Petition Process
Petition Process
If you have college credits or classes that you think might fulfill some or all of the WOU General Education requirements, you can complete the petition process outlined below. Once you submit a petition, the General Education office will review your classes to see if they are an appropriate fit for some or all of our requirements. Your petition may include one or more particular classes you’ve taken, or an entire degree (such as an Associate’s degree from another school). Any WOU student, regardless of class standing or transfer status, may submit a petition.
Below is a flowchart that details the information you will need prepared to fill out the online petition form. You should meet with your advisor to go over the possible classes or degrees to include in your petition. For further questions, contact the General Education office at gened@wou.edu.
This petition is for General Education requirements only. To request to waive any University-wide requirements for graduation, see the Registrar’s Office website for more information. For program-specific requirements, contact your major/minor department for more information.
Advisors can find additional petition process information on the For Advisors page.
Petition Preview
Perparing to submit a General Education petition
Contact Information
Provide all of the following information:
- Student First Name
- Student Last Name
- Student V-Number
- Student WOU Email
- Assigned Major Advisor
- Assigned Major Advisor Email
Nature of Petition
I am requesting an exception for:
(a) All requirements (Associate’s degree)
or
(b) Specific Requirements
All Requirements
To waive all General Education requirements, you will need to describe…
- Which Associate’s degree you have earned
- Which institution you earned it from
- If possible, a link to the home institution’s description of the degree you completed
An official copy of your transcript must be submitted to the WOU Admissions Office. If you are unsure Admissions already has a copy, please contact Admissions to verify whether your transcript has been recieved.
Specific Requirement(s)
If you are only waiving specific requirements, move on to the next step to find out which course set you are petitioning requirements for.
General Education Requirements Set
I am requesting an exception for:
(a) General Education Program
or
(b) Liberal Arts Core Curriculum
General Education Requirements
If you are requesting to waive your First Year Seminar requirement (FYS 107 and 207), choose which category you meet:
- I am a transfer student with over 30 earned credits
- I started at WOU in Fall 2018 or earlier, I am changing my catalog year to the new General Education Program, and I have over 30 earned credits
- I have a different reason for requesting execption (you will need to explain your reason)
If you are requesting additional exception for other General Education Requirements, view the requirements page and select all that apply.
Be prepared to provide details for each requirement exception requested. This includes any specific course(s) to be appleid to the General Education requirements and the reason for requesting this exception. You must also provide a course description for each course.
Liberal Arts Core Curriculum and/or Additional Degree Requirements
You must be prepared to address the following:
- Liberal Arts Core Curriculu excepetion(s) requested
- Additional Graduation Requirements excepetion(s) requested
- Identify the exact catagory and the nature of the exception. This includes:
- Number of credits
- Type of sequence
- Number of classes or particular type of class
- Rationale for requesting the excepetion(s)
Be ready to describe a rationale for why you are requesting the exception for the specific course(s). You must also provide course description(s) for each exeption requested. You can copy and paste the course description(s) or provide a direct link to the course description(s).
Additional Information
What is an example of a General Education requirement to be waived?
If your catalog year is before 2019-20, there are three categories of General Education requirements:
- LACC (Liberal Arts Core Curriculum) courses
- Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science requirements
- Writing Intensive, Cultural Diversity, or Quantitative Literacy/Math/Computer Science course designations
If your catalog year is 2019-20 or after, there are four categories of courses for General Education requirements:
- First Year Seminars
- Foundational Knowledge
- Exploring Knowledge
- Integrating Knowledge
What is an example of a graduation requirement that is NOT a General Education Requirement?
There are University-wide requirements for all students seeking a bachelor’s degree, such as earning 180 credits, earning a 2.00 cumulative GPA, and earning 60 upper division credits. Refer to the course catalog at catalog.wou.edu for all University requirements for a bachelor’s degree. To request to waive any University-wide requirements for graduation, complete the Academic Petition form and turn it into the Registrar’s Office in Administration Room 104 or email to registrar@wou.edu.
Most University-wide requirements, such as earning 180 credits and earning a 2.00 GPA to graduate, are not eligible for exceptions for any reason, as state laws and/or accreditation standards may dictate these parameters. Students may submit petitions for these requirements, but please be aware that they will be denied.
There are program-specific requirements related to your major or minor; please contact your major/minor department directly for more information on how to request a waiver of any program-specific requirements.
What should I do if I need help on my petition form?
We strongly recommend that you work with your academic advisor to complete the petition form successfully. You are required to meet with your advisor every term before registering for a future term, and you are expected to have conversations during those regular meetings about planning to meet all the minimum requirements for graduation. Your advisor will receive a copy of the petition form that you submit.
General Education Program petition example:
If you are requesting a transfer course to be applied to the Foundations: Critical Thinking category, explain the specific course you are requesting to be applied and why you think the course would fulfill this category.
Liberal Arts Core Curriculum (LACC) petition example:
If you are requesting to complete a Social Science sequence with a class not in that sequence, clearly identify the requirement, which sequence in the Social Science requirement, and the course you want to use to complete it. You must also explain why you think the course would fulfill this category.
Contact Us
Phone: (503) 838-8296 | Email: gened@wou.edu
