1/23/18
SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
Summary of Petitions by College, Campus, and Unit 2016-2017
(Informational)
View PDF Version of the Report
The Senate permits students to petition for exceptions to the Senate academic rules found in the Policies and Rules for Undergraduate Students. Exceptions to these policies are the responsibility of the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Education. The committee reports annually to the Senate on student petition actions. This report provides a summary of petitions by colleges and campuses.
The petition provides an opportunity for the student to receive consideration on extenuating circumstances affecting his/her progress. A petition typically contains a letter and transcript from the student, and supporting documents from advisers, instructors, physicians, or other appropriate professionals. The final decision by the Subcommittee on Academic Standards represents an effort to weigh the personal circumstances of the individual while maintaining the academic standards of the University.
There are many factors that can cause the number of student petition submissions to vary from year to year, and this is normal. Every student petition is unique and students submit petitions based on extenuating circumstances beyond their control that affected their academic performance. Fluctuations in numbers of petitions submitted is a reflection of the types of issues students are dealing with at a certain point in their academic career, and in their personal lives.
Note that the total number of petitions decreased for 2016-2017. Retroactive late drops specifically decreased by 277 petitions. When the Senate approved the elimination of the late drop credit limit, effective fall 2016 semester, the Faculty Senate, in collaboration with the Division of Undergraduate Studies, and the Office of Undergraduate Education developed an expedited approval process for retroactive late drop petitions with the following guidelines:
Petitions that requested to exceed the late drop credit limit for a semester/session no earlier than Fall 2015 and where the students provide clear evidence that they intended to late drop within the proper deadline for doing so should be allowed to exceed the former credit limit as the legislation intends (16 for undergraduates in baccalaureate programs and 10 for non-degree, degree-seeking provisional, or undergraduates in an associate degree program).
The number of petitions handled using this expedited process was 203 retroactive late drop petitions.
Also, as a direct result of the policy change that eliminated the late drop credit limit, there is naturally a drop in the number of total retroactive late drop petitions for 2016-2017 because students no longer have to limit the number of late drops they utilize over their academic career. Therefore, this negated the need for some students to petition when they couldn’t late drop due to exhausting their late drop credits. This decrease was expected. Data shows that for the five years prior to the 2015-2016 academic year, the percentage of retroactive late drop petitions that also included a request to exceed the late drop credit limit was consistently between 28% and 32% of the total number of retroactive late drop petitions submitted.
Another factor in the reduction in petition numbers for 2016-2017 is a new requirement for retroactive withdrawals. In March 2016, the Senate Office in collaboration with the Offices of Student Aid, Global Penn State, and the Division of Undergraduate Studies, created two new forms that are now required to be included in every retroactive withdrawal petition. These forms were developed to help avert financial hardships that can occur when students have a petition approved for retroactive withdrawal from one or more terms. The implementation of these forms requires that before submitting a petition, students explore consequences that could occur if their retroactive withdrawal is approved, such as the loss of federal student aid for domestic students, and issues with visa status and sponsorship for international students. Since these new forms were implemented late in the spring 2016 semester, the 2016-2017 academic year is the first year to demonstrate the full effects of using these forms.
Decreases in other categories (e.g. late registration) are less likely to be related to changes in policy directly and will continue to be monitored over time. Mental health issues comprised a large portion (42%) of overall submissions, which is consistent with past numbers (see Table 6).
Following the “Summary of Petitions” is an analysis of 2016-2017 petitions by petition type with reasons for submission and denial.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
- Andrew Ahr
- Jonna Belanger
- Gretchen Casper
- Theodore Cios
- Delia Conti
- Joyce Furfaro (Vice Chair)
- Yvonne Gaudelius
- David Han
- Peter Heaney
- Karen Henninger
- Peggy Johnson
- Peter Linehan
- Karen Pollack
- Vansh Prabhu
- Janina Safran
- George Samuel
- Elizabeth Seymour (Chair)
- Keith Shapiro
- David Smith
- Michele Stine
- Samia Suliman
TABLE #1: COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF PETITIONS
2015-2016; 2016-2017
College or Campus | 2016-2017 Submitted | Petition % based on unit enrollment | 2016-2017 Granted | 2016-2017 Denied | 2016-2017 Cncl/Pndg | 2015-2016* Submitted | % Increase/ Decrease |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agricultural Sciences | 33 | 1.7 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 36 | -8% |
Arts and Architecture | 12 | 1.1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 30 | -60% |
Business | 49 | 0.9 | 32 | 13 | 4 | 54 | -9% |
Communications | 61 | 2.4 | 41 | 16 | 4 | 122 | -50% |
Div. of Undergrad. Studies | 106 | 2.7 | 69 | 35 | 2 | 79 | 34% |
Earth and Mineral Sciences | 83 | 4.1 | 51 | 29 | 3 | 113 | -27% |
Education | 5 | 0.4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 24 | -79% |
Engineering | 140 | 1.7 | 91 | 43 | 6 | 158 | -11% |
Health and Human Dev. | 89 | 2.1 | 59 | 27 | 3 | 91 | -2% |
Information Sci. & Tech. | 27 | 2.1 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 21 | 29% |
Liberal Arts | 163 | 3.4 | 109 | 50 | 4 | 271 | -40% |
Nursing | 2 | 0.4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -71% |
Science | 60 | 1.7 | 43 | 16 | 1 | 95 | -37% |
Abington | 56 | 1.4 | 30 | 25 | 1 | 60 | -7% |
