The University has made changes to the applicability of the ACORN Absence Declaration Tool. As of the Fall 2023 term, the Absence Declaration Tool will no longer be considered as supporting documentation for petition requests.
Before you can graduate, you must complete your degree requirements. If you are close to graduating and are unable to complete a degree requirement for some reason, but
you cannot postpone your graduation, you can submit an exception to degree requirements petition.
Postponing graduation to complete the requirement is the expectation in most situations. This petition is not meant to provide you with an alternative to postponing graduation, even if your missed degree requirement is due to a genuine error in judgment.
Deadline to Submit an Exception to Degree Requirements Petition
While there is no specific deadline for this petition, you should submit it well in advance of your intended graduation date. We recommend that you submit the exception to degree requirements petition in your second-last term, or at the very latest, at the beginning of your last term.
Personal Statement for an Exception to Degree Requirements Petition
In addition to the recommendations listed in Preparing a Petition, your personal statement should include a timeline and explanation that demonstrate why the degree requirement has not been fulfilled. You should also describe the circumstances that prevented you from completing the degree requirement and the reason why you cannot postpone your graduation.
Answer the following questions in your exception to degree requirements statement:
- What is the degree requirement in question, and when did you intend to complete it?
- Why are you unable to complete the degree requirement?
- What is preventing you from postponing graduation in order to continue your studies and complete the requirement?
- What other options are there to meet the degree requirement (i.e., finishing the necessary credit at another university), and why will they not help?