Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this petition to petition the removal of two grades and/or courses from my transcript. The two courses are ENIN 140 which I was enrolled in for the Winter 2021 semester and FILM 225 which I was enrolled in for the Fall 2022 semester. I will speak to each circumstance separately.

I enrolled in ENIN 140 during my first year at Queens. My first year was incredibly
challenging for me. I started at Queens during the height of the COVID pandemic after taking a gap year. At the beginning of the school year, I entered a depressive state. I struggled on my own and did not want to tell anyone what was truly happening. I eventually told my parents, successfully got my first semester dropped and hoped for a better second semester. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The depression and anxiety caused me to be unable to do my schoolwork, so once again I failed all my courses. This was very difficult for me as this was not something I had ever dealt with before. As a result of my depression, I started having monthly check ins with my doctor. The purpose of these appointments was to check on my mental health and make sure I was keeping on track for school. Slowly things started to get better. As is clear from my more recent semesters, my grades slowly started to get better as my mental health improved. I have since retaken all the courses from my first year in an effort to
improve my grades and get back on the right track. The only course which I have been unable to retake is ENIN 140. Each school year when enrollment opened, I placed the course into my shopping cart, but I have never been able to successfully enroll in this course. Due to the fact that I have been unsuccessful in enrolling into ENIN 140, I am requesting that the grade/course be removed from my transcript.

I enrolled in FILM 225 in the fall of 2022. I started this school year off strong. I was excited to be back, I had successfully completed my courses the previous year and I was ready and driven to do even better this year. I was off to a good start however my family friend who had felt like an aunt to me had been diagnosed with cancer and it was very difficult for me. My mom took the position of primary care giver which also included caring for her two sons. One week after reading week in October she sadly passed away. This was extremely difficult for me, especially when we had been told by doctors, she had 6 months to live yet she passed away within 2 weeks of that prognosis. I tried my very best to continue with school however my life felt changed. My mom was now caring for two more children and my family friend who felt like an aunt to me had passed away. I tried my best with school however the course load was too much and FILM 225 slipped away. As can be seen by the other courses I took in the fall of 2022,
I did not do as well as I would have hoped, but I managed to keep up and finish the semester strong enough to pass the other four (and do well in two of the four). However, in FILM 225, I fell too far behind, and my embarrassment got the better of me, so asking for help felt impossible. Similarly to ENIN 140, I had planned to retake the course however when I went to enrol into again I found that it was not being offered.

This is my last year at Queens and aside from these two courses I have successfully retaken every course I needed to. I have worked harder and harder each year, and I believe my grades reflect the work I have put in and the progress I have made with my mental health. I understand this request is out of the ordinary and usual request being made within one year; however, I had and planned to be in a position to retake these two courses, and I was hoping I would not need to send this appeal because I would be retaking, and subsequently succeeding in these two courses. Unfortunately, enrolling in these courses has been taken out of my control. Currently for Winter 2025 I am enrolled in ENIN 240, if it is not possible to have the grade/course dropped for ENIN 140, if it is possible to get me enrolled for Winter 2025, I would be happy to take the class. As for FILM 225, it is not being offered at all this year. I believe my improvement shows the work and dedication I have put in especially in the most recent terms. I contribute these improvements to the time I have actively put into improving my mental health including but not limited to my mental health check ins with my doctor which we mutually decided were no longer needed in February of 2024. I appreciate your consideration and would be grateful if both of these classes could be dropped from my transcript.