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Details

ACADEMIC PETITIONS  rev. APM  July 11,  2008 for ACT

POLICY::  http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/general/acade3.html#waiver

Degree Requirement Exceptions

“Students may petition for exceptions to university or college degree requirements with good reason. A petition should be filed with the major department, and it will be forwarded to the office of the dean of the college. College requirements may be decided by the dean, but university requirements (e.g., residency requirements) must be forwarded to the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for final action.”

FORM:: http://www.uh.edu/academics/forms/petition.pdf

The General Petition form is published by the Office of Registration and Academic Records.

PROTOCOL:

APM has signature approval on behalf of the Provost Office for undergraduate student requests for the exception to academic university degree requirements. Common requests include:

-          Core curriculum

-          Course substitutions

-          30 hour residency rule

-          Degree requirements (eg. GPA)

-          see also “fresh start”

The General Petition on such requests follows the academic chain of command:

Instructor/ advisor

Department Chair

College Dean’s Office (representative)  [ **need to confirm list of College liaisons for common signature approval]

Provost Office (representative: Office of Academic Program Management,APM)

1.       APM: Log into database student information, general nature of petition

2.       APM: Email to student confirmation of receipt and decision (use UH email; courtesy copy to private email)

2a. if repeat petition, email/send back to student and College signature source notifying that decision was made at prior date/request

3.       APM: Review and decision of petition by Program Coordinator, APM.

4.       APM: Outcome entered into database; form scanned into APM shared drive e-file  (**not Iris)

5.       APM: Email sent to student confirming decision (approval/disapproval) with attached copy of petition

6.       APM: Courtesy copy of email/attachment sent to College of student major also original documents  and, if applicable, for Core transfer credit to Transfer Admissions (Amanda Payne) for posting

7.       Student notified by college of student major or source area of petition confirming receipt and any next steps required for intention of petition (eg graduation steps; change to degree audit)

8.       College: if applicable may send or Iris docs to RAR for imaging

SCRIPTS: Notices

TEMPLATE FOR PETITION RECEIPT/ DECISION

Mr./Ms. [ Student ]:

The Office of Academic Program Management (APM) reviews petitions requesting exception to undergraduate academic degree requirements and policies on behalf of the Provost Office.

The Office of Academic Program Management (APM) recently reviewed a petition you submitted.

Petition Topic:

Provost Office Decision:  approved/disapproved

With this email a courtesy copy of the attached petition has been sent to the College academic advising office of your major.
Please see your academic advisor for any next steps required pertaining to your degree plan.

If this petition resulted in approved Core transfer credit, a courtesy copy has been sent to the Transfer Admissions office for posting.
You may wish to check your PS student account in 4-6 weeks to verify the posting is accurate and complete.

This concludes the final institutional step on this petition request.

TEMPLATE for DECLINING REVIEW (repeat petition or unnecessary)

Mr./Ms. [ Student ]:

The Office of Academic Program Management (APM) reviews petitions requesting exception to undergraduate academic degree requirements and policies on behalf of the Provost Office.

We have received a petition you recently submitted.

Petition Topic:

Date Petition Initiated by Student:

Date of Receipt of Petition in APM:

According to our records, you have already submitted a petition for this request.

Prior petition decision date:

Decision:  [ approved/disapproved ]

For this reason, we have declined review of this repeat petition.

The original petition as well as a courtesy copy of this email has been sent to the College academic advising office of your major.

Please retain the attached copy of the petition for your records.

NOTES:  [add any notes if other steps or options exist ]

This is the final institutional step on this petition request.

TEMPLATE for NEED MORE INFO

Mr./Ms. [ Student ]:

The Office of Academic Program Management (APM) reviews petitions requesting exception to undergraduate academic degree requirements and policies on behalf of the Provost Office.

We have received a petition you recently submitted.

Petition Topic:

Date Petition Initiated by Student:

Date of Receipt of Petition in APM:

Before we can render a decision, more information is needed.

Please provide the following information within 5 business days:

a.       Signature from --- _____________

b.       Additional documentation --- (eg syllabus) _________

c.       Other: _____________

If we do not receive the requested information, you can expect that the petition will be disapproved.

With this email, a courtesy copy has been sent to the College academic advising office of your major.

This website is designed for ACT members to facilitate communication and to document discussions.

Please send updates, comments, and suggestions to fwkelley@uh.edu