Petitions, Overrides and Exceptions

The page covers situations where a student makes an official request for an exception to standard policy.

Course/Class Permission

Course permission policies will vary by unit.  However, possible course permission scenarios are:

  • If a student has prerequisite courses for a course, but the system in not picking up those prerequisites.  

  • If a student has completed the course at a community college, but has not yet submitted his/her transcript to ASU.

Class permission policies will vary by unit.  However, possible class permission scenarios are:

  • If a student does not have a prerequisite needed to enroll in a course, but the instructor has provided approval for the student to enroll in the course

  • A course is full, but the instructor has provided permission for the student to enroll in the course

Keep in mind that course permission is different than class permission.  Course permission will allow the student to enroll in all sections being offered in that term; whereas, class permission will allow enrollment into one specific section.

Best Practices for Course Permission

  • Review the completed courses with the student to determine if he/she has met the prerequisite to take the course

  • If the student has not met the prerequisite, explain that he/she will need to take the prerequisite before taking the course, or that he/she will need to find an alternative course

  • If the prerequisite displays on the student’s record, but the student cannot enroll in the course, provide a course permission override (insert hyperlink) and see if the student can now enroll in the course

  • If the prerequisite does not display on the student’s ASU record, but he/she states that he/she completed the course at another institution, have the student pull up his/her unofficial transcript (or email it to you if unable to do this) to show successful completion of the prerequisites and provide the override (insert hyperlink)

Best Practices for Class Permission

  • Ensure you have proof of permission for the student to enroll in the class

  • Note the section number, term, and instructor

  • If the override is a section full override, ensure adding a student will not exceed the fire code number

  • Provide the Class Permissions override (insert link)

  • Ensure student can successfully enroll in the class

Providing Override for Class/Course Permission

  1. Access Course or Class Permissions in PeopleSoft        

  2. Enter the Term in which you want the override to be placed

  3. Enter the Subject Area for the course (i.e. MAT, PSY, ASB)

  4. Enter the Catalog Nbr for the course (i.e. 251, 230, 100)

  1. Click Search 

  2. If performing a Class Permissions Override, use the arrows in the upper right corner of the screen to find the specific Class No for the section that the student was given permission to enroll in

  3. Once on the correct class, click on the Overrides 2 tab for prerequisite override (Override Time Conflict should never be used)

  1. Click a Plus Icon on the right-hand side if no blank box appears

  2. Enter the student ASU ID# in the blank box and press Enter

  3. The student name will populate; check for accuracy

  4. Click the checkbox in the “Override Requisites” column

  5. Click Save

  6. If needing to provide more than one override, you may click the Return to Search button to complete the process again

  7. Enter PS Notes

Course Overload Petitions

Typically, students are only able to take up to 18 credit hours per semester or 7 credits in each summer session. Students may petition to register for more credits in a given semester by submitting a Course Overload Petition.

When requesting a course overload, students should first talk to their academic advisor to confirm that the overload is necessary based on a thorough evaluation of their DARS to determine if the overload is even necessary.

Students should have a legitimate academic reason for making the request and be able to describe in detail how they will meet the demands of a heightened workload.

To be considered for an overload, students must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete a full term at ASU before the overload term

  • Be in good academic standing

  • Not be repeating a course during the overload term

  • Be a degree-seeking student

  • Submit the form at least a week prior to the start of the session

The college typically expects students to meet the following cumulative GPA requirements. However, we have found that recent academic performance is the greatest predictor of success during an overload, so the student’s last term should be given weight.

GPA Requirements:

Fall or Spring C:

19 hours = 2.5 or higher; 20-21 hours = 3.0 or higher;

22 or more hours= 3.4 or higher

Fall or Spring A/B:

10 hours = 3.0 or higher; 11 or more hours= 3.4 or higher

Summer A/B:

8 hours = 3.0 or higher; 9 or more hours = 3.4 or higher

Session Credit Limits

The below table includes the normal credits for each session and term.  When determining the true total of an overload request, keep in mind that some sessions are accelerated.  Generally, a course in Fall B will move twice the pace of a course in Fall C.  

Fall/Spring Term Limits  

Summer Session Limits

Session C

(15 wk)

Session A/B

(7.5 wk)

Combined

Total

Session A/B

(6 wk)

Session C

(8 wk)

Combined

Total

18 Credits   

9 Credits   

18 Credits   

7 Credits   

9 Credits   

14 Credits

Determining Overload Amount

When determining the true total of an overload request, keep in mind that some sessions are accelerated.  Generally, a course in Fall B will move twice the pace of a course in Fall C.  If reviewing a petition that includes 15 credits in Fall/Spring C and 6 credits in Fall/Spring B, the students is actually requesting an overload of 27 credits in Fall B.  Since the Fall B credits move twice as fast, they are taking the equivalent of 12 credits during session B (15 + 6*2 = 27).  Students generally do not take into account the actual pace of the course and will often make the argument that, in this example, only 21 credits are being taken at any given time.  Overloads, however, should be viewed in terms of real time commitment, where the pace of the course matters.  When determining equivalencies, use the following factoring table.

