Standard Responses

Standard responses to petitions include "approved," "denied" or "bracketed." Details are below. When a decision changes a student’s status in the College, such as by granting a leave of absence, the Resident Dean of First-Year Students/Allston Burr Resident Dean is obligated to inform the student’s parents or guardians. 

This means that your petition has been approved by the Administrative Board, and the action that you requested (ie. taking a leave, enrolling in a 9th term, etc.) will be permitted and recorded as part of your record. Your Resident Dean of First-Year Students/Allston Burr Resident Dean will be in touch with you about further steps should any further action be necessary.

When a petition is denied, it means that the petition request has not been approved, and therefore, the action requested is not permitted. Your Resident Dean of First-Year Students/Allston Burr Resident Dean will be in touch with you if this is the result so that you can think about how best to move forward.

A petition is bracketed when a decision is postponed pending receipt of additional information or documentation. Should this be the case with your petition, your Resident Dean of First-Year Students/Allston Burr Resident Dean will be in touch with you about what information is desired and how to obtain it. A bracketed petition is normally addressed at the next consecutive meeting of the Administrative Board, should the information be available at that time.

Students have the option to request that the Administrative Board reconsider any of its decisions provided either of the following conditions are met:

  • new materially relevant information becomes available that was not available to the student through the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time of the review; or
  • there is reasonable evidence of a procedural error

Students who believe they have sufficient grounds for reconsideration should consult with their Resident Dean, the Secretary of the Board, or their Personal Adviser (a faculty member or officer of the University affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences).

In keeping with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a student with a disability who believes that the Administrative Board did not properly consider any claims pertaining to their disability may seek further review from the Director of the University Disability Services, including in disciplinary case decisions. For information on grievance procedures, visit the University Disability Services website.