Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 1235
Submitted: June 16, 2015 at 1:42:35 PM
First Name: Mackenzie
Last Name: George
Student Number: 10085404
Email: 12mbag1@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BA
Plan: Geo
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: June 15, 2015
RE: Required to Withdrawal Appeal - MacKenzie George Student 10085404
Attn: Dr. Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Dear Dr. Benard,
Please allow this letter serve as my formal appeal to your letter from May 26, 2015 stating that I am required to withdraw from Queen's for one year due to poor academic performance, specifically not attaining a 1.6 Cumulative GPA after being on probation.
I am appealing this decision because I believe that I am improving academically as a student provided I am not overloading myself with too many courses. I had two Bs, a C- and a C+, which displays I can do the work provided I am not overloading myself. The first semester I only took 2 courses and did well. The winter semester I stayed in four courses and failed two but focused on the other two, which I was capable of and earned a B and C+. These improved my GPA from 0.95 to 1.26. If we take out the 2 Fs then it would have been much higher. My second semester fell apart at exam time in part due to a severe ankle injury, which caused me to go to spend eight amount of hours at the emergency and four total days off of my feet. This is no excuse but I was not mentally or physically prepared for my exams. I feel if given another chance to amend my mistakes I can build off the minor academic successes I had this year in comparison to my first year. Please see below for how I plan to amend my mistakes with an academic plan.
My academic plan currently contains an intention to switch out of my current degree, bachelor of Geography, into a much more interesting degree for me, which is History. It is my main goal upon my hopeful return to switch into a History degree.
It has become clear to me from my experiences of the past two years that my greatest successes have come with a lighter course load, and this will be shown, as I will take a part time course load (9 units each semester) until I graduate or feel extreme academic comfort in adding another course. I may also supplement being part-time by taking a summer course in the future to help me stay on track to graduate.
There will be no more excuses coming from me. I have the help and resources to succeed at Queen's and it would mean the world to me if I could continue as a Queen's student to prove that to you. I appreciate you reviewing my appeal. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Mackenzie George
RE: Required to Withdrawal Appeal - MacKenzie George Student 10085404
Attn: Dr. Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Dear Dr. Benard,
Please allow this letter serve as my formal appeal to your letter from May 26, 2015 stating that I am required to withdraw from Queen's for one year due to poor academic performance, specifically not attaining a 1.6 Cumulative GPA after being on probation.
I am appealing this decision because I believe that I am improving academically as a student provided I am not overloading myself with too many courses. I had two Bs, a C- and a C+, which displays I can do the work provided I am not overloading myself. The first semester I only took 2 courses and did well. The winter semester I stayed in four courses and failed two but focused on the other two, which I was capable of and earned a B and C+. These improved my GPA from 0.95 to 1.26. If we take out the 2 Fs then it would have been much higher. My second semester fell apart at exam time in part due to a severe ankle injury, which caused me to go to spend eight amount of hours at the emergency and four total days off of my feet. This is no excuse but I was not mentally or physically prepared for my exams. I feel if given another chance to amend my mistakes I can build off the minor academic successes I had this year in comparison to my first year. Please see below for how I plan to amend my mistakes with an academic plan.
My academic plan currently contains an intention to switch out of my current degree, bachelor of Geography, into a much more interesting degree for me, which is History. It is my main goal upon my hopeful return to switch into a History degree.
It has become clear to me from my experiences of the past two years that my greatest successes have come with a lighter course load, and this will be shown, as I will take a part time course load (9 units each semester) until I graduate or feel extreme academic comfort in adding another course. I may also supplement being part-time by taking a summer course in the future to help me stay on track to graduate.
There will be no more excuses coming from me. I have the help and resources to succeed at Queen's and it would mean the world to me if I could continue as a Queen's student to prove that to you. I appreciate you reviewing my appeal. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Mackenzie George
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: Strategies for Success:
a) Utilize Queen's Athletics tutor program. I have held tutors at Queens at short and particular times, and it would be prudent to utilize this free resource on a regular basis.
b) Participate in Athletics Gaels 301 program. I have poor organization skills and this program supported by athletics will allow me to have a personal organizational and motivational support system that helps me stay on task and prioritize my weeks and months.
c) Take a part-time course load of 9 units each semester. In the long run this will help me succeed even if it takes longer to graduate.
d) I recognize that my writing may need some help; therefore I will use the Writing Center to help me develop better skills in this area.
e) Begin to take summer courses to help catch up on not taking a full-time course load during the academic year.
f) Retake the two courses I failed in Winter 2015 which are severely hurting my GPA which are History 209-Intro to themes in Canadian History II and Religions 239-Religion and Sport.
g) Work more closely with professors and TAs to ensure I understand the material and also inform them if I become injured again to the point that it may affect my academics.
a) Utilize Queen's Athletics tutor program. I have held tutors at Queens at short and particular times, and it would be prudent to utilize this free resource on a regular basis.
b) Participate in Athletics Gaels 301 program. I have poor organization skills and this program supported by athletics will allow me to have a personal organizational and motivational support system that helps me stay on task and prioritize my weeks and months.
c) Take a part-time course load of 9 units each semester. In the long run this will help me succeed even if it takes longer to graduate.
d) I recognize that my writing may need some help; therefore I will use the Writing Center to help me develop better skills in this area.
e) Begin to take summer courses to help catch up on not taking a full-time course load during the academic year.
f) Retake the two courses I failed in Winter 2015 which are severely hurting my GPA which are History 209-Intro to themes in Canadian History II and Religions 239-Religion and Sport.
g) Work more closely with professors and TAs to ensure I understand the material and also inform them if I become injured again to the point that it may affect my academics.
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: NO DOC
Decision Letters
History
Originally submitted June 16, 2015 at 1:42:35 PM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Prepared for Review | Niki Kaloudas | 2015-06-16 3:12:58 PM | |
| status | N/A | Prepared for Review | In Review | Haley Everson | 2015-06-18 10:45:28 AM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Granted | Haley Everson | 2015-07-02 4:13:30 PM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Johanne Benard, Ph.D. | Haley Everson | 2015-07-02 4:13:30 PM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Haley Everson | 2015-07-02 4:13:55 PM |