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CALS Academic Petitions

Petitions to CALS Academic Policies

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University is committed to helping each student reach their full academic potential. Students with extenuating or exceptional circumstances seeking to petition for exceptions to CALS academic policies may be eligible to submit a petition to the CALS Academic Achievement and Petitions Committee. A petition is used by students for an extenuating circumstance that is an unforeseeable, short-term, non-academic emergency outside of a student's control that occurred during the semester for which they are petitioning and affects their ability to participate in classes and academic activities. Petitions for such circumstances aim to support students whose academic performance is severely impacted. Approval is not guaranteed, regardless of the situation or documentation. The petition is used to document the request and decision. College and University policies guide petition decisions. View the CALS graduation requirements and policies.  

For cases unrelated to academic policies, such as disputing a grade or other equity concerns, students should seek the counsel of the University Ombuds for a referral to the correct policy or relevant office. 

The time limit for filing a petition is the last day of class for the current semester of which the petition is sought.

BE/EnvE Students: BE/EnvE students receive a joint degree from CALS/CoE, they petition some issues through CALS and others through CoE. These students should meet with their advisor or can contact the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering.

Common Petition Types
  • Add a class after the deadline. Requests to add a class retroactively from a prior semester or after the last day of classes for a given semester will not be accepted.
  • Variable credit change after the deadline
  • Request to return from a required academic leave, voluntary leave or health leave within 5 years.
  • Requests will be considered to change the grade option from S/U to graded (A-F) after the deadline if the class is required for the major.
Petition Process 
  • A petition is usually prepared with the assistance of the student’s faculty advisor or major advising coordinator, whose signature is required. 
  • For petitions receiving approval from a faculty advisor or instructor and where a student has cited extenuating circumstances, CALS handles the petition internally without escalation to the committee to facilitate timely responses during the semester.
  • The Academic Achievement and Petitions Committee reviews all other written petitions to determine if extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control warrant an exception. 
  • CALS staff representatives provide the committee with an overview of the student's current situation and recommendations regarding approval/denial while considering and upholding college and university policies.
  • The committee discusses and the decision is finalized.

A student must present a compelling explanation of how extenuating circumstances have affected their academic performance. The petition should include convincing evidence that an exception is warranted. Please note: dissatisfaction with earned grades is NOT considered extenuating.

To discuss the option of submitting a petition, please schedule a meeting with an Academic Advisor in CALS Student Services.

Academic Petitions will not be permitted for any of the following:
  • Cornell University courses to count towards college distribution that have not been approved by the CALS Curriculum Committee.
  • Petition to withdraw from a course after the withdrawal period for the current semester.
  • Petitions to withdraw from a course in a previous semester will not be accepted.
  • There are no petitions accepted for grade change requests as the Cornell University grading policy strictly upholds the finality of grades once the semester concludes. In line with Cornell's guidelines, grades are meant to mirror the accomplishments within the semester's duration and may only be adjusted in cases of grading inaccuracies. This policy is essential for ensuring equitable treatment and fairness of all students, thereby safeguarding the integrity and consistency of our academic evaluations. In addition, the Academic Achievement and Petitions Committee has no authority to change a grade. Only the course instructor can change a grade duly entered, and then only if the instructor confirms there was an error in the original grade.
  • Requests to modify your academic record after degree conferral will not be considered.

Petitions for max credits can be submitted starting with the regular course add/drop period for a semester. Requests will not be reviewed or approved before this or for the purposes of pre-enrollment. 

The university has strongly recommended that all students limit their enrollment to 18 academic credits to allow for successful completion of the term and to reduce stress. Students who wish to enroll in additional credits are encouraged to discuss academic loads with their academic advisor, or major department.    
We strongly urge ALL students to limit their semester enrollment to 18 credits. All undergraduate CALS students in good academic standing may enroll up to 22 credits maximum (22 is allowed when add/drop begins).

  • Petitions to exceed 22 credits up to a max of 25 credits will not be considered, except for students expecting to graduate in the current academic year who have maintained at least a 3.3 GPA for the past few semesters. Petitions from such students will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis only if courses are required for graduation with confirmation by the Academic Advisor. 
  • On-time submission of the online petition (available in DUST), opening ahead of the add/drop period).

A petition is an official way to request consideration and is required for a late add after the published add deadline. The petition should include convincing evidence that an exception is warranted. The petition form may be obtained by meeting with an Academic Advisor and is used to document the request and decision. Instructor support is required.

Petitions to add 7-week-1 classes after the add deadline will be considered up to one week after the add deadline.

Petitions to add 7-week-2 classes after the add deadline will be considered up to one week after the add deadline.

Petitions to add a class in a previous semester will not be accepted.

Note: CALS Special Studies (independent study, research, teaching assistant) does not accept late adds.  Petitions to add will not be accepted after the published deadline; there are no exceptions.

Withdraw from course during the withdrawal period.  See Academic Dates and Deadlines for the withdrawal period.  All withdrawals will result in a 'W' notation on the official transcript and may impact academic standing. A petition to drop a course will become invalid if a student is found to be in violation of the code of academic integrity for that course.

Petitions to withdraw from a course after the withdrawal period will not be accepted.

Petitions to withdraw from a course in a previous semester will not be accepted.

Change in grade option for a past semester or after the last day to drop/change grading basis in the current semester will not be accepted. 

exception: change from S/U to letter-graded for a course due to a major change. Example: the class was not required as letter-graded under a previous major and is now needed as letter-graded under the new major. Courses satisfying CALS distribution requirements, not required for the major, are not eligible for petition.