A Letter of Permission is a document that enables a Western undergraduate to enrol in one or more specific courses at another university without having to apply for formal admission to the other institution. Upon completion, the courses are transferred to the student's record at Western.
Students apply to the Dean of their Faculty for a Letter of Permission to take courses at another university. * Approval shall be at the discretion of the dean, who shall base his decision on the applicant's overall academic record, the appropiateness of the particular course to the applicant's overall academic record, the appropriateness of the particular course to the applicant's program at The University of Western Ontario, and on any other factors he may deem relevant. For substitution of required, principal or prerequisite courses, the Dean will also obtain departmental approval. Following authorization, the Registrar's Office will issue to the university concerned a Letter of Permission that is contingent upon successful completion of progression requirements.
* A non-refundable fee of $50.00 is charged for Letters of Permission.
Students granted permission to take the final course(s) of their program during a Fall/Winter Session may not graduate until the next Autumn Convocation, unless marks, in the form of an official transcript, are received by the Registrar's Office by May 15. Students who receive permission to take the final course(s) of their program during a Spring/Summer Session, must submit an official transcript to the Registrar's Office by October 1; otherwise, their graduation may be postponed until the next Spring Convocation.
Non-graduating students must ensure that the Registrar's Office receives, no later than November 1, an official transcript for any course attempted on a Letter of Permission in the previous Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer Sessions. Courses for which no transcript is submitted shall be awarded a failing grade.
Courses taken at another university on a Letter of Permission during a Spring/Summer Session are included within the maximum permissible academic load for the period, May to August.
Not more than five courses may be taken at another university on a Letter of Permission to fulfil graduation requirements for any baccalaureate program at Western.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that an official transcript for any courses attempted on a Letter of Permission is submitted to the Academic Records-Registrar's Office, Room 190, Stevenson-Lawson Building, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B8.
For Letter of Permission courses, grades will be included in average calculations for progression and graduation in the same manner as Western courses. In order to accomplish this, grades presented on the LOP transcripts as non-percentage or under a different grading scale than UWO, will follow the normal conversion practices used by the UWO Admissions Office. When this occurs, failing grades presented as non-percentage will be converted to "F" on the UWO record, and it will be included in averages as 40%.
