CGU students may request an exception to most academic or financial policies when extraordinary, unforeseen circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent adherence to policy. Petitions are reviewed by the Petitions and Appeals Committee, which evaluates requests based on the completeness of the submission, the circumstances presented, the relevance of documentation, and applicable university policies.
The Petitions and Appeals Committee is composed of representatives from academic departments, student services, and student affairs to ensure a fair and equitable review of each petition. In carrying out this responsibility, the Committee upholds CGU’s commitment to academic integrity and compliance with institutional and external requirements. Exceptions to CGU policy are therefore granted only in rare and well-supported cases, supported by thorough documentation that demonstrates circumstances beyond the student’s control.
Petitions Requirements
Matters Outside Committee Review and Cases Not Subject to Petition
Financial Exceptions of Refunds
Health-Related Exceptions
Registering while on Academic Probation
Appealing a Decision
Petition Requirements
To be considered, petitions must include all of the following:
- Petition Form – Petition for Exception to CGU Policy form.
- Personal Statement – A written explanation describing:
- The policy exception requested, and
- The exceptional circumstances that necessitates the request.
- Signatures and/or recommendations from:
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- The student’s academic advisor or department chair, and
- The student’s school dean or director.
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- Supporting Documentation – Evidence substantiating exceptional circumstances.
- Timely submission – Petitions must be submitted no later than 30 calendar days after the end of the term in which the circumstances occurred.
Note: Petitions will not be reviewed if any of the criteria above has not been met.
Students are encouraged to contact their academic department to ascertain the preferred procedure for obtaining signatures and/or recommendations. Some departments require submission from a departmental administrator, who collects the signatures. Other departments expect students to contact their advisor and dean directly.
All completed petitions must ultimately be submitted to petitions@cgu.edu.
Matters Outside Committee Review and Cases Not Subject to Petition
The committee will not deliberate on petitions requesting:
- Grade appeals or grade changes
- Exceptions to program/degree-specific requirements consistent with CGU policy.
- Disability accommodation – students should instead contact the Disability Services Office.
- Exceptions based on pre-existing situations.
- Tuition or fee waivers requested solely on the basis of financial hardship.
- Retroactive tuition changes or refunds for prior terms.
Financial Exceptions or Refunds
Students are reminded that by signing the Enrollment and Financial Agreement each year, they have assumed full responsibility to:
- Pay all tuition, fees, and other associated costs assessed as a result of registration and/or receipt of services.
- Review and adhere to all enrollment and tuition deadlines posted in the Academic Calendar.
Financial Hardship Policy: While petitions may not be based solely on financial hardship, tuition or fee refund petitions may be considered in cases of extraordinary and unforeseen circumstances (e.g., medical emergencies, natural disasters, sudden changes in visa status).
Students requesting a tuition or fee refund should note the following:
- Tuition or fees to be contested must already be posted to a student account.
- When citing misadvising or administrative error as grounds for an exception, corroborative evidence must be submitted. If none is submitted, the committee may request additional information from the parties involved.
- Including the original, timestamped emails is ideal. If timestamped emails are not presented, a written summary of events may be considered.
- If you are a financial aid or Veteran’s Educational benefits recipient, your statement must provide a detailed explanation of how the approval of your petition might impact these funding sources.
Students requesting to register with a past due balance should note the following:
- Students must have a current*, signed Payment Contract on file with the Student Accounts Office that:
- Is in good standing,
- Includes a reasonable plan to resolve any past-due balance, and
- Outlines a clear and actionable plan for payment of tuition and fees for the applicable term.
- Failure to comply with payment agreements may be taken into consideration in the committee’s deliberations.
- Refund requests may be subject to external regulations (e.g., U.S. Department of Education, Veteran’s Affairs, state/federal agencies, accrediting bodies).
* Students may be required by the Student Accounts Office to coordinate with the Financial Aid Office to determine aid eligibility; once aid is finalized, the payment contract must be revised as necessary to reflect the updated balance.
Health-Related Exceptions
Petitions arising from health-related circumstances must include documentation from a licensed healthcare provider that confirms:
- The medical condition or care prevented completion of coursework or adherence to deadlines published in the Academic Calendar, and
- The specific period during which the student was affected.
Important:
- Do not submit medical records, treatment notes, or medication lists. Only provider confirmation is required.
- Because obtaining documentation may take time, students should contact their provider promptly.
- If a provider letter cannot be obtained due to cost or access, students may submit alternate verification such as a signed personal statement plus supporting documentation from a third-party professional (e.g., counselor, social worker, or community leader).
Registering while on Academic Probation
In addition to the requirements noted above, students requesting to register while on academic probation must also include in their personal statement:
- A reflection on the factors that have contributed to your academic difficulties
- A plan for success including the academic resources you will utilize to overcome previous obstacles
- A detailed plan for how long it will take to work yourself out of probation, including the number of units you plan to take each term while remaining on probation and how long it will take to work yourself out of probation. You should base your timeframe on realistic expectations for grades this term and in future terms, and you should include the results of your term GPA forecasts using CGU’s GPA Calculator.
Appealing a Decision of the Petitions and Appeals Committee
This Appeals Policy is for decisions made by the Petitions and Appeals Committee.
It is presumed that the decisions of the Petitions and Appeals Committee result from consistent, fair, and equitable application of relevant standards, policies, and procedures. Should a student wish to contest a decision of the Petitions and Appeals Committee, the student submits, in writing, an appeal letter to the Petitions and Appeals Committee, (petitions@cgu.edu), within 5 calendar days of email notification of the Petitions and Appeals Committee’s decision. An appeal letter must set forth the reasons for the appeal. An appeal may not be based on a disagreement with the standards, policies, and/or procedures themselves. Rather, any appeal of a Petitions and Appeals Committee decision must be based upon, and provide reasons in support of, one or more of the following criteria:
- New Information of a Substantive Nature: New, significant or relevant information regarding the case becomes available that could not have been discovered by the student at the time of the Petitions and Appeals Committee’s deliberation. Information is not considered new if the student voluntarily withheld the information at the time the committee deliberated regarding those decisions.
- Significant Procedural Error: The specified procedural error or error in interpretation of the academic policies may have substantially affected the Petitions and Appeals Committee’s deliberations such that the error prevented the Petitions and Appeals Committee from rendering a fair decision.
Upon receipt, the appeals letter will promptly be reviewed by the provost or her designee.
If the provost or their designee determines that there is new information of a substantive nature, the petition and the appeals letter, with the provost’s or designee’s determination, will be sent to the Petitions and Appeals Committee for reconsideration. The decision of the Petitions and Appeals Committee upon this second deliberation is final and will promptly be communicated to the student and relevant administrative staff.
If the provost or their designee determines that there has been a significant procedural error, they may return the complaint to the Petitions and Appeals Committee with instructions to correct the error, and to reconsider the findings as appropriate. The decision of the Petitions and Appeals Committee upon this second deliberation is final and will promptly be communicated to the student and relevant administrative staff. In rare cases, where the procedural error cannot be corrected by the Petitions and Appeals Committee (as in cases of bias), the provost or their designee will determine whether to uphold, modify or overturn the Petitions and Appeals Committee’s decision. In such cases the decision of the provost or their designee is final and will promptly be communicated with the student and relevant administrative staff.
If the provost or their designee determines that the new information is not substantive and that there has been no significant procedural error, the decision of the Petitions and Appeals Committee will be upheld. This decision of the chair is final and will promptly be communicated with the student and relevant administrative staff.