Guidelines for Submitting NCE Petitions to the Academic Policies Committee

The NCE Academic Policies Committee (APC) hears petitions when candidates wish to have an exception to an NLU academic policy or policies.  The Committee frequently receives petitions from students who have been notified of irregularities in their graduate study through a graduation check.

The Committee is composed of faculty representatives.  It meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month. (Occasionally, the committee will meet on a different week of the month due to holidays or other university scheduling.)

Petitions must be received at least two weeks in advance of the meeting to enable members of the Committee sufficient time to review each petition.  It is strongly recommended that petitions be completed and submitted to advisors several days before the deadline for submission to the AP Committee. ALL information and documentation must be complete in the petition in order for the Committee to review a candidate's case.

If you wish to petition the Academic Policies Committee, please carefully review the information on these pages and gather the requested materials prior to starting the online petition form.

• Consult your academic advisor.  It is recommended that you consult with your academic advisor prior to working on the petition, as he/she can offer you guidance on information and documentation needed for completion of the form.
  If you are not sure who your academic advisor is, please review this page of Academic Advisors, listed by the academic programs they service.
• Admit status Graduate students must have been admitted to the program about which they are petitioning prior to submitting a petition.
• Read carefully the information regarding the Reasons for Petition.  (Links to "Details" pages for Graduate petitions are provided in section 5, below.) You may petition for more than one issue at a time. 
• Gather all of the materials you may need to reference and/or upload prior to starting the petition form.  Materials are identified on the "Details" pages (see section 5, below).  You do not have to complete the petition all at once; you will be able to save your work on the petition and return to it at a later time.

If the Reasons for Petition involve transfer credits, the following procedure must be completed prior to submission of the petition.

1. Candidates work with their advisors to prepare the transfer credit request — Student Adjustment Form (SAF) — which is sent to the Registrar's Office.
2. Candidates have official transcript sent to the Registrar's Office, if it has not already been submitted as part of the admission process.
3. The Registrar's Office audits for minimum university and college transfer standards.
4. The Registrar's Office will inform candidate and advisor if Academic Policies Committee (APC) review is necessary; will forward to appropriate faculty unit for approval if all else is good.
5. Candidates will be asked to submit copies of the Student Adjustment Form and the email from the Registrar's Office confirming that the courses to be transferred meet minimum university and college transfer standards, if they petition for any reason involving transfer of credit:  transfer of additional credit, and, sometimes, extension of time limitation.

Students are always invited to attend meetings of the Committee when their petitions are reviewed.  Students must indicate on the petition that they would like to appear.

If you have requested to appear in the meeting, you will receive an invitation via your NLU email approximately 1-5 business days before the meeting — indicating the time during the meeting that your petition will be reviewed.  You will be asked to confirm that you wish to appear at that time, via NLU email.

Committee members will review all the documents you submitted prior to the meeting. During the meeting, you will be given five minutes to present your petition to the Committee.  Committee members may ask for clarification or additional information.  After completing your presentation, you will leave the proceedings.  A university member representing your program may also be given five minutes to present to the Committee and provide relevant additional background and/or information. Committee members may ask for clarification or additional information.  After their presentation, the university member will leave the proceedings, and Committee members will vote to approve or deny your petition.

The NCE Academic Policies Committee carefully considers each petition requesting exceptions to academic policies.  In order to have all of the necessary information with which to make a decision, the AP Committee has established guidelines for students and advisors regarding submission of petitions.  Please carefully consider the guidelines and gather the required supporting documentation so that the Committee will have all of the information needed to consider your petition.  Please note that multiple Reasons for Petition may be addressed in a given petition.  If you have any questions, contact your academic advisor.

Please click the  link below to access the Graduate "Details" page.

• Graduate

Within ten business days after the Academic Policies Committee meeting, a decision letter will be sent from NCE-Petitions to the student’s NLU email. Copies will be sent to your Academic Advisor, the college Director, Office of Admissions and Records, and other faculty, if applicable.

When a petition to the Academic Policies Committee has been denied, you may appeal to the Deputy Provost. The purpose of the appeal is to ensure that due process was followed in the review of the Academic Policies Committee, and not to review additional documentation or retry your case.  Your appeal must be received within 10 days of the date of your decision letter. 

Additional information related to appealing the decision of the Committee and/or the Deputy Provost may be found in the NLU Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog (click on Current Catalog, search for academic appeals).

Please click the link below to access the Graduate Petition Form.

• Graduate Petition Form