Academic petitions are handled through the academic affairs division of the University.  The process of review may include the academic department, academic advising offices, administrative offices, and/or college associate dean's office.  Typical academic petitions include, but are not limited to, transferring from one program to another, academic requirement or policy deviation requests, and issues relating to academic probation and disqualification.  Students should submit their petitions observing the following protocol:

1. Instructor/Advisor/Staff Employee
2. Department Chair/Head/Supervisor
3. Associate Dean of your college (for the College of Science and Math submit petition to the Dean)

If the student's petition is denied, he/she can be referred by the College Associate Dean's office or the appropriate Administrative/Academic office to the Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Undergraduate Education in order to apply for appeal.

Academic Petition Appeals

Following a petition decision, and under limited circumstances, students may appeal to the Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Undergraduate Education or his/her designee.  The right to an appeal is not guaranteed and an appeal will only be granted if the student can show that one or more of the following exist:

1. A requirement or policy was incorrectly applied to the petition.
2. A requirement or policy is unclear or ambiguous.
3. There is new information that should be considered in the evaluation of the petition.
4. There are special circumstances warranting the granting of the appeal.

The granting of an academic petition appeal gives students the opportunity to present the merits of their petition to the Vice Provost.  The Vice Provost's decisions regarding appeals represent the University's final decision on academic petitions.

The University Ombudsman (756-6770) is available to any campus community member to assist with identifying and clarifying appropriate campus policies and procedures for addressing student grievances or concerns. 

Contact the Office of Academic Programs and Undergraduate Education at 756-2246 or by email at carson@calpoly.edu if you need additional information.