My article this week is going to talk about a part of the President portfolio very few know about and we hope no one ever needs. As President I sit on the Examinations and Promotions Committee, more commonly referred to as the E&P committee. The E&P committee is responsible for overseeing requests for exceptions to the examination and promotion rules, changes to academic decisions, changes to work-term evaluations, and issues regarding late withdrawals. These can include issues like failing a work-term, failing an academic term, removing a withdrawn from transfer requests, or petitioning for a “no-penalty” term on the basis of extenuating circumstances.
The committee itself consists of 16 voting members with the President acting as the only student vote on the committee. The rest of the votes consist of a representative for each program, a representative from co-op, a representative from WatPD, and a representative from Engineering Counselling. Together we meet twice a term to review all cases brought forward from the department and make decisions on all the cases.
If you ever find yourself in a situation listed above, with extenuating circumstances that prevented you from being successful in your academic or co-op term, the committee and myself are here to help and to ensure that your case is reviewed fairly. You can start the petition process by speaking to your academic advisor and working with them on developing the basis for your petition and discussing your options. After the initial petition is submitted that is when me or another President can help.
We encourage all students submitting a petition to meet with the current President to review your case. We can recommend additional information you can provide to the committee, discuss options for what to request for your petition, and most importantly become familiar with your situation and present any additional information you may have at the committee. Since meetings are closed the petitioner doesn’t get to speak to their case. This means that if the President is informed on the details of the case we can ensure that the case is presented fairly and the extent of your circumstances are weighted fairly. This is a very sensitive issue for students and it is important to note that all information learned during the course of the petition and any meetings is strictly confidential.
There is a lot more information on the details of the petition process itself online and your academic advisor is a great place to start for most questions. However just remember that if you ever find yourself in an academic or personal situation and you are unsure who to talk to or what questions to ask, the Engineering Society President is here to listen and we can hopefully guide you in the right direction and help you get back on track!
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