Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Elizabeth Brown
9eb2@queensu.ca
1-708-799-4408
Student Number: 06126298
1624 Heather Hill Crescent
Flossmoor, IL 60422
USA

Dear Dean of Arts and Science:

I am writing today in order to request an extension of an incomplete grade with regards to ENGL 315, a course that was taken during the Fall 2012 - Winter 2013 academic year. During the academic year in question, as well as the ones preceding and following, I struggled with a series of chronic health issues (related to both chronic fatigue and digestive failure) that profoundly affected my ability to pursue my studies. During the majority of my degree (beginning at the start of second year through to my completion of my programme in the Winter term of 2015), I experienced such issues and accordingly took responsibility to regularly pursue medical care, and I did so by engaging with both Queen¿¿s health systems as well as specialists at Hotel Dieu; however, little advancement was made in the way of a definitive diagnosis or viable treatment (I instead went through a series of ineffective treatments and misdiagnoses). In addition to seeking medical care, I was in close communication with each of my professors regarding deadlines and coursework completion. Throughout my degree¿¿from second year onwards¿¿I regularly required extensions for coursework and special exam arrangements; I also often travelled back and forth between Kingston and Chicago (my home) in order to seek more viable treatment options.

I am very grateful to my professors and the English department for their gracious accommodation and assistance over the years. Regarding ENGL 315, I had made an agreement with Professor Scott Straker that I would complete the coursework and submit it when I was able. When we made the agreement, there was no deadline or end-date for final grade adjustment; Professor Straker did, in fact, stipulate that my current coursework take priority over past 315 assignments, and, as such, my first available time to complete the final coursework was after April 2015 (at the end of my final term).

Throughout my extended and difficult undergraduate career, I remained steadfastly committed to endeavouring to complete my degree coursework in a way that reflected my abilities and not the health issues I was dealing with; as such, I was intent on fully engaging with course material and completing all assignments, and I was thus especially dedicated to following through with the agreement I made with Professor Straker regarding the completion of coursework for 315.
I thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Brown