Exceptions to Academic Policies

Committee on Programs and Academic Standing:  Information on Petitions for Students

The Committee on Programs and Academic Standing is an appointed faculty committee charged with regularly reviewing educational policy in matters of student programs, credit, and academic standing. The Committee acts on student petitions for exceptions to academic policy.

A petition is a special request, so students must present compelling, exceptional, and often documented circumstances in making a request.

What are the common types of petitions? 

Here are just a few examples:

·    A request to add or drop a course after the deadline (which can be found in the Academic Calendar)

·    A request to withdraw from a course after the deadline (also found in the Academic Calendar)

·    A request to extend an incomplete or deferred exam date

·   A request for an Independent Study. This type of petition is available here:  https://slate.barnard.edu/register/indep_study

·    A request to apply for a special major, or make changes to special majors already approved. These types of petitions are available here: http://barnard.edu/registrar/barnard-coursework/majors

The Petition Process: Step by Step

Step #1: Inform yourself: read the academic policies in the Catalogue or on the College website, or with the appropriate academic department.

Step #2: Communicate with your Class Dean about your situation. Sometimes, a petition is not the right avenue for change, or you need to address your issue with a different committee. You will need your Class Dean's approval in order for your petition to go before the Committee.

Step #3: Write your request, describing the exceptional circumstances that you are facing. Your explanation should be clear, factual, and answer the writing prompt on the petition form.

Step #4: Depending on the petition, written support from an instructor, adviser, or Class Dean may be beneficial or required. Follow the instructions on the petition form itself; you may be asked to email additional supporting documents to the Committee, or your adviser or instructor may be asked to email feedback and/or approval.

Step #5: Follow the instructions on the Petition Form to submit your petition. The Committee meets every week on Thursday during the academic year; petitions must be submitted no later than a week in advance (e.g. the Thursday before a Committee meeting) to ensure review by all necessary parties. (Note that the Committee does not meet over the summer.) Any petition received after the deadline may not be considered until the next meeting. Incomplete petitions will not be considered until they have been completed. Late and/or recently completed petitions will be considered for the next meeting date once all necessary approvals have been received.

Appeals

Students may submit an appeal of a decision by the next Committee meeting. Since the Committee meets every week during the academic year, students have a period of seven days from the moment they are notified of the Committee’s decision to submit their appeal. Students should meet with the Dean for Academic Planning & Class Advising, their Class Dean, and/or their adviser, instructor, or other relevant College administrators to discuss the appeal. Appeals must include new information that was not present or available in the original petition, and may include additional information from an instructor or adviser, as needed. Decisions will be deemed final at the time of the CPAS meeting following the response to an appeal, and the Committee will no longer accept further appeals. 

A word of warning

Each petition is an individual case, and is treated as such. Although the Committee can never predict how the discussion or decision on a particular case will proceed, there are, however, some common requests that are denied more frequently than others, or that require extenuating circumstances and a substantive amount of evidence. These include: request for a P/D/F after the deadline; request to add a course after the course has been in session for three weeks or longer; requests to withdraw from a course after the deadline when a term has ended; requests to enroll in overlapping courses.  Speak to your academic adviser or Class Dean before sending in a petition of this nature. Please note that once a student has had their degree conferred by Barnard, no changes or revisions to their transcript are permitted.