Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

During my first year at Queen's University, I faced extenuating circumstances which have lead me to appeal my course grade in my first year PSYC100 course. During my first semester of my first year at Queen's, my parents contacted the Accessibility services as I have a learning disability that requires accommodations. They were then instructed that my last assessment was not recent enough for accommodations to be met, and would have to be tested again. Unsure of how to arrange a reassessment myself, I phoned Accessibility Services to receive further instructions. I spoke with a woman and she informed me of my two options, to privately or publically book an appointment to be assessed. To ensure that this process would be done as fast as possible, I booked an appointment privately to be reassessed as soon as possible, which was in January 2015. This meant that I was unable to be accommodated for my first semester exams, which affected my performance greatly. I received failing grades on multiple exams, which brought down my marks significantly. Once I received my reassessment from the Chisholm Education Centre, I contacted accessibility services both over the phone and by email. In total, I called Accessibility Services approximately four separate times with no response. This evidently led to me writing my second semester exams without accommodations that should have been received. Though I was able to bring up and/or improve some of my marks with hard work, my marks suffered a great deal due to these circumstances. I accepted my offer to Queen's with hopes to major in psychology, however due to the exams making up 70 of my grade, I was unable to meet the cutoff. The other 30 of my grade for psychology was a high 94, however once the exams took effect, I received a 55 in the class. I then retook the online summer PSYC100 course in hopes of raising my mark and receiving accommodations for the final exam. When I first made the decision to take the course online, I took it upon myself to contact the Accessibility Services again by both email and phone. I was left disappointed, as I did not receive a response from either form of contact once again. I wrote my final exam and received a 47, which meant failing the online course due to the course evaluation set up. I drove to Kingston and discussed my situation with Jill Atikinson and let her know that my situation had also occurred to multiple students last year. She helped me receive the accommodations that I required as well as assisted in my approval to rewrite the PSYC100 online final exam with accommodations. After finally receiving the accommodations that I required almost a year earlier, I was able to pass the PSYC100 course with a 75, a significant improvement. Thus, I am appealing my first year PSYC100 grade, as there is sufficient evidence that my failing grade was a result of my learning disability not being accommodated. I have attached a copy of my assessment which shows the date of when the assessment was made and a letter from Queen's accessibility services which states when my accommodations were met.

With second year first semester finished, I was able to see that with accommodations met, I am able to achieve a greater success. I have met with multiple academic advisors and am on the right path to achieving my goals. I am much more confident in my examinations now, and was even able to receive an 81 in a course. I have now been accepted for a medial program of Psychology and Gender Studies and hope to continue my academic achievements now that I have finally received the right tools and support. I thank you for taking time and consideration of my appeal.

Sincerely,
Melissa Chapin
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