Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Petition Committee,

I am writing to formally request permission to replace ECON 256 with PHAR 100 (Online) due to an extenuating circumstance that occurred beyond my control. Earlier this semester, I mistakenly enrolled in both ECON 255 and ECON 256, which are exclusion courses. Before the semester began, I consulted with my adviser, but at that time I was not informed about this exclusion issue. Recently, when I discovered the problem, I visited my department in person, and the adviser there explained that this situation was likely caused by a system error in SOLUS. Under normal circumstances, SOLUS should have blocked my enrollment in exclusion courses. Unfortunately, it did not, which led me to this problem.

This situation has placed me under significant stress. As an international student, I am paying very high tuition fees, and I cannot accept paying for two courses that cover the same material but only receiving credit for one. In addition, ECON courses often change significantly from year to year (for example, ECON 250 was cancelled and ECON 256 was introduced), which adds to the confusion and makes it difficult to plan consistently. I made every effort to avoid mistakes by consulting an adviser beforehand, but I was still placed in this unfair position.

In order to resolve this, I am requesting to switch from ECON 256 to PHAR 100 (Online). I have already contacted the PHAR department by email, and they informed me that I must submit a formal petition before they can approve my enrollment in PHAR 100. I also attempted to contact the professor of PHAR 100 directly, but I have not yet received a response. I am providing screenshots of my email correspondence with the PHAR department as supporting evidence.

I sincerely believe that PHAR 100 (Online) is the best option available to me at this stage of the semester. First, since the semester has already been running for three weeks, I have already missed several lectures in on-campus courses. In contrast, the online course provides most of the learning materials on OnQ, which would allow me to catch up by dedicating extra study time. Second, choosing an online course will also help me avoid timetable conflicts, which are difficult to resolve at this point because many courses are already full.

Finally, I want to emphasize the serious impact this issue has had on me. As a third-year student who must take a full five-course load each semester in order to graduate on time within the next two years, my academic plan has already been disrupted. The stress from this situation has had a major effect on my mental wellbeing, and I am deeply anxious about falling behind. I respectfully request that the Committee allow me to switch from ECON 256 to PHAR 100 (Online), as this is the fairest and most reasonable solution to a problem that arose through no fault of my own.

Thank you very much for your time and understanding.

Sincerely,
Haidong Gu
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