Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Elizabeth Byca, I am a second year Con-Ed Arts student and I am appealing to drop GPHY243 (Fall 2015).

I have always been a strong and dedicated student, and my first year at Queen¿¿s was no exception as I had a successful transition into university. Second year thus far has not been as positive of a year as I have been dealing with some personal issues. Due to some personal circumstances experienced regarding an emotionally abusive relationship, I have been experiencing feelings of grief and anxiety. This has been affecting me personally since September and has taken a toll on my academic work. I began seeing a counsellor on campus on the last eligible day to drop courses. We had discussed my academic issues and this course in particular but I did not want to drop it originally as I did not feel that I could handle the added stress of going through the process of dropping a course and rearranging my schedule or entire program plan. I instead continued to work as hard as I could, attending Geography help nights, and reaching out to my professor for extra resources or tutors. Unfortunately my professor did not provide me or refer me to any extra help. At this point in time I am struggling overall with my courses but this geography course in particular is affecting me the most as I am at risk of failing the course and this added stress to my current personal issue has become too much for me which is why I am appealing to drop it. I feel that continuing with this course will not be a positive contributor to my well-being and mental health, or my success as a student here at Queen¿¿s.

My plan moving forward is to switch out of my Geography plan altogether. I am currently in a Sociology minor, and next year I will be making Sociology my major and dropping Geography completely. With this in mind, dropping the GPHY 243 course will not effect my future plans, as Geography will no longer be a part of my academic plan here at Queen¿¿s. I am a Concurrent Education student and we are required to maintain a certain average to continue into our fifth year of the program, if I continue with GPHY 243, I will have a failed grade on my transcript which will obviously impact my overall GPA and put my chances of continuing in Con-Ed at risk. Therefore, after dropping this geography course, I plan to take a summer course in its place to make up for the credit and not fall behind. I would like to take Basic Nutrition (HLTH 230) as I am looking to pursue a Health minor. By switching into a Sociology major and hopefully a health minor, I will be pursuing a path that I am passionate about and will be successful in. I have already met with an advisor at the Faculty of Education and changed my courses for next semester to match that of a Sociology major so I will be on track and not fall behind in my program. I will continue to see my counsellor to overcome my personal issues and work to become a more successful student during second semester. Along with switching my academic plan and seeing a counsellor, I also will better my time here at Queen¿¿s by becoming more involved in the school community. This year I have joined the novice rowing team and an intramural volleyball team. I also have signed up for a club that helps tutor grade 7 and 8 students at a local public school. By becoming more involved in the community I believe that I will be a more well-rounded student and be able to do what I love inside and outside the classroom.