Petitions & Appeals
School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design
Refer to the link below for detailed information about the School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design Academic Petitions Process:
Petitions Process
The complete Undergraduate Academic Petitions Package can be found on the registrar’s website here.
- Fill out the required petitions forms.
- Submit the completed package with supporting documentation to Student Client Services in the Bennett Centre. They will forward the package to the
- The petitions process takes approximately 8 weeks from the time you submit your petition.
- Once you submit your petition to Student Client Services, it is sent to the Petitions Coordinator. The coordinator reviews each petition and may decide to solicit background information from the teaching units or departments involved in the petition.
- Petitions are always dealt with by your home faculty, regardless of the course(s) involved. The Petitions Coordinator presents petitions to the Petitions Committee, which considers each petition and makes a decision. The Committee takes into consideration any previous warnings about academic responsibility.
- Students may not appear before the Committee.
- A petition decision is communicated, in writing, by the Petitions Coordinator on behalf of the Petitions Committee.
- You may request access to your petition file either before or after the petition is heard. To view your complete file, you must make an appointment with the Associate Registrar. This can be arranged at the front counter of the Student Client Services Office. To view your petition submission and supporting documentation only, you must complete a Student File Request Form, which can be picked up at the front counter of the Bennett Centre for Student Services.
- All petitions are strictly confidential and anonymous. Note: Where a petition or an appeal includes allegations about the actions or advice of an employee or office of the University, the employee or a representative of the office in question may be given a copy of the petition letter and an opportunity to respond to the allegations. In such cases, the student is presumed to have waived the right to confidentiality as it concerns those individuals. A petition or appeal decision letter also may include information and specific warnings about the student's academic responsibilities and the Committee will take that information and the warnings into consideration when reviewing any future petition submitted by the student.
Appeals Process
If your initial petition is not granted, the Committee on Administrative Affairs will inform you by a letter, which will also include the appeals procedures.
Acceptable grounds for appeals include:
- NEW EVIDENCE: new information that you could not have presented at the original petition review
- PROCEDURAL IRREGULARITY: evidence that the Faculty did not properly follow its procedures in the consideration of your case; they handled your case differently then other similar cases; there is evidence of obvious bias or prejudice in the handling of your case. In general the Committee is willing to hear an appeal of any of their decisions should you request it.
- Generally, appeals are heard by the Committee on Administrative Affairs, however, if an appeal has policy implications, or if the grounds include a complaint against the Committee itself, the appeal would be referred to the Faculty Executive Committee for resolution.
- Appeals may be submitted simply by writing a letter stating clearly your grounds for appeal and the facts of your case.
Grade Reappraisal
Students may, with sufficient academic grounds, request that a final grade in a course be reappraised (which may mean the review of specific pieces of tangible work). Non-academic grounds are not relevant for grade reappraisals; in such cases, students are advised to petition to their home Faculty. Students are normally expected to first contact the course director to discuss the grade received and to request that their tangible work be reviewed.
Further information may be obtained from the Student and Academic Services Office, School of AMPD or from the unit offering the course. Students submitting a formal request to have a grade reappraised in a AMPD course should note the following:
Deadlines: requests for reappraisal must be filed within three weeks of the release of grade reports for the term.
Re-assessable work: Students may question the overall course grade or the marking of the specific pieces of work. For reassessment of specific projects or assignments, tangible evidence of the original submitted work must be provided. Tangible work may include: graphic, modelled, video recording or audio recording, and are acceptable formats for reassessment. The live performance component of any course is excluded from grade reappraisal.
Possible grade changes: When a student asks for a reappraisal of a grade or assignment, an original grade may be raised, lowered or confirmed.
Faculty appeal procedures: The decision of the department may be appealed to the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design/Administrative Policy and Planning Committee (AAPPC) only on grounds of procedural irregularity or new evidence. Appeals to AAPPC must be submitted to Student and Academic Services, School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design.
Deferred or Aegrotat Standing
Deferred Standing is a request for additional time to complete course work after the published deadline for submission of term work, or to postpone an exam. The deadline for completion of term work is usually the same as the first day of exams. For most departments it is granted due to illness or misfortune and will require documentation as proof of your situation.
While applying for deferred standing the University assumes that you are continuing to complete the work. Using the standard Deferred Standing Agreement (DSA) Form, it is your responsibility to make arrangements with the course director to complete the course and file the form with the appropriate departmental/unit office by the deadline specified on the form. Course directors have the option not to consider requests for deferred standing; in such cases you must file a petition with the relevant Faculty-level committee for consideration within the established deadline. DSA forms must be handed in with a Course Performance Summary Form, which also needs to be completed by your professor.
You will often find that if you are applying for deferred standing you should apply for a few of your courses as opposed to just one. First, if you need the time then you should take it. Trying to push yourself at a time when you are already under stress never makes sense. Also, if it is just for one course it begins to look like you just didn't do your work in that course. Document well and ask for what you need.
There are certain things, which will help you in applying for deferred status:
- Your professor supports the application.
- You have been active in the course and have good attendance and record of completing work prior to the situation causing your deferred standing application.
- The cause of your application is well documented.
- It is your first time asking for deferred status.
- The period of time of your hardship is clearly documented.
Aegrotat Standing, from the Latin for "she/he is ill", excuses students from completing the required work for their studies, and AEG is entered on transcripts instead of a grade. Aegrotat standing is very rarely granted in any but the last year of a program, and even then only in the most exceptional of cases, such as a terminal illness.
Rules for Reaching a Deferred Standing Agreement
Deferred Standing must be agreed upon for reports, assignments, essays, tests, final exams and other work assigned in the course, but may not be used for supplementary work, or assignments that are outside the formal marking scheme announced in class. There is no provision for rewriting a final exam to improve a final grade.
The Course Director must agree that the circumstances warrant deferred standing. You must come to an agreement with your Course Director as to when the due date is for outstanding work. If the faculty member does not agree to approve the deferred agreement form, or if you require an extension to an original deferral, then you must file a formal petition. Petitions relating to enrolment status or academic standing must be submitted within thirty days of the release of final grade reports for the session. Such petitions may be considered for a period of up to one year if they are based on special circumstances.
This petition must be submitted to the Student Client Services Office and should include the Undergraduate Academic Petition Form, your written petition letter, and a Student Course Performance Summary Form. All of the above named forms are available at the Registrar's Office.
DEADLINES: Requests for deferred standing must be made within one week following a missed examination or the last day to submit course work. This must allow enough time for grading to be completed and submitted before faculty submission deadlines
Sample Petitions Letter
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
Sample Senate Appeals Letter
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