Altoona | 32 | 0.9 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 55 | -42% |
Berks | 41 | 1.4 | 29 | 10 | 2 | 35 | 17% |
Erie | 61 | 1.4 | 45 | 15 | 1 | 79 | -23% |
Harrisburg | 71 | 1.7 | 43 | 24 | 4 | 84 | -15% |
University College | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
Beaver | 8 | 1.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 33% |
Brandywine | 20 | 1.5 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 23 | -13% |
DuBois | 4 | 0.7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 300% |
Fayette | 7 | 1.1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 75% |
Greater Allegheny | 9 | 1.6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 13% |
Hazleton | 6 | 0.7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | -25% |
Lehigh Valley | 10 | 1.2 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 11 | -9% |
Mont Alto | 11 | 1.2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 18 | -39% |
New Kensington | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | -80% |
Schuylkill | 6 | 0.8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -14% |
Shenango | 2 | 0.4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% |
Wilkes-Barre | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 150% |
Worthington Scranton | 3 | 0.3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -75% |
York | 9 | 0.8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 21 | -57% |
TOTALS | 1192 | _ | 803 | 339 | 50 | **1541 | -23% |
*Data for the 2015-2016 academic year may be slightly different than in previous reports due to ongoing process updates and subsequent data entry corrections.
**There was an increase in the number of petitions for 2015-2016 partly due to Senate approval of the elimination of the late drop credit limit on October 27, 2015.
NOTE: Data represents the total number of petitions submitted for each academic unit. These numbers include specialized petitions where applicable (i.e., World Campus, eLion/LionPATH, Trauma, and Appeal petitions).
TABLE #2: 2016-2017 PETITIONS BY UNIT AND CASE TYPE
College or Campus | Academic Renewal | Corrected Grade | Course Cancel | Late Add | Late Drop | Late Registration | Registration Cancel | Withdrawal | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agricultural Sciences | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
Arts and Architecture | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
Business | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
Communications | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
Div. of Undergrad. Studies | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 63 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
Earth and Mineral Sciences | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
Education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Engineering | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 70 | 2 | 1 | 56 | 3 |
Health and Human Dev. | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 48 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
Information Sci. & Tech. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
Liberal Arts | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 76 | 7 | 0 | 66 | 4 |
Nursing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Science | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
Abington | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
Altoona | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
Berks | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Erie | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
Harrisburg | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
University College | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Beaver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
Brandywine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
DuBois | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fayette | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Greater Allegheny | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Hazleton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Lehigh Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Mont Alto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
New Kensington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Schuylkill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Shenango | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Wilkes-Barre | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Worthington Scranton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
TOTALS | 4 | 22 | 11 | 72 | 585 | 45 | 4 | 426 | 23 |
NOTE: Data represents the total number of petitions per case type for each academic unit. These numbers include specialized petitions where applicable (i.e., World Campus, eLion/LionPATH, Trauma, and Appeal petitions).
TABLE #3: INCREASE/DECREASE IN SUBMITTED PETITIONS BY CASE TYPE
2015-2016 to 2016-2017
Case Type | 2015-2016* | 2016-2017 | % of Increase/ Decrease |
---|---|---|---|
Academic Renewal | 6 | 4 | -33% |
Corrected Grade | 9 | 22 | 144% |
Course Cancel | 13 | 11 | -15% |
Late Add | 54 | 72 | 33% |
Late Drop*** | 862 | 585 | -32% |
Late Registration | 65 | 45 | -31% |
Other** | 35 | 23 | -34% |
Registration Cancel | 6 | 4 | -33% |
Withdrawal | 491 | 426 | -13% |
TOTALS | 1541 | 1192 | -23% |
World Campus | 101 | 62 | -39% |
eLion/LionPATH | 41 | 25 | -39% |
Trauma | 49 | 66 | 35% |
Appeals | 36 | 65 | 81% |
*Data for the 2015-2016 academic year may be slightly different than in previous reports due to ongoing process updates and subsequent data entry corrections.
** Examples of petitions in the “other” category: changing registration of a course to reflect the number of credits completed for internships; changing late drop of a course to an administrative course cancellation.
***There was an increase in the number of retroactive late drop petitions for 2015-2016 partly due to Senate approval of the elimination of the late drop credit limit on October 27, 2015.
NOTE:
- A World Campus petition is one that involves requests for courses taken through World Campus.
- An eLion/LionPATH petition is one where a student indicates the unsuccessful use of eLion/LionPATH as the basis of the petition.
- A Trauma petition is one where the student’s circumstances require unusual confidentiality (e.g., the victim of a sexual assault or violent crime).
- An Appeal petition is one where a student provides additional documentation to support a previously denied request.
