Academic Petitions
Academic appeal petitions allow you to contest a policy related to registration or graduation. While there are many policies you can appeal, there are also some that cannot be contested. For your appeal to be considered, you must demonstrate an extenuating circumstance that has prevented you from fulfilling the requirements you are challenging.
Some of the most commonly petitioned policies include:
- Waiving deadlines (see the Academic Calendar for this semester's important dates)
- Adding or dropping a course(s)
- Late withdrawal from a course(s)
- Late withdrawal from college
- Late pass/fail
- Late grade substitution for pass/fail
- Extension of incomplete(s)
PLEASE NOTE
According to the Buffalo State undergraduate catalog, "Students should not request a waiver of any regulations without strong evidence to justify the waiver." Therefore, petitions will only be accepted if official documentation of an extenuating circumstance (i.e., strong evidence) is not attached to the petition at the time of submission.
NOTE: Petitions requesting a change be made to your account/transcript (a drop/late add) where aid has to be recalculated must be submitted NO LATER than one year from the start of the semester in question.
FAQ's
Petition FAQs
How do I submit materials to the Academic Standards Office?
Forms and documentation should be submitted to the office via the online platform. If, for any reason, you are requested to supply additional documentation, please email or fax it directly to our office at (716) 878-4037. Please use your Buffalo State email account to send your forms and supporting documents to acadstandards@buffalostate.edu. Staff will regularly check and respond to this email account during regular business hours.
What is the deadline to file a petition?
Petitions requesting a retroactive drop of a course must be completed within one week of semester bills being sent out by the college (this deadline is flexible if there is a serious extenuating circumstance that prevents you from meeting the deadline).
The best way to avoid having to petition is to be aware of the college's deadlines for changes to your course schedule.
How can I speed up my petition?
You can hurry your petition along by making sure it is completely filled out and that your extenuating circumstance documentation is attached as a readable PDF.
You can also seek the written support of your:
- Your instructor if this involves a late add to a course.
- An adviser's misadvisement, or a university error on the part of the adviser
- Department chair to request an additional repeat of a course
What is the turnaround time for petitions?
It can take up to four weeks for a petition to be reviewed and processed; thus, a petition from submission to decision averages one month due to the number of offices and verification of documentation.
What cannot be petitioned?
There are many things that can't be petitioned.
Some items that cannot be petitioned:
- Changing majors
- Dismissal requests (this must go through the university dismissal process).
- SUNY general education knowledge areas (i.e., math, basic communication, diversity, and natural science).
- The student’s record is over a year old when the student requests a drop in their courses, which would lead to a financial adjustment in that student’s account.
- Waiving the number of credits (120) needed for graduation or for your major/minor
- Waiving mandatory student fees
- Make a change to your account/transcript that involves money one year from the start of the semester in question
- Changes involving the official transcript after the student has graduated.
I never attended a course, but it's still on my schedule, and I want it dropped. Can I petition that?
Not unless an extenuating reason prevented you from dropping the course through BANNER. The college catalog notes that non-attendance does not result in removal from a class. Requests to drop or withdraw from a course simply because you did not attend will not be approved.
What is an extenuating circumstance?
It is something beyond your control, such as a (severe) personal illness, the death or illness of an immediate family member, extreme personal emotional stress, and serious personal circumstances.
You should document the extenuating circumstance you are listing on your petition by submitting official documentation from a doctor, counselor, or legal system representative. All documents are subject to verification.
I've been attending a course all semester, but it's not on my schedule. How do I get it added?
Unless a documented extenuating circumstance explains why you were not registered by the registration deadline, you will not be permitted to register late for the course and should stop attending immediately! Please note that having access to a course site does not necessarily mean you are officially registered for the course; verify your registration in Banner every semester before the final registration deadline.
After a petition is submitted, the Academic Standards Office reviews each petition and evaluates all documentation for validity. If necessary, the director will refer the petition to people who may have vital information to contribute to the appeal.
Some examples of the faculty and staff we will reach out to
- Instructors (to verify your class attendance and/or syllabus information)
- Financial Aid/Student Accounts Office (to comment on the financial impact of your request)
- Admissions Office (to comment on transfer credits)
- Registrar's Office (to verify attempted registration activity in Banner)
- The Care Team for additional documentation if necessary.
After the referrals and comments are gathered, your petition is submitted to the Academic Appeals Committee for review.
The Academic Appeals Committee is made up of:
- The Associate Deans of the university
- a representative from Admissions who specializes in transfer and articulation
- a representative from Student Accounts
- a representative from Financial Aid
- a representative from the Registrar's Office
- and the Director for Academic Standards.
The committee's decision is final.
Follow these steps to file an academic appeal:
- Identify what you will request in the appeal, such as a late withdrawal of a course(s) or a waiver of a general education requirement.
- Please communicate with your department chair, instructor, adviser, and counselor about your request to confirm they support it.
- Check with the Student Accounts Office and Financial Aid Office (if there may be financial implications related to your petition) to see the impact on your bill and financial aid.
- Complete the SUNY Buffalo State Academic Appeal Petition. You will be asked for the following in the appeal form, so please be sure you have gathered all the required information before you start your request.
- Student information (e.g., Banner ID, academic program, anticipated graduation date)
- The nature of your request and related details (e.g., semester, course name, course CRN)
- An explanation of the extenuating circumstances related to your request
- Documentation to support your request (e.g., legal documentation, Dean of Students Office, UPD, Title IX Coordinator, medical documentation). Please note that we will only accept faxed medical documentation from the medical provider's office (i.e., doctor, counselor, mental health provider, etc.).
- All documentation is subject to verification.
- Letter(s) of support from campus officials that may have inadvertently caused a delay (e.g., instructor, adviser, support program counselor stating the reason for the delay was based on their error, or additional course Repeat (3rd or more attempts): a letter from the chair of the course the student is taking is required as documentation.
If you encounter difficulty completing the Academic Appeal Petition, please email acadstandards@buffalostate.edu for assistance.