In fall 2021, USC is returning to the normal grade option election deadlines and standards. For more information on this, please review the Fall 2021 academic FAQs.

General Information

The Petition Services Office within Academic Records & Registrar reviews, initiates, and facilitates the process for petitions. There are two types of petitions. Registration-related petitions are related to registration errors and are student-initiated. General petitions relate to exceptions to academic policies and are initiated within academic units; these are not forwarded to Petition Services until the academic department has finished all paperwork and gotten all required endorsements and supporting documentation.

Registration-related Petitions (initiated by students) include:

• Late Add (or Re-Add)
• Deletion of a Course from the USC Transcript (refund of course tuition and no mark of “W”)
• Late Change of Grading Option
• Late Withdrawal (one course or whole program with or without marks of “W”)
• Late change of unit value (in a variable unit course)

General Petitions (initiated in Academic Units) include:

• Counting excessive units in a course with a unit maximum toward the degree
• Repeating a course for grade point credit
• Counting a course as non-repetitious for subject, unit and grade point credit
• Extending time for removal of an Incomplete

Submitting a Petition Inquiry

For instructions on how to submit a petition inquiry, please refer to our askUSC knowledge base article: “How do I initiate a registration petition?”

There are several exceptions to consider when determining if you are eligible to petition:

• Students who have graduated or otherwise discontinued their enrollment at USC or who had an activity restriction (“hold”) prevent their registration change are not eligible to petition.
• There is a two-year time limit from the end of a semester for a student to petition; this time limit can be extended up to five years with permission from the student’s school (pending proper information is still available to complete the petition).
• No petitions can be considered for coursework more than five years old.

Note: Current USC students must use their official university email address (username@usc.edu) for all official university communications. Please include this e-mail address when using the askUSC “E-Mail Us” page.

Contact

Petition Services is not available for walk-in advising, but if you wish to, you can contact us through the askUSC portal.

Hours: 9am to 5pm; Monday to Friday (excluding USC holidays)
Phone: (213) 740-7741
Fax: (213) 821-0249

Have a question?

The askUSC portal will help you find answers to our most commonly asked questions - and even some you may not have thought about. If you have any questions, or wish to email us, we invite you to askUSC.

Note: Current USC students must use their official university email address (username@usc.edu) for all official university communications.