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.
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