TABLE #4: THREE-YEAR SUMMARY OF PETITIONS BY CASE TYPE
2014-2015; 2015-2016; 2016-2017
Academic Year: 2014-2015* – Overall Percentage Granted: 82%
Case Type | Submitted | Granted | Denied | Cncl/Pndg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Academic Renewal | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
Corrected Grade | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
Course Cancel | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Late Add | 48 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
Late Drop | 582 | 449 | 124 | 9 |
Late Registration | 48 | 47 | 0 | 1 |
Other** | 34 | 32 | 0 | 2 |
Registration Cancel | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Withdrawal | 545 | 456 | 78 | 11 |
TOTALS | 1297 | 1070 | 204 | 23 |
Academic Year: 2015-2016* – Overall Percentage Granted: 79%
Case Type | Submitted | Granted | Denied | Cncl/Pndg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Academic Renewal | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Corrected Grade | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Course Cancel | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
Late Add | 54 | 52 | 0 | 2 |
Late Drop*** | 862 | 647 | 193 | 22 |
Late Registration | 65 | 63 | 0 | 2 |
Other** | 35 | 31 | 4 | 0 |
Registration Cancel | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Withdrawal | 491 | 399 | 81 | 11 |
TOTALS | 1541 | 1225 | 278 | 38 |
Academic Year: 2016-2017 – Overall Percentage Granted: 67%
Case Type | Submitted | Granted | Denied | Cncl/Pndg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Academic Renewal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Corrected Grade | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 |
Course Cancel | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Late Add | 72 | 72 | 0 | 0 |
Late Drop | 585 | 325 | 237 | 23 |
Late Registration | 45 | 44 | 0 | 1 |
Other** | 23 | 20 | 1 | 2 |
Registration Cancel | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Withdrawal | 426 | 306 | 100 | 20 |
TOTALS | 1192 | 803 | 339 | 50 |
*Data for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 academic years may be slightly different than in previous reports due to ongoing process updates and subsequent data entry corrections.
** Examples of petitions in the “other” category: changing registration of a course to reflect the number of credits completed for internships; changing late drop of a course to an administrative course cancellation.
***There was an increase in the number of retroactive late drop petitions for 2015-2016 partly due to Senate approval of the elimination of the late drop credit limit on October 27, 2015.
TABLE #5: THREE-YEAR SUMMARY OF SPECIALIZED PETITIONS
2014-2015; 2015-2016; 2016-2017
Academic Year: 2014-2015*
Case Type | Submitted | Granted | Denied | Cncl/Pndg |
---|---|---|---|---|
World Campus | 89 | 81 | 7 | 1 |
eLion/LionPATH | 46 | 33 | 12 | 1 |
Trauma | 49 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
Appeals | 42 | 31 | 11 | 0 |
Academic Year: 2015-2016*
Case Type | Submitted | Granted | Denied | Cncl/Pndg |
---|---|---|---|---|
World Campus | 101 | 70 | 27 | 4 |
eLion/LionPATH | 41 | 27 | 14 | 0 |
Trauma | 49 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
Appeals | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0 |
Academic Year: 2016-2017
Case Type | Submitted | Granted | Denied | Cncl/Pndg |
---|---|---|---|---|
World Campus | 62 | 37 | 24 | 1 |
eLion/LionPATH | 25 | 12 | 12 | 1 |
Trauma | 66 | 66 | 0 | 0 |
Appeals | 65 | 34 | 24 | 7 |
*Data for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 academic years may be slightly different than in previous reports due to ongoing updates and subsequent data entry corrections
NOTE:
- A World Campus petition is one that involves requests for courses taken through World Campus.
- An eLion/LionPATH petition is one where a student indicates the unsuccessful use of eLion/LionPATH as the basis of the petition.
- A Trauma petition is one where a student’s circumstances require unusual confidentiality (e.g., the victim of a sexual assault or violent crime).
- An Appeal petition is one where the student provides additional documentation to support a previously denied request.
NOTE: Numbers of specialized petitions displayed here are also included in the Comparative Summary of Petitions by College/Campus above. Data for specialized petitions is tracked due to specific interest in the numbers of World Campus, eLion/LionPATH, Trauma, and Appeal petitions submitted.
TABLE #6: FIVE-YEAR SUMMARY OF MENTAL HEALTH RELATED PETITIONS
2012-2017
Academic Year | Total Number of Petitions Submitted | % of Mental Health Related Petitions based on TOTAL Number of Petitions Submitted | % of Mental Health Related Petitions based on Number of WITHDRAWAL AND LATE DROP Petitions Submitted |
---|---|---|---|
2012-2013 | 1373 | 32 | 38 |
2013-2014 | 1365 | 33 | 40 |
2014-2015 | 1294 | 41 | 40 |
2015-2016 | 1533 | 33 | 37 |
2016-2017 | 1192 | 42 | 49 |
NOTE: Mental Health Related petitions are any that involve mental health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)). Generally, mental health related petitions are for retroactive withdrawals and retroactive late drops. Therefore, it is important to reflect these data in the report, along with the percentages of the total number of petitions submitted.