Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,


My name is Richard Burton, and I am an Arts and Science student. In December of 2021, I had reconstructive knee surgery to repair a torn ACL in my right knee. In December of 2021, I also finished my final classes needed for my undergraduate degree in the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics specialization. At this time, I had thought about returning to school to pursue a master's degree or attend law school, having written the LSAT in the summer of 2020. Unfortunately, by the time I came to this conclusion, the application deadline for all programs of interest had passed. This is what led me to apply to Queen??s for a second undergraduate degree and return in the fall of 2022. Rehabilitation for ACL reconstruction, on average takes a minimum of 12 months. This rehabilitation process caused me an immense amount of hardship physically, mentally, and financially. Physical rehab is something that involves working through a lot of pain. I was unable to do most physical activities, and I could not work physical jobs, both things that are fundamental in my life. This took a large toll on me mentally. Working with a physical therapist 1-2 times per week throughout the process caused a large level of financial hardship as my AMS insurance coverage ran out very early in the process.


The financial costs of my rehabilitation and being unable to work any sort of physical job leading up to the semester created financial hardship through the fall of 2022. In taking a closer look at the costs of my fall 2022 semester and recognizing how much this second degree would cost, I came to the conclusion that I was not in a financial position to continue with this degree. Ultimately, I did not complete my classes because I could not afford the degree. I collected three fails from the three classes I was enrolled in. This drastically affected my cumulative GPA bringing it from 3.4 to 3.19.


I now recognize that I made the decision to pursue another degree at a time when I was feeling pressured to have a plan beyond graduation and was also not in a particularly good mental or physical state due to my injury and recent surgery. Upon further reflection, I have decided that pursuing a Master's program or Law school is very much still a future consideration, but this change in my GPA, in conjunction with when it occurred, hurts my prospects of ever getting into postgraduate studies. My hope is to have these three courses from the fall of 2022 dropped.
I plan to be in a better financial situation before pursuing another degree and have already begun to research bursaries, loans, and grants to ensure I have a clear understanding of the full financial implications of another degree.


Since being away from Queen??s, I??ve learned that I need to spend more time reflecting on my academic and professional career and where I would like to go, but also that it??s okay not to have a plan immediately following graduation and that career reflection should be a constant.


I appreciate your time and consideration of my request. During my time at Queen??s, I progressively became a stronger student. I was put on the Dean??s list in my final two years of full study and continually earned a higher GPA. These three courses from the fall of 2022 do not accurately reflect my time as Queen??s student and were ultimately the product of the unforeseen physical, mental, and financial hardship that came with my reconstructive knee surgery.


Thank you,
Richard Burton