Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am requesting a CR designation for several courses taken during my first year. My academic performance during this period was significantly affected by circumstances beyond my control. I am currently in my 3rd year of studies, and am fully aware that I am quite past the due date for this request, however I was unaware of the option to submit a CR request until a few days ago and have made it a priority to get one in as soon as possible. I submitted an appeal during my first year in desperate need explaining my situation, however it was denied and I believe I may have applied for the wrong type of appeal. Now that I am much more aware of the opportunities and resources the university has to offer for extenuating circumstances, I am submitting one now, hoping for some grace.
In August 2023, immediately before I began my first year at Queen’s, my parents went through a divorce. This created a sudden and major disruption in my home environment during the transition into university. The separation required me to move between households, adapt to new financial and emotional circumstances, and manage ongoing conflict and instability throughout the academic year. These circumstances directly impacted my ability to focus on my coursework and perform to my usual academic standard. Additionally, I was unaware of the separation until well into my first semester, greatly impacting me during the end of the term.
I am providing a copy of the formal separation agreement as supporting documentation. This verifies the timing and severity of the disruption, and confirms that these challenges were external, unexpected, and not within my ability to reasonably manage at the time. Additionally, you will see that the signed separation agreement was just completed a few days ago, emphasizing that the lengths and psychological toll from their divorce were prolonged for a duration of over 2 years from their separation date. This being an additional reason why I am requesting that the petition deadline is extended, since it is not until now that I have received documentation and that the situation has been settled. I have luckily been able to find support, and a great community of friends at Queen’s to help me throughout this process, and have been able to achieve better grades in recent semesters.
Despite these difficulties, I remained committed to my studies and have demonstrated a significant improvement in academic standing in subsequent terms when these circumstances stabilized. However, the extenuating circumstances that I experienced during first year made a permanent negative effect on my overall GPA. Granting a CR designation for the affected first-year courses would allow my transcript to more accurately reflect my academic ability and the progress I have made since.
I am requesting that courses PHYS 115 (3 credit), MATH 110 (6 credit), and CHEM 112 (6 credit) to be displayed as CR on my transcript, as they required the most time and were impacted the most by my extenuating circumstances.

Thank you,

Vanessa