Petition Form
INSTRUCTIONS: Please, read before submitting.
Petitions should be reserved for situations in which you find yourself dealing with circumstances beyond your control and/or seeking an exception from a specific policy/requirement. The Petitions Committee does not review petitions regarding curricular issues, e.g. how courses count for diversification requirements.
Before submitting a petition, please meet with the following individuals or offices to discuss your petition:
- your faculty advisor
- Dean for Academic Advising (potentially)
- instructor of the course(s) in question (if applicable)
- other faculty members (e.g. department/program chair)
- administrative support (Dean of Student Development, Civil Rights Office, coach)
Be sure to ask them if they are willing to comment on and support your petition.
A federal law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act--HIPAA) protects patient information and requires a completed consent for release of information form be completed to allow medical practitioners to discuss any confidential health information with staff members of the College. Contact your provider to find out what you need to do to allow a release of information to the committee. The Cox Center counseling staff can provide information to support a student's petition if an ongoing therapy relationship is established. An ongoing relationship is defined as at least three counseling sessions in a semester, with the last session occurring within two weeks prior to the student's request. Caveat: Having an ongoing therapy relationship with a counselor does not guarantee that supporting documentation will be provided. The counselor will make an objective clinical assessment and provide supporting documentation if warranted. Please let them know to expect the email and ask the provider to respond.
CAUTION: Because a petition should be your last resort, do NOT presume that the outcome will be in your favor. The likelihood of petition approval is generally low, which means that you should monitor your expectations and prepare accordingly. For example, if you are petitioning to get a non-Kenyon course approved for credit after you have completed it (without pre-approval), you should expect a negative response and have a contingency plan in mind. There is no such thing as a "routine" or "sure thing" petition.
Instructions:
Check the Campus Directory and write down the e-mail address of the instructor of the course in question (if applicable), and any others (including external parties, such as off-campus medical professionals) who have agreed to comment on your petition--you will need this information to submit the petition form. The submitted form will go to the Office of the Registrar as well as your instructors, the medical provider, and you.
The Petition Committee reserves the right to contact additional faculty and administrators from individuals who could provide supplementary information.
Answer all questions on the following form before submitting it.
For other pertinent information regarding petitions and appeals, please review the Kenyon College Catalog . When the College is in session, the Petitions Committee convenes regularly to consider petitions with sufficient faculty/administrative responses. You will be informed of the Committee's decision via email within two working days after the committee meeting at which your petition was discussed.
If you have questions about the status of your petition, contact the Registrar's Office.
