Advising Support
If you are experiencing circumstances that interfere with your academic work, you should speak with an academic advisor in your College Registrar’s Office before submitting a request for petition. They are familiar with U of T's processes and policies, have experience helping students in a wide range of circumstances and can take your individual situation into account when advising you, including any personal, medical or financial issues.
If you are a student with a disability, you should also speak with Accessibility Services to ensure that you are given appropriate accommodations.
Communication and email: Any petition-related communication from the faculty or a College Registrar’s Office will be sent to your official UTmail+ (@mail.utoronto.ca) email address. Make sure you have a valid U of T email address and that this email is listed on ACORN.
Choose a Petition Type
The first step in preparing a petition is to choose a petition type. Read through the page related to your petition type for specific requirements related to that petition. Keep in mind that this is a broad overview, and your best resource for petition guidance is an academic advisor in your College Registrar’s Office.
Things to Include in Your Petition
- A personal statement to explain the extenuating circumstances that led to your petition request
- Supporting documentation
Note that any information or documentation included in your petition request may be verified by the petitions unit. If any information or documentation is found to be untrue, fabricated, altered or falsified, an allegation of academic misconduct will be forwarded to the Office of Student Academic Integrity in accordance with the university’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.
Personal Statement
Your personal statement has to be submitted on the same day as your petition and should explain what you are requesting and why you believe your request should be granted. Describe in detail how extenuating circumstances outside of your control negatively impacted your academic progress. Explain if you sought support (i.e., your instructor, College Registrar's Office, Accessibility Office, etc.). Explain how the petition, if granted, will support your academic goals.
In addition, your personal statement should include the following:
- The start and end dates of when your extenuating circumstances took place and impacted your academic progress. Your extenuating circumstances must have occurred at the time of the course, exam or academic assessment in question. If your supporting documentation is not dated at the time the circumstances occurred, explain why.
- The dates when you sought support, who you sought support from and what happened. If you did not seek out support, explain why.
- If applicable, what other work (assignments, tests, attending lectures, etc.) did you complete in the course? Explain how you were doing in the course overall.
- Explain how the extenuating circumstances impacted your academic progress in the other courses you were taking during the same period as the course in question. If your grades in one or more of the other courses do not suggest a similar pattern, explain why. The petitions unit will review your academic record in addition to the supporting documentation you provide.
- If you are unable to provide documentation in support of one or more relevant piece(s) of information reported in your personal statement, explain why such documentation could not be obtained.
Please note, each petition type may have additional requirements for your personal statement. Make sure to review the information specific to your petition request before completing your submission. Your personal statement should be at most two pages and double-spaced, and your personal statement should only convey information relevant to the request.
Supporting Documentation
Supporting documentation has to be submitted on the same day as your petition and will help to confirm the details you described in your personal statement. All petitions must include:
- Documentation that verifies the information reported in your personal statement
- A copy of the course syllabus for all course-based petitions, such as term work extensions, deferred exams, exam rewrite, late withdrawal, late withdrawal without academic penalty, late application or removal of Credit/No Credit
Any documentation provided in a language other than English must be accompanied by an official translation of that document.
Sometimes, a member of your community or another professional (e.g., lawyer, religious leader, traditional Chinese medicine practitioner or physiotherapist) may have direct or indirect knowledge of your circumstances. In that case, consider having them write you a letter of support on an official letterhead.
If you have any questions about supporting documentation, talk to your College Registrar’s Office, as they can advise on how to make your petition as strong as possible.
If you are submitting a petition due to health-related issues, you will need to include medical documentation that speaks of the impact the illness had during the relevant academic event or period.
You can submit a Verification of Illness or Injury (VOI) form, or if outside Ontario, a letter from a licensed practitioner in the region you are liva ing in. You should seek assistance from your medical care provider as soon as possible to validate the relevant day(s) of illness or injury on the VOI form.
If the reason for your petition is related to a disability, health concern or injury for which you are registered with Accessibility Services, you should submit a letter from your accessibility advisor.
If you are submitting a petition due to a death, provide a death certificate or other proof of passing (e.g., newspaper article or obituary).
If you are submitting a petition due to an automobile collision, provide a collision report or police report.
If you chose not to report the incident to the police, you could provide a photo of the collision with the licence plate of your vehicle visible and a copy of your provincial vehicle/licence permit that includes your name, vehicle description and licence plate number. The photo of the collision must be the original photo file that includes metadata with the date the photo was taken and the camera information. Please ensure that all supporting documentation is in English or that an official translation is included.
You must provide documentation to support your rationale for lateness. Being unaware of the deadline or being unfamiliar with the petition process are not acceptable reasons for lateness.
Petition Deadlines
Petition deadlines vary depending on the type of petition and can be found on the specific Petition Types pages.
Late Petitions
Petitions are expected to be submitted by the stated deadline. However, the faculty recognizes that exceptional circumstances may arise. If you are unable to obtain all necessary supporting documentation by the deadline, you must request an extension from your College Registrar’s Office.
If a petition is being submitted late, include in your personal statement why you are submitting after the deadline, what happened in your life between the time of the petition deadline and the date of submission, and include any documentation that supports why you are submitting after the deadline. Lack of knowledge about the deadline or unfamiliarity with the petition process are not acceptable reasons for submitting your petition after the deadline.
If you have any questions about supporting documentation, talk to your College Registrar’s Office, as they can advise on how to make your petition as strong as possible.
Confidentiality and Privacy
The University of Toronto respects your privacy. Personal information that you provide to the University via the Petition System is collected pursuant to section 2(14) of the University of Toronto Act, 1971. The University of Toronto is committed to the protection of privacy and protects your personal information consistent with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). Your information is only shared within the University as necessary for official university tasks and needs.
The petitions unit may need to consult with instructors, staff in departmental offices or staff in College Registrars' Offices to clarify some aspect of a petition before reaching a decision. In these consultations, no personal details or circumstances underlying the request are shared. When petitions or appeals are heard by the Committee on Standing, any identifying attributes in the petition (such as name, student number and/or gender pronouns) are removed.
If your petition involves something extremely personal that would be troubling to include, discuss your concerns with your College Registrar’s Office. Generally, it is advisable to disclose as many facts as needed to clearly convey the circumstances that led to your request. If you are providing a supporting document completed by a third party (e.g., medical practitioner, legal counsel, etc.), you may wish to discuss with them how much detail to include. What is most important is to convey how the circumstances impacted on your studies.