Committee on Academic Petitions

The Committee on Academic Petitions (CAP) is a committee whose members are appointed by the Provost.

CAP is charged with considering and deciding student academic petitions, as set out in the 51²è¹Ý Statement of Process for Undergraduate Student Academic Petitions. Only requests outlined in this process may be considered by this committee.

Academic Petitions are requests by a student for an exception to an academic policy. Academic policy includes any policy, rule, or regulation that applies to academic matters at 51²è¹Ý.

Other University Processes 

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If your appeal is regarding a grade change in one or more courses that does not involve a late withdrawal or is an extension of 51²è¹Ý's incomplete grading policy, please review the 51²è¹Ý policy for grade appeals under Enrollment and Academic Records in your .

Please consult your catalog for specific details, but generally, grade appeals follow this process:

  1. Grade appeals must first be discussed with the instructor of the course. You must discuss your concerns with your instructor and give them adequate time to consider your request.
  2. If you are not satisfied with the resolution, you then appeal next to the academic department chair of the course. For instance, if you are appealing a grade in PSYC 1300, then you would appeal to the department chair of the Department of Psychology. Contact information can be found on the academic department website.
  3. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome by the academic department chair, then appeal to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies related to the course’s academic department. For instance, if the course is MUHI 1300, then the appeal would be to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies within the Meadows School of the Arts.
  4. Your final appeal opportunity, if you are not satisfied with the school or college decision, is you may appeal to the associate provost of Faculty Success. There is no further opportunity for appeal beyond this level.

Any student who wants to request a medical withdrawal should first complete and submit a Caring Community Connections (CCC) submission form and select the “medical withdrawal request” checkbox.

This will initiate the process with the Office of Student Advocacy and Support (OSAS), who is best able to assist you through the medical withdrawal process. There is no opportunity for a retroactive medical withdrawal.

Any student who wants to request post-matriculation study abroad credit should contact the Education Abroad Council (EAC) for approval.

The EAC reviews all education abroad proposals for trips involving 51²è¹Ý undergraduates abroad, as stated in the Education Abroad Council Bylaws.

This includes student abroad travel for academic, credit-bearing programs supported by 51²è¹Ý Abroad (either faculty-led or provider-supported), abroad trips linked to a Dallas-based course, and 51²è¹Ý-sponsored non-credit bearing international academic experiences.

Preparing for Your Appeal

Preparations by Appeal Type

Before submitting your CAP Appeal, the appeal types below require all preceding steps to be completed for full consideration.

Requests for a late withdrawal (e.g., replacement of a letter grade with a 'W') must first be submitted via a Petition for Enrollment Policy Exception (PEPE) and decided upon by 51²è¹Ý’s Registrar's Office. Students must submit the PEPE and decision notification documents with their CAP Appeal. To do this:

  1. Visit the Registrar's office page to more information.
  2. Request and/or meet with your school record’s office or academic advisor to submit a PEPE.
  3. Await final decision from the Registrar’s Office.
  4. If a denial is received, you may submit a CAP appeal. Please attach your original PEPE and final decision rationale provided by the Registrar’s Office in your CAP Appeal submission.

You must have received an email notification from the University Advising Center (pre-majors) or your School Record’s office (declared students) notifying you of your academic suspension or dismissal from 51²è¹Ý.

Please adhere to the timelines and processes associated with appealing the suspension or dismissal as stated in your notification letter from the university.

Students requesting reinstatement must begin the process with the Registrar's office via their website.
Undergraduate students who have been suspended are required to attach a personal statement to their reinstatement application. This personal statement should include:

  1. Past circumstances that led to your suspension.
  2. Plans upon return. How will things be different?
  3. Strategies you will employ to ensure you are successful in achieving your plan.
  4. What have you done during your suspension that has prepared you to return to 51²è¹Ý?

Returning students are strongly advised to apply for reactivation or reinstatement at least 60 days prior to the start of the term of re-entry.

A student who petitions for an exception to or waiver of academic policy must first follow any procedure that applies to the particular type of request. Therefore, please consult your University Catalog for policies that apply to your circumstance.

Undergraduates are encouraged to consult their academic advisor or a university official prior to submitting an appeal.

General Appeal Process

The appeal must include a clear statement for each of the following items. Our webform will require you to paste your text responses for each of the three component parts and upload any additional supporting documents. We recommend that you prepare this statement in advance before completing the form.

  1. A description of the decision you are appealing and the outcome you are requesting.
  2. What unit, school, division, or academic officer issued the decision that you are appealing? (If you appealed to one level within a school or unit and then appealed to another level, be sure to include each in your answer to this.)
  3. Explain why you believe that the decision fits in one of the following categories:
    1. The decision was based on a clear misinterpretation of University policy (please specify).
    2. The decision is outside the bounds of a reasonable application of the academic policy, rule, or regulation that way applied.
    3. Extenuating circumstances justify the overturning of a decision.
  4. Attach any documentation relating to items A, B, and C. This includes a copy of the decision you are appealing and any documents supporting your contention that the decision was erroneous, as defined above.

The Committee on Academic Petitions may request that you provide additional information if the submission is incomplete. If asked, the student will have up to three business days to respond.

An 51²è¹Ý undergraduate student must submit their appeal to the Committee on Academic Petitions via the electronic submission form.

 

After an Appeal Submission

  1. Once the submission is complete, the CAP will administratively review the appeal for applicability. The student will be notified via their 51²è¹Ý email if the appeal is within the scope of CAP or be referred to another office if necessary.
  2. CAP will issue a decision according to the above standard if within the committee's scope. The CAP may request to meet with the student or gather further information.
  3. The CAP will notify the student of its decision by email at the student’s 51²è¹Ý email address - typically within two business weeks or less.

 

Contact Information

Committee on Academic Petitions
cap@smu.edu
Office of the Provost
Division of Academic Affairs
51²è¹Ý