Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Academic Petition Committee,

I am respectfully requesting the removal of the DR from my transcript for CHEM 281 due to extrenuating circumstances beyond my control that occurred after the course drop deadline that effected my academic performance that led me to drop the course.
Shortly after the deadline to drop the course had passed, my grandfather passed away unexpectedly. Upon receiving the news, I had to accompany my father to Sri Lanka the same day. We received the news at noon and had packed and left for the airport at 2. As it was only my father and I who were able to go, I was required to assist every step of the way and stay strong for my father while also grieving for the duration of almost 3 weeks.
Despite these challenges, I made every effort to continue participating in my courses and keep up with course content. However, limited internet access, time zone differences (9h 30min), family obligations, and the emotional stress associated with my grandfathers passing made it increasingly difficult to maintain consistency in learning the course content for all my classes.
While in Sri Lanka, I also became severely ill with food poisoning and was bed ridden for almost a week. This further affected my ability to keep up with coursework and keep pace with the demands of CHEM 281 especially.
As I struggled to manage my situation, I reached out to Dr Carran as soon as I returned explaining my situation and wanting to defer the exam. After hearing about my situation Dr Carran had suggested that a late drop would be the best choice academically and that he would fully support a late drop.
I believe I made reasonable efforts to attempt to continue the course, but ultimately I have to make the right decision according to my situation as well as using the advice of a professor who explained that doing well in this course drastically and statistically decreases even with just a deferred exam. The combination of bereavement, unexpected international travel, family responsibilities, illness, affected my ability to complete this course.
Given these circumstances and the support of my instructor, I respectfully request that the DR for CHEM 281 be removed from my transcript. I can provide any further evidence needed such as documentation of my grandfathers passing, flight tickets, and communications with my professor.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Kavisha Rajaratnam
20400403