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Petitioning the Faculty Senate
In the case of a strong, documented justification you may petition the Faculty Senate for an exception to academic policies and procedures, such as a retroactive withdrawal from the University, an increase in the number of late-drop credits, retroactive late drop of a course, and so on. Most Liberal Arts students should prepare a packet of information and submit it in room 101 Sparks Building. If you wish to petition because of having been a victim of a violent crime (rape, physical abuse, etc.) contact either Patricia Johnstone (Asst. Dir. for Sexual Assault Education) or Dennis Heitzman (Dir. of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services - CAPS) and request consideration for a trauma drop. Both of these people can be contacted at Ritenour Health Center.
The final decision on your petition is made by the Faculty Senate Committee members, which means that we cannot tell you if your petition will be approved or not. The committee reviewing petitions does not have set meeting dates, therefore, we cannot tell you when your petition will be reviewed. Please do not call our office inquiring about the status of your petition; as you will be notified directly by the Faculty Senate Office once a decision has been made.
All petitions must include the following:
Letter
This is a formal letter and should follow the appropriate form: date, inside address (the address to which you want want the answer sent), salutation (Dear Chairperson), body, closing (Sincerely), signature (both written and typed), e-mail address, phone number, and your student number.
Tips:
- Your letter should be typed, clear, factual, logical, and brief.
- Begin by stating your request.
- Explain why you did not or could not follow the appropriate policy.
- Explain how you have resolved the problem.
- List the supporting materials you are enclosing.
- Check your grammar, spelling and word usage.
Supporting Documents
a. Documents from business sources (doctors, lawyers, instructors, psychologist, etc.) should be on letterhead, signed and dated.
b.Documents must match the timeframe of the request.
c.The originator must fax faxed documents to us.
d.Medical/psychological documents must give sufficient information for us to decide whether you were capable of attending class, completing assignments, following policy and procedure. In other words, was the problem severe enough to have the effect you describe in your letter?
e.Letters from advisers should document problems rather than provide character references.
f. Letters from instructors should indicate how they are involved and
whether they support your request. In the case of retroactive change of grade, the instructor should fill out the appropriate form and send it directly to 101 Sparks Building. Students are not permitted to hand carry change-of-grade forms.
University Forms
a. for a retroactive drop or add - submit a completed registration drop/add form
b. for a retroactive withdrawal - submit a completed official withdrawal form
c. for a retroactive change of grade - ask the department offering the course to submit a change-of-grade form directly to 101 Sparks Building
d. Check in 101 Sparks if you are requesting some other procedure.
Completed petitions should be returned to:
Robin Robinson (rmb3@psu.edu)
Liberal Arts Undergraduate Studies
101 Sparks Building
University Park, PA 16802