Students may appeal for an exception to stated policies and procedures through the Student Affairs Petition process. The following are some petitionable items:

• Approval of field study
• Approval to take classes during the day
• Consent to receive an incomplete (including instructor consent)
• Extension of deadlines for incompletes (including instructor consent)
• Credit by CLEP exam
• Course substitutions for requirements
• Changes to the course plan of a certificate program
• Permission to drop a course after the deadline

A petition must be submitted within 1 calendar year of the academic quarter in which the issue occurred (e.g., a student must submit a petition by no later than the end of the fall quarter of 2019 to request an exception for an issue that arose in the fall quarter of 2018).

To submit a Student Affairs Petition, use the electronic form found on the SPS website on the Forms and Documents page.

Students must include all relevant documents and evidence in the initial submission. Electronic supporting documents (doctors’ notes, etc.) may be emailed to spspetitions@northwestern.edu or delivered to the SPS Registrar’s Office on the Chicago campus. All petitions should include an explanation of the issue in question and requested outcome, legible documentation from a credible source, and an accurate timeline of their actions within the situation (e.g. last date of attendance).

Students should not use the petition process frivolously. The committee will be most understanding of cases in which the student could not have reasonably foreseen the circumstances.

*Please Note: Students cannot submit Student Affairs Petitions for a grade change request.