Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To,
Dr. Jenn Stephenson
Associate Dean
Queen??s University Arts and Science

Subject: Request for Credit Standing in CISC 251

Dear Associate Dean,

I am writing to request a credit standing for one of my courses, namely CISC 251. I believe that the professor, David Skillicorn, was unjust in grading my assessments.

My final exam consisted of two separate tests which were held online. Final Exam 1 was on December 12, and the second on December 15 2022. I submitted both of them on time, with an answer that met the expected standards. Upon receiving my grades, I saw that I had been graded 0 for both of my exams, which were worth 35% of my overall course grade.

I emailed the professor to ask where I lost all my marks, and the explanation he gave did not explain how I could have possibly gotten a 0. The professor was also not perfunctory in responding to emails, and even when he replied, the explanations were given in a very careless manner. Moreover, I have heard from other students from previous and current years, that the professor has done this before, and I am concerned that this may be an ongoing issue in the course. I am confident that my answer met the expected standards, and I believe that the grade of 0 is unjust.

Furthermore, another concern is regarding one of my assignments that was worth 35% of my grade. A majority of our coursework was done on the KNIME software, which the professor taught us how to use during class. But, the report which was required in the project, was focused on interpreting the results from KNIME, which the professor did not teach us during class. I spent a long time trying to understand the concept, to ensure producing a project of the highest quality.

But, on the date of the deadline, I mistook the deadline as one of my other courses. I realised this mistake, and went to submit the project only 15 minutes late, but the drop box on OnQ was closed. I immediately emailed the professor with a copy of my project, so he could ensure that I did in fact, finish the project in time. I explained my circumstances in my email. Firstly, the professor did not reply for the first few days. I emailed him several times, but eventually he replied, and told me that he would be putting a 20% penalty for late submission. I emailed him again regarding the penalty, but I never received a reply. Upon receiving my grade, I saw that I got a 77.14% after the penalty, which meant I had gotten a grade of 97.14% originally. There were no explicit guidelines in the course syllabus regarding penalty for late submission, like I have had for all other courses. I understand the importance of adhering to deadlines, but I believe that this penalty was too severe, especially considering the lack of guidance on the late submission policy.

All these circumstances resulted in me getting a grade of D- in this course. I had gotten a 100% in all other assessments for the course, and submitted them on time. But, due to the severity of this unjustness, my overall GPA took a big hit, regardless of me scoring well in my other courses.

The reason that I am applying for an appeal so long after receiving my grade is because I had been swamped in my course work since second year is one of the most hectic years as I??m sure you know, and my part-time job. I could not find the time to get this situation rectified, but when I did, I emailed the Undergraduate Chair of Computing, Yuanzhu Chen, who told me to take a meeting with ASC Advising, who explained the process of applying for an appeal and the steps that I had to take.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could look into this matter and help me resolve them. I have attached my exam paper and project submission for your review.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Sincerely,
Zain Imam Zaidi
20257425