The Committee on Academic Performance reviews petitions only from currently registered undergraduates. The Committee does not review petitions from students who are on leave from MIT for any reason.
Students who have received a bachelor’s degree may not petition the CAP. The only exceptions pertain to a limited set of circumstances related to a student’s final semester at MIT. Three months after a student has graduated, the student’s record is sealed, and no further petitions may be received for any reason.
Petitions are accepted on a rolling basis, and the Committee reviews them as schedules permit. Decisions are reported by email as soon as possible after each meeting.
A $25 filing fee will be charged to your MITPAY account by the Registrar’s Office for a petition that is approved by the CAP. Petitions approved with neglect will be charged an additional $25 fine; a second approval with neglect incurs a fine of $50.
No fee is charged for petitions that are denied. Several petition requests approved at the same time will be charged only one filing fee and fine, if applicable.
NOTE: Graduate students should follow the petition process outlined on the website of the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education.
Types of Petitions
The Committee on Academic Performance (CAP) considers petition requests (from registered undergraduates only) in two main categories:
Online petitions for late changes to registration/grading after the deadline listed in the Academic Calendar, such as:
- Adding a subject after Add Date
- Dropping a subject after Drop Date
- Changing subject grading or registration status, such as
- Regular to Sophomore Exploratory Status
- Sophomore Exploratory Status to Regular
- Change Sophomore Exploratory Subject from Credit to Listener
- Letter Grades to Junior/Senior P/D/F
- Junior/Senior P/D/F to Letter Grades
- Credit to Listener
- Listener to Credit
- Regular to PNR
- PNR to Regular
- Note that the Committee rarely approves requests change subject grading or registration status, out of commitment to equitable treatment for all undergraduates. Deadlines are generous and well publicized, and the Faculty expects students to make decisions about subject status in a timely fashion. When the CAP has approved such petitions, there has been clear evidence that the student intended to meet the deadline but was prevented by circumstances beyond her or his control.
Hard-copy petition requests to:
Consult the CAP Administrator for situations not mentioned here.