Petition for late graduation application

This form is intended for only one type of petition – a request to move a graduation application to an earlier semester because the student missed the application deadline.  (If you have other petition matters, please see information on the Registrar’s Website regarding the Petition for Modification of Academic Requirements.)

A link to the petition form can be found at the bottom of this page. Please carefully review the information below before submitting a petition.

When is the petition form due?

We encourage students to submit the completed form, rationale and/or documentation to the Registrar’s Office as soon as the student is eligible (see below), but in no case less than a month before the requested degree date.

The committee will not approve a petition to move an application unless the program evaluation and supporting checklist clearly show that the student is able to graduate in the semester requested. Please do not submit this form until you have registered for all necessary courses, and your program evaluation shows a status of “Pending - Anticipated Complete” (or you have registered for appropriate transfer courses that are documented on your graduation checklist).

How is the petition evaluated?

Your petition will be reviewed to determine whether an extenuating circumstance and significant need exists that would present a compelling reason to grant an exception to the graduation application deadline.  

Students who miss the graduation application deadline may apply to receive their diploma in a subsequent term. Receiving your degree later does not carry additional tuition costs, and students may participate in May commencement if they are earning their diploma that May, or the following August or December. Given this information, you will need to explain why this exception is needed, and what impact it would have if the petition is not granted.

If an extenuating circumstance prevented you from submitting the application on time, please include any appropriate documentation that substantiates the circumstance.  If there was no extenuating circumstance, the committee will expect an explanation of why the deadline was missed.

Who hears academic petition matters?

The Subcommittee on Petitions, Appeals and Student Designed Majors is a subgroup of the faculty members currently serving on the Curriculum Committee. Upon the request of the petitioning student, the student member of the Curriculum Committee may join the Petitions Committee for the hearing of petitions. (Please note that the student representative is not available in the summer semester and may not be available at all times during the academic year.)

The task of the Petitions Committee is to ensure that exceptions to the regulations are granted only after careful consideration of all the facts and the student’s academic record, and that decisions are made with consistency and fairness.

Decisions of the Committee are final.

Talk to your Advisor first!

While an Advisor’s signature is not required for this form, students are encouraged to speak with an advisor or the chair of the department.

Instructions:

1. You must have a complete graduation application on file for a future semester.
2. The google form will request information about your reason for asking for exception to policy.
3. The committee will not approve a petition to move an application unless the program evaluation and supporting checklist clearly show that the student is able to graduate in the semester requested. Please do not submit this form until you have registered for all necessary courses, and your program evaluation shows a status of “Pending - Anticipated Complete”,  (or you have registered for appropriate transfer courses that are documented on your graduation checklist).
   
   If applicable, obtain necessary documentation and submit it with the completed petition. If you have non-medical documentation to submit, please send it directly to the Registrar at finchj@lclark.edu. In her absence, you can send the documentation to the Associate Registrar at hbentley@lclark.edu. If you have medical documentation that you do not wish to share directly with the committee, you may send that documentation to the Office of Student Accessibility or other appropriate campus health office. That office will substantiate for the committee that appropriate documentation has been received by the college.
4. Have your advisor and/or department chair submit letter(s) of support for your petition.  The committee is unlikely to approve a petition without demonstrated faculty support.
5. The completed petition, rationale and documentation (if applicable) should be submitted to the Registrar’s Office as soon as you are eligible to submit the petition but in no case later than a month before the requested degree date. 
   
6. Letters of support and/or other documentation are due to the Registrar’s office within three days of the form submission.  Do not submit the form until you are sure your other documentation can be submitted within three days.
7. The completed petition and supporting documentation will be submitted to the subcommittee by the Registrar. The Registrar shall attend the subcommittee deliberations in an ex-officio capacity.
8. The Registrar will notify the student of the Committee’s decision by email. 

The decision of the faculty committee is final.

Petition Form:

Petition: Late Graduation Application - Request to move application to an earlier semester