more courses. Aegrotat standing shall not be granted in more than one year of study and will seldom be granted in any but the final year.

Current Date

Petitions Committee,

Faculty of ____________ Room # and Building,

York University 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3

Dear Members of the (Petition/Appeal) Committee:

I am writing this letter in order to petition for (state the regulation that you are petitioning) in (course name, number, tutorial/lab, term) based on the following grounds (compassion, medical, extenuating circumstances). My petition makes references to the following supporting documents (list them in order):

The circumstances surrounding my petition are (describe your situation in as great detail as possible, outlining everything from beginning to end, using specific dates). Make it overtly obvious as to how the circumstances have affected your academics. Refer to your evidence and use it to strengthen your case. (Note: this information is kept confidential.)

As a result of this situation (summarize your arguments), I would appreciate your approval of my petition.

Thank you for your kind attention to this matter,

Your Name

Student Number

Mailing Address

Current Date

Student Name

Student Number

Home Faculty

Mailing Address

Telephone Number/E-mail Address

If you have missed the application deadline, state why that deadline should be waived and provide supporting documentation. Explain clearly what Faculty Committee decision you are appealing, what you are asking SAC to do for you, and what the grounds are for your appeal (new evidence or procedural irregularity). Provide the new evidence and explain why you were unable to provide it an earlier stage in the process. Or provide evidence of which procedure was not followed correctly. State whether or not you will attend the hearing if leave to appeal is granted, and whether you will bring a representative.

Example

I am appealing the decision of the Faculty of _________ on (date of decision letter) denying my request for (retroactive withdrawal/ deferral of examinations/ waiver of debarment, etc.)I was unable to meet the 30-day deadline for appealing because (state reasons clearly and provide documentation to establish a case of ‘special circumstance’).The grounds for my appeal are (new evidence: medical note that I was unable to obtain previously due to ..., or procedural irregularity: the Faculty did not follow the procedure as stated in the undergraduate calendar, pg. 72 etc. ...)

I am attaching a (medical form for .../ death certificate for ... / travel documents showing that ...) I would like SAC to (grant retroactive withdrawal / allow me to repeat AS/ECON XXXX, etc.) If leave to appeal is granted (I will not be able to attend / I would like to attend the hearing.)

Sincerely,

Signature