Faculty Petitions

Petition Types

A student may appeal to the appropriate faculty petitions committee any decision made by an individual or body acting in the name of the university, which affects the academic standing of the student, and which the student believes was made without following due process and/or without full knowledge/evidence of extenuating circumstances.

Filing a Petition

Students must submit a petition to the Faculty in which they are/were registered during the term(s) identified in the petition in accordance with the established procedures for petitions, available on the Academic Petitions and Appeals website. . Exceptions to this process include course-specific petitions (e.g. deferred examination, petitions for an extension to course work, and petitions for a third attempt in a course). These petitions must be submitted to the faculty offering the course.

All petitions shall be commenced by filing the appropriate petition form, within twenty-five (25) working days of the onset of the issue or within twenty-five (25) working days of the decision being appealed. Petitions relating to academic misconduct must be filed no later than ten (10) working days of receiving the Final Notice of Penalty document. Refer to Procedures for Student Code of Conduct: Academic Misconduct for further information.  

A Faculty Petitions Committee may waive submission deadlines at its discretion in special circumstances, provided the student submits supporting rationale and documentation specifically demonstrating the reasons why the deadline could not be met. The petition form includes a section for students to explain their reasons for missing the submission deadline and provide supporting documentation. If the late request is approved, the petitions committee will proceed to review the petition. If the late request is denied, the process ends, and the petition will not be considered. 

As the student will not be able to appear in person before the petitions committee, it is important that the student ensure that all relevant materials, including a written detailed synopsis of the circumstances pertaining to the appeal and supporting documentation (if applicable) is submitted as part of the petition.  

With the exception of the regulations pertaining to Grade Appeals, no petition or appeal may be commenced where the student has graduated from the program to which the petition or appeal relates.

Petition Committee Decisions 

A petition will be decided on and the decision will be communicated to the student within thirty (30) working days of their petition submission, provided all documentation and information required from the student are submitted with the petition. 

The student will receive the petition decision and its rationale in writing through an email to their Laurier student email account.

The Petitions Committee may delegate decision-making authority to an appropriate academic or administrative representative, provided that the decisions are made in accordance with guidelines established by the committee. The petition decision letter provided to the student must indicate if the decision was made by a delegated authority.

The Petitions Committee and delegated authority reserves the right to make a different decision from what the student has requested if it determines that an alternative decision is more appropriate based on the circumstances and supporting documentation. In such cases, the alternative decision will be outlined in the decision letter sent to the student. The student will then have the option to accept or decline the alternative decision by a deadline provided in the decision letter. 

For petitions related to grade reassessment, refer to the additional information found under Final Grade Appeals.

With respect to a petition for deferred examinations, refer to the additional information under  Examinations, Deferred Examinations and Special Examinations.  

Appealing a Petition Decision

A decision of an individual who was delegated decision-making authority by the faculty petitions committee may be appealed to the petitions committee. To appeal a delegated decision to the faculty petitions committee, students must include evidence that a procedural error was made in the delegated decision and/or that the delegated decision was made without full understanding and evidence of the extenuating circumstances. To initiate an appeal of a delegated decision, please contact the faculty petitions committee that made the original decision for information about the delegated decision appeal process.

A decision of a faculty petitions committee may be appealed by the student to the Senate Student Appeals Committee, in accordance with the Procedures for Considering Appeals.

A first offence of academic misconduct may not be appealed to the Senate Student Appeals Committee; the decision of the petitions committee is final. 

Website: https://students.wlu.ca/academics/calendars-and-policies/petitions-and-appeals/index.html