Petitions

Steps For Processing a Petition and What You Need To Do:

  1. Before you work on your petition, make sure you don't have holds on your student account. Most petitions cannot be processed if there is a hold on your account. Login to your Student Center and look at the Holds and Alerts box on the right to find any hold that you might have. Alerts require no action, only holds must be addressed. Be sure to clear holds, or be in the process of clearing holds, before submitting your petition to your instructor and/or department.
  2. Find the form that needs to be complete on the registrar's website. Work with your department office if you aren't sure what form you need to use.
  3. Complete the form electronically, filling in all information. Save form as a PDF. Use the student petition checklist to make sure you fill in everything that is required. **Note about filling out petitions: Please download the file and use Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader to fill in the petition. Any petitions filled in using "preview" come up blank when opened by the recipient of the petition and cannot be used.**
  4. Download a copy of your unofficial transcript from your student center.
  5. From your SF State email account, email your completed form and copy of your unofficial transcript to your instructor's SF State email account for their approval.
  6. The instructor should email their approval to the department. If they email you with their approval, you will need to forward that email to the department.

If the petition does not require instructor and/or department approval (TERM withdrawal, TERM retroactive withdrawal) you can email the petition, from your SF State email account, directly to the registrar's office, records@sfsu.edu.

What Happens Next?

  1. The department will continue the approval process with their approval sent to the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC), the UAC will send their approval to the registrar's office.
  2. The registrar's office will process the request.  It takes approximately 3-4 weeks from when the UAC receives the petition from the department for the request to be reflected in your Student Center.

After Four Weeks, How Do I Check If My Petition Has Been Processed?

  1. Check your Student Center. You should be able to see the requested change reflected in your Student Center.
  2. If you don't see the requested change reflected in your Student Center, then check your Holds and Alerts box for any holds that may prevent the processing of your petition.  The registrar's office will email you, to your SF State email account, if there is a hold on your account that is preventing your petition from being processed or if payment is due before it can be processed.

If you answer no to both of these questions, then email the department.  The department will check in on the petition to see what the issue is.

 

Student Petition Checklist

ALL Forms can be found on the Registrar's website.

ALL Forms can be found on the Registrar's website.

 

Waiver of College Regulations
Form Required Information and Attachments
Late Add
  • Completed form
  • Clear justification as to why the class is being added late rather than before the deadline
  • Approval: Student, Instructor, Department Chair
  • Unofficial Transcripts
Retroactive Add
  • Completed form
  • Clear justification as to why the class is being added in a subsequent semester rather than during the semester taken
  • Approval: Student, Instructor, Department Chair
  • Unofficial Transcripts
Add Course Already Repeated
  • Completed form
  • Permission number listed on form
  • Clear justification as to why add repeat is being requested, what has changed since previous enrollment, how you will succeed this time
  • Approval: Student, Instructor, Department Chair (Dean's designee not required)
  • Unofficial Transcripts
Change Grading Option
  • Completed form
  • Change grade from ___ to ___
  • Clear justification as to why change of grading option is being requested because of clerical or adminiatrative error (current policy)
  • Approval: Student, Instructor, Department Chair
  • Unofficial Transcripts
Switch Course
  • Completed form
  • Switch course from ___ to ___ and class number (switching from section to section for the same course, or course within the same prefix only)
  • Clear justification as to why switch course is being requested
  • Approval: student, Instructor, Department Chair
  • Unofficial Transcripts
Variable Units Change
  • Completed form
  • Units from ___ to ___
  • Clear justification as to why variable unts change is being requested
  • Approval: Student, Instructor, Department Chair
  • Unofficial Transcripts
Other
  • Completed form
  • Fill in what is being requested next to "other"
  • Clear justification as to why the regulation should be waived
  • Approval: Student, Instructor, Department Chair
  • Unofficial Transcripts

Other Petitions

ALL Forms can be found on the Registrar's website.
Form Required Information and Attachments
Exceed Maximum Units
  • Completed form
  • All course information is filled in
  • Clear justification for exceeding maximum units and why you can successfully completed the load being requested
  • GPA requirement is met (3.0 cumulative)
  • Approval: Student, Major advisor, Department Chair
  • Unoffiical Transcripts
Credit by Exam
  • Completed form
  • Exceed Units Peition if added credit by exam units will exceed 19 units total for semester
  • Approval: Student, Department Chair (2 separate lines)
  • Unofficial Transcripts
Independent Study (699/899)
  • Completed form
  • Student Meets GPA requirement (Undergraduate 3.0, Graduate 3.5)
  • Approval: Student, Instructor, Department Chair

When you no longer plan to complete a class that you are enrolled in, you must drop or request to withdraw from the class. It is your responsibility to drop or to request to withdraw by the deadline to be eligible for a full or prorated refund.  If you will not be attending, you must drop all classes prior to the first day of classes to avoid any charges being due. Do not assume the university will remove you from a class for non-payment of fees or that the instructor will remove you for non-attendance.

You can find the deadlines for adding, dropping, and withdrawing on the registrar's deadline section.

Current Semester Withdrawal

During the fourth through twelfth week of instruction, students may request to withdraw from courses for serious and compelling reasons, as specified by the student.  Such withdrawals require approval from the instructor and the chairperson of the department offering the class.  If your request is approved, you will receive a W on your transcript for the class, indicating that you attempted the class but withdrew before completing it for a letter grade. W grades are not included in your GPA.

The Academic Senate Policy on Withdrawal from Courses states that students may withdraw from a course a maximum of two times and from no more than 18 semester-units of course work. Be aware that withdrawing from one or more classes may negatively affect your financial aid (your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and your financial aid eligibility).

Withdrawal Petitions
Form Required Information and Attachments
Current Semester Course Withdrawal

For more information about how to request a withdrawal go to the registrar's withdrawal section.