MIT Committee On Academic Performance: Petition Process Overview

Overview
Preparing Your Petition and Gathering Support
Petition Deadlines
Petition Review

OVERVIEW

The Committee on Academic Performance reviews petitions from registered undergraduates (see Eligibility below) requesting exceptions to established academic policies and deadlines. Each petition must provide a clear, concise explanation of the student's request and corroborating statements of support from MIT personnel. The Committee takes individual circumstances into account while striving to uphold academic integrity and equity for students across departments and classes.

Types of Petitions

The Committee considers petition requests from students in two main categories:

Late changes to Registration (including Late Registration)
Exceed credit limits.

Consult CAP's Staff Associate for situations not mentioned here.

Petition Process

CAP reviews petitions monthly during the Fall and Spring Terms, and in January and June when it meets to review the academic performance of undergraduate students. It does not meet over the summer.

Submitting a petition and obtaining a decision from CAP involves four steps:

Download the appropriate form
Provide requested information and explain your request in a brief statement
Obtain appropriate signatures and statements from Institute personnel
Submit the petition to the CAP Staff Associate.

See the following three pages for details on these steps:

eligibility

The Committee on Academic Performance reviews petitions only from currently registered undergraduates. Graduate students should follow the petition process outlined on the website of the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education. CAP does not review petitions from students who have withdrawn from MIT, for any reason.

With one exception, it does not review petitions from students who have received a bachelor's degree. As stated on the Registrar's website:

Once a degree is awarded, there is a three-month period after graduation when certain changes can be made to the student's record. Students may request late adds and drops to correct registration errors in the final term...and grades may be changed to correct errors. After the three-month period the student's record is sealed.

for more information

For questions about the petition process not answered on these pages, contact CAP.