Taking Courses Outside accepted Pathway

In extraordinary circumstances students may petition to enroll in required courses offered outside of the pathway into which they have been accepted.  The process for initiating such petitions, and the administrative authority for acting on them is described below.

Single Courses or Short Term Pathway Change

Students wishing to petition to enroll in a single required course outside of their accepted pathway, or in all required courses outside of their accepted pathway for no longer than one semester, must do the following:

  • Ensure that the need is based on an extraordinary circumstance beyond the student’s control, and that other approaches to addressing the circumstance would be ineffective or disadvantageous to learning.
  • Consult with the academic advisor to secure his/her approval of the request.
  • Submit a written petition documenting the need for an isolated or temporary change of pathway to the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.  The petition may include a statement from the academic advisor in addition to the student’s statement.

Upon receipt of a written petition, the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs will consult with the academic advisor and any other individuals deemed important to the ability to reach a decision.  The Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs will communicate the decision to the student and his/her academic advisor in writing, and a copy of the student’s petition and the written notification will be retained in the student’s file. The decision of the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs is final.

If a student’s petition to enroll in required courses outside of his/her accepted pathway is approved, all pertinent faculty, department Chairs, School or University Offices, and administrators will be notified by the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. 

Pathway Change

Students are expected to complete their professional course of study via the pathway into which they were admitted.  A change of pathway is not permitted except in the most compelling of circumstances, and can then only be allowed if there is a vacancy in the class into which the student wishes to transfer.  No student will be allowed to change pathways if, by so doing, the enrollment cap on that class would be exceeded.

Students who desire a change of pathway and believe their circumstance is exceptional enough to warrant consideration must explain their situation to the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.  The Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs will determine whether sufficient evidence exists to consider the request.  If the student’s situation is not deemed to be compelling, the request will be denied at this point.  If the student’s situation is deemed worthy of consideration, the student will be asked to consult with the academic advisor and submit a written petition for a change of pathway to the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.  The decision of the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs is final, and will be communicated to all appropriate parties as previously described. 

NOTE: Specific instructions for obtaining course overrides, changing sections in a course, and clearing registration holds are available in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs website.