Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear, Dr. Stephenson,

I am petitioning to drop COMM 211 (Winter, 2025).

I am a second year Arts and Science student currently enrolled in the Certificate in Business. When picking my courses for this semester, the only course within the Certificate in Business that had space and fit into my schedule was COMM 211. Although I knew taking Financial Accounting as my first commerce course would be a challenge, I enrolled in the course as I was eager to begin taking the courses to acquire the Certificate.

I do not have a background in math or business, so I went into this course with no prior knowledge. With this in mind, I was determined to put my best foot forward, go over lecture notes each week, and allocate the time and effort needed to stay on top of the homework. I approached Professor Webster after the first class to inform her of my circumstances and ask if she could set me up with a tutor. Unfortunately, it took longer than expected to connect with a tutor since the person Professor Webster had in mind was attending a conference when I inquired. Although I had attended every lecture and put in all effort to stay on top of all work each week, it was the third week by the time I connected with my tutor, at which point I was already very behind.

This situation has resulted in severe anxiety and emotional distress. It consistently takes me 6+ hours to complete the weekly homework, and as a result, my grades in my four other courses are suffering. These are courses that I deeply value and know that I would excel in if I was not forced to put all of my time and effort into COMM 211.

I have dealt with severe anxiety in the past, and academic stressors are the main contributor to this. Thanks to years of therapy, I feel equipped with personal coping mechanisms and strategies to deal with anxiety, and I have received support from my family, who I have been expressing my anxiety to throughout this semester. Due to these reasons, in combination with feeling that the only way I could improve my emotional state was to drop this course, I did not reconnect with my therapist to help me deal with this anxiety. Unfortunately, as a result of this, I do not have supporting documentation from a doctor, and I was not aware that this would be necessary in dropping a course.

Getting in contact with my tutor in the third week of the course and the emotional distress that this is causing me are both factors beyond my control, and it is unfortunate that my other courses are suffering as a result.

Should my petition be granted, I plan on taking this course in a future semester as I am dedicated to completing the Certificate in Business. I will focus on my other courses for the remainder of this semester and bring them back to the level that I know they can be. I can confidently say I have learned from my experiences in this course thus far, and I know the steps I will have to take to perform well while ensuring my other course work does not suffer. This will include contacting the professor before the first class to inform them of my circumstances and connect me with a tutor. In the meantime, I am committed to learning about financial accounting to become equipped with the necessary background knowledge to stay on top of the course in the future.

Sincerely,
Samantha Dinelle