Session

Multiplier

Fall/Spring C

1

Fall Spring A or B

2

Summer A or B

2.5

Summer C

2

Overload Approval Criteria

Students will request an overload for a variety of reasons.  While each situation is unique, there are certain reasons that we approve in most cases or almost always deny.  If you have any questions about a specific request, contact Jeffrey Banner.

Reasons to Approve a Course Overload

  • Student is enrolled in credit-bearing extracurriculars (research, ROTC, band) that the student would do either way

  • Student is enrolling in internship or thesis credit

  • Student is trying to graduate by a certain date and has a clear plan of how to accomplish that goal

  • Student needs to take additional courses to meet professional/graduate school prerequisites

Reasons to Deny a Course Overload

  • Student is repeating a course

  • Summer: Student can still add a course in another session (excluding C)

    • Also applies to online students during fall and spring terms

  • Student wants to enroll in far fewer hours in another term in order to study for a graduate entrance exam (MCAT, LSAT, GRE) or any other reason

  • Late Add Scenario: Student wants to add a class but avoid a W from dropping a course they no longer want

Undergraduate Non-degree Students

  • Limited to 8 credit hours in fall, spring and the normal credit limits during summer

  • They do not have the ability to request an overload

  • Tell non-degree undergraduates there is no way for them to request an overload

Graduate Students

  • Both non-degree and degree-seeking graduate students do not have a set credit limit, per Graduate Services policy

  • Degree-seeking students must gain permission from their academic unit

    • The overload can then be entered by OSAP

  • OSAP will automatically approve the request for non-degree students, as they have no academic unit through which they can receive permission

Entering an Overload

  • Access Student Services Center in PeopleSoft

  • Select Academics tab and correct term

  • Click Edit Term Data

  • Select Enrollment Limit tab

  • Check Override Unit Limits box

  • Enter # of hours approved - SAVE

Medical/Compassionate Withdrawals

A medical/compassionate withdrawal (MCW) can include many benefits for the student, both academic and financial.  When discussing with students, however, we should only discuss the academic effects of the MCW (e.g., the effect of grades changing to Ws).  Before reading further, please review the medical/compassionate withdrawal website.

If a student brings up an unexpected medical or personal issue that prevented engagement in academic coursework, the advisor should do the following.

  • Inform the student that a process exists that can withdraw a student from courses under certain circumstances involving medical issues or extreme personal issues. Ask if this is something that the student would like to explore.

  • Visit and review the medical/compassionate withdrawal website with the student and explain the differences between medical and compassionate withdrawals, as well as the difference between complete and partial withdrawals.

  • Refer the student to OSAP if they have any outstanding questions, such as what documentation the student can include.

Submission Process

  • The student will collect any documentation and submit it to OSAP.

  • OSAP will follow-up with the student if the submission is clearly missing documentation, but submissions may also be denied for this reason.

  • The college will usually communicate the decision to the student’s ASU email account within one to two weeks.

Complete vs. Partial MCW

Complete withdrawals are generally more straightforward in that the student is claiming that an unforeseen circumstance affected their ability to continue in all of their courses.  For a partial withdrawal, however, the student needs to clearly state why the situation affected some classes and not others.  

Sometimes, the difference might be obvious, such as when a student breaks a leg near the end of a semester and cannot complete a dance class.  In a less obvious example, a student may have suffered a head injury that impaired memory.  In this case, passing math tests may be nearly impossible, even when the injury may not affect a student’s ability to write papers.

Examples of times that we will not consider a partial medical withdrawal is if some instructors are willing to work with the student to make up work and others are not.  The decision is entirely based on the impact of the medical or compassionate situation, not the actions of instructors in response to that situation.

Academic Renewal

Academic renewal recalculates a student’s GPA from the point of readmission but can potentially cause the student to lose credit.

Policy

This policy only applies to students who left the university with below a 2.0 cumulative GPA and have been out of attendance for at least five years. Students must first follow The College readmission process in order to return in The College major.

To qualify for academic renewal, the student must do the following:

  • Complete at least 12 credits within three fall/spring terms

  • Earn at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA within those 12 credits

While the university policy allows the college to specify which courses the student must take to qualify for academic renewal, The College allows any coursework.

Process

If the student meets the above criteria, the student complete the academic renewal form with the assistance of OSAP. OSAP then forwards the form to the Registrar’s Office for processing.

The student’s cumulative GPA will be recalculated from the time readmission. For example, if a student had a 0.80 GPA before readmission but a 3.5 GPA since, the student’s new GPA will be 3.5.

Considerations

In this process, all other credit, including ASU credit, will be treated as transfer credit, and the student will only be allowed to officially transfer 60 of these credits. If a student had 85 credits prior to readmission, 25 of those credits will be lost in the process.  We must inform the student of any potential loss of credit when discussing academic renewal.  

On the other hand, some or all of the lost credit might be excess credit and not affect the student’s time to graduation.  Some students may consider the loss of a small amount of credits as a fair trade for a higher GPA.

If a student hopes to graduate with honors, the credit requirement for consideration will restart from the time of readmission, along with the residency requirement.  This would only become a concern if the student plans on transferring in other courses after the point of readmission.

The student should also understand that while their GPA will be recalculated, the previous grades are not removed from their transcript. They will still be visible, for example, when sending transcripts to apply for graduate school. That school would decide based on their own policies whether the student's undergraduate GPA should still include grades ignored via academic renewal