Petitions and Degree Audit Requests

Faculty Senate Petitions

These types of petitions address issues where normal university policy does not adequately address a student’s unique circumstances.

Examples of this type of petition are:

• Retroactive Withdrawal
• Retroactive Late Course Drop
• Retroactive Administrative Course Cancellation

Students looking to file a Faculty Senate Petition should begin by meeting with their advisor or reaching out to Faculty-senate-petitions@engr.psu.edu. Instructions for submitting these petitions are available at all campus locations and at the Engineering Advising Center in 109 Engineering Collaborative Research and Education Building (ECoRE). Students should NOT submit on their own prior to speaking with an advisor. This almost always results in a denial. 

The University Faculty Senate office will notify you whether the petition was approved or denied. If approved, Students should wait for the Faculty Senate to follow up with relevant University offices for action as needed. Students should not be requesting further or immediate action but instead allow the normal process to be completed. It is normally done in a timely manner with little to no delays.

Degree Audit Requests

A student’s degree audit can be found in the student center on LionPATH under “Degree Planning & Progress”, “My Academic Requirements”. Once in major, students should NOT utilize the “What If” Report. Students are responsible for making sure they have met all degree requirements and that they submit all requests PRIOR to the semester they graduate.

Examples of degree audit requests are:

• Substitution of one course for another on the degree audit
• Request for transfer credit to satisfy a degree requirement
• Request for a study abroad course to satisfy a degree requirement
• Degree audit waivers

General Directions:

1. Students are required to write an adequate justification of why the course is a good substitution. Saying “they taught the same things” or “because my advisor said so” is not acceptable. Justifications should address specific learning topics and/or goals. An inadequate justification will result in the request either being denied or returned for revision.
2. Students looking to substitute a course for a general education course should write their justification to show how the course meets the learning criteria for the specific general education subject area.
3. “Body of Work” requests - Students looking to mix and match credits from 2 or more courses to cover 1 requirement should first email the reviewer to discuss how the request should be filed and if it will be approved.
   1. University, general education, and entrance-to-major requirements – email Dean Esparragoza (iee1@psu.edu).
   2. In-major requirements – email the faculty director for the major or work with your major’s embedded advisor (if applicable).
4. Degree Audit Requests can be filed in the Couse Substitution Request System (CSRS).

Transfer Credit Directions:

1. Students with XFRPEN credits may NOT file a course substitution request. Instead, submit your official syllabus to admissions. Your course is currently under review by the department, and a syllabus will ensure they have all necessary information to determine if your course is a direct equivalent to any Penn State course.
2. Students with XFRGEN credits may file a course substitution request. Your course was reviewed by the department and denied direct equivalence to any Penn State course. You MUST attach an official syllabus to your request. Syllabi written in a foreign language must be accompanied by an official translation. Student generated syllabi or translations will not be accepted.
3. Transfer students with 5 or more calculus credits will be automatically approved for a MATH 140 course substitution. The submission should include all calculus credits even though only 4 will be used to substitute for MATH 140.

Study Abroad Directions:

1. Students filing a course substitution for study abroad courses should refer to the directions here.

Notes:

1. Courses listed in the Credit Transfer Tool do NOT need a course substitution. They are considered direct equivalents and accepted university wide. Students are encouraged to keep a screen shot of their course in the credit transfer tool as all courses listed are periodically reviewed.
2. A course substitution approved by your major department is good only for that specific major. A course substitution approved by the Assistant Dean is good only in the College of Engineering. Because of this, your course listing in LionPATH will not update.
3. Students with an approved course substitution for a prerequisite course will still need to file a prerequisite override request, and it is not guaranteed to be approved. The review standards for each of those requests are different. Likewise, a prerequisite override approval does not guarantee an approved course substitution.
4. Waiting to file your request until the semester you graduate will NOT result in an automatic approval. Students are responsible for filing all requests prior to their graduating semester so that any needed changes to their academic schedule can be made ensuring they graduate on time.

Once a decision about your degree audit request has been made you will be notified via email.