Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter:
I am submitting this petition in hopes of obtaining permission to enroll in ECON 310: Microeconomic Theory II and ENSC 301: Environmental Assessments after the add/drop deadline. I understand that petitions are reviewed carefully and require clear justification, and I appreciate the opportunity to explain my circumstances.

From the beginning of the term, I was on the waitlist for both ECON 310 and ENSC 301. I remained top of the waitlist throughout the entire add/drop period but naively assumed that my low waitlist ranking would lead me to be enrolled before the period ended or shortly after. Unfortunately, I was unaware that students are automatically removed from course waitlists once the add/drop period ends. This misunderstanding has now left me in a difficult academic situation.

What makes this situation particularly urgent is that I am scheduled to go on exchange for the Winter 2026 term, which limits my ability to take ECON 310 and ENSC 301 in a future term. This means that this fall may be the only opportunity I have to complete both ECON 310 and ENSC 301, without hindering my academic progress. Without ECON 310 specifically, I will not meet the prerequisites for most of my remaining required 400-level economics courses as it is a core requirement for my Applied Economics degree. Additionally, I have concerns regarding the progress of my environmental studies minor which makes taking ENSC 301 this fall semester particularly important to me.

While I acknowledge that this situation could have been avoided had I followed up more proactively, I want to be clear that I take full responsibility for the oversight. The gap in my understanding of the waitlist policy was not due to any external extenuating crisis, but rather a misunderstanding on my part about how the system functions after the deadline passes.

Once I realized I had been removed from the waitlists, I took immediate action. I spoke with an academic advisor, followed by direct outreach to Professor Hongfei Sun and Professor Whitehall, the course instructors, and then to Professor Ian Keay, the Economics Department Chair, to request the necessary permissions.

For ENSC 301, I have obtained permission from Professor Whitelaw, to join the class if my petition is successful. He has encouraged me to proceed with the appeals process and has offered to meet during office hours to help me catch up on any missed material.

For ECON 310, I have been proactively attending lectures and keeping up with the course content independently since the beginning of the semester, as I had initially anticipated receiving a spot from the waitlist. Thus, I am fully caught up and prepared to participate in the course without disruption if granted enrollment. I recently met with Professor Sun, who expressed that she is open to my enrollment but requires approval from the Department Chair first. I am currently awaiting confirmation of her support.

I am now respectfully requesting approval from the Faculty of Arts and Science to enroll in these two courses. I am fully committed to making up for lost time and have taken initiative to prepare myself to succeed in both courses, should my petition be granted.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Olive Boriss
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