Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies)

As a Major student, BCHM 315 ¿¿ Proteins and Enzymes, is not a required course for graduating with a BScH assertion. However, it is a co-requisite for several other Life Sciences courses, which prompted my enrolment in this course. Upon completion, I met with Spring Forsberg, Academic Advisor at the Faculty of Arts & Science to discuss my concerns regarding my final grade standing. At the recommendation of Ms. Forsberg, I organized a meeting with Dr. Chuck Vetere to discuss reasons as to why my mental health, and my overall academic performance, had been compromised in the Fall semester. However, I was not able to obtain an appointment at Student Wellness Services until several weeks later. After my consultation with Dr. Vetere, I have decided to appeal for a Credit Standing as I believe my hindered performance in this course can be attributed to extenuating circumstances that had arisen amongst my family. In late September, I had received tragic news that my aunt had been clinically diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. We presume that early signs of the disease had simply been ignored as this was an unanticipated outcome of her reported ¿¿tingling sensations¿. My aunt has always played a critical role in my growing years, not only acting as a mother-figure, but as a caretaker and friend. She has witnessed some of my most esteemed accomplishments, and continues to be an integral part of my familial support system. This prompted frequent trips back to Toronto almost weekly, in the hopes that I could offer support to my family and hers. She has two children, 15 and 21, of which her eldest is currently working an internship overseas. Due to financial hardships, the family is unable to afford to pay for his return home until his work term is completed. The emotional stress stemming from my aunt¿¿s situation, concurrent with academic stress from a full course load and extra-curricular commitment, definitely stunted my performance in this course. Throughout the semester, I made every attempt to make improvements in this course by visiting the TAs during their extra-help hours and completing all recommended textbook readings and problem-sets. I also visited my professor, Dr. Steven Smith, in his office for further clarification on concepts discussed in lecture as well as to evaluate my deficiencies in course assessments. Additionally, my eating and sleeping patterns had begun to falter as I found myself anxiously consumed with thoughts of my ailing aunt. It was not until my final grade had appeared on my transcript, that I realized how much this course would defer my overall GPA and more importantly, my future aspirations. Now, after developing a better understanding of my aunt¿¿s situation, I recognize that the course of her illness is beyond my control and I have reduced my visits home to a monthly basis. Nonetheless, I am still finding it difficult to concentrate on this semester¿¿s course load with feelings of apprehensiveness persisting from last semester. Albeit it is still early in the semester, I am already projecting my grades to be significantly higher than last, and my overall wellness continues to improve as well. I have also planned to meet with Dr. Vetere next month, and each month thereafter, to discuss new developments in my aunt¿¿s journey as well as in my academic endeavours.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Hong