Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing for aegrotat in CISC 220, in hopes of having my grade to be marked out of a total of 62 percentage points. This way, I would receive a D- as my final grade instead of an F.

During the course of last semester, I became very overwhelmed with many different aspects of my life. I was unfortunately placed on academic probation at the end of last year due to my poor academic performance. Recognizing that I had to increase my academic performance, I was oblivious to the infeasible lifestyle that would come with trying to also maintain all of my previous priorities. Last semester, I worked a minimum of 35 hours a week in addition to 20 hours of school. At that time I was unaware of the detrimental mental and physical effects of this amount of commitment. This, along with a busy school schedule, made it very difficult to get into a routine, which led to trouble with my eating and sleeping. My sleep deprivation and lack of fueling my body caused a severe dependency on alarms and caffeine. Needing something to help me wake up and stay awake started to become very draining.

The night before my CISC 220 test, my phone was was damaged to the point of it completely shutting off. I rely solely on my phone, as many people do, as an alarm clock. Without my conscious knowledge, I had spilled a cup of water off of my night table onto the floor where my phone charges at night. The damage was bad enough to prevent my phone from turning on and working. Waking up and realizing I had missed my test, I emailed the professor immediately and explained the situation. She declined any further action and told me that this was not an acceptable reason for missing the test. Attached with this appeal you will find the email chain between my professor and myself the day of the test. I can now reflect on the difference in feeling I am having toward school and my studies in general as I have made major changes to my schedule and my attitude towards school.

I have taken small preventative measures to make sure accidents like the one that did, do not happen again. I have built an additional shelf on my bedside table so devices like my phone stay on top and anything else stays on the lower shelf. To help myself in the morning I have gotten an additional alarm that brightens in the morning. With my schedule I have made 3 distinct changes to help me focus on school as more of a priority. I have cut down the amount of hours I work per week to around 25. With this I have made budget changes to accommodate a difference in income. I have put myself on a more strict schedule and diet that includes eating at proper meal times in a much healthier way. I have begun going to bed much earlier and sleeping enough each night. This has allowed me to attend all of my classes with a much different attitude than I have previously. I am using the additional time I have to the fullest to make my time here at Queen's a rewarding one. I have regularly engaged with other students instead of working by myself. I have begun to ask questions in class and approach people for help when I need it. I have attended peer help sessions to talk about the issues I am facing in school or other aspects of my life. This is another outlet I have found that helps keep me on track and let things out that are taking my time or focus away from school. All of the changes that I have made have helped me become a much better student. I have come to appreciate what an amazing opportunity I have to study at this university, and would like to continue that past my second year without a failing grade on my transcript.

Clayton Warren,
S/N: 10143485
Course: CISC 220 Fall 2015