Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom this may concern,

I am writing today to appeal for credit standing in two of my courses from last year: Psych100 and Spanish P10 based upon my learning disability (dyslexia).

I started my first year at Queens with the idea to become a Psychology major. As Queens does not allow the declaration of a major in the first year, I also took a course in Global Development. My father works for Global Affairs Canada and as a result, we have lived in different parts of the world during various periods of my life. This has given me the opportunity to really experience many different cultures and has naturally led to an interest in International Affairs even though my plan had been to proceed in Psych. After getting deeply engrossed in the DEVS studies and after attending a talk given by Dr. Samantha Nutt, mid second semester I became inspired to switch my focus and to major in DEVS.

I struggled with Psych100 and the requisite language course Spanish P10 (for DEVS) but was determined not to drop them as I refused to give up. I feel that I did not do as well in these classes as I would have hoped because I did not receive accommodations for my dyslexia. I realize that this was my fault for I did not let the school know about my learning difficulty.
For my entire life I have had issues with dyslexia, and did not want to bring these issues with me to university. I felt as though Queen¿¿s was a place for me to start fresh and to leave behind the struggles from my past.

I now realize now that failing to ask for accommodations and help with my dyslexia was an error which could cost me admission to the program that I truly wish to major in and that, in reality, having lived in Jordan, Singapore, Italy and South Africa, I have been working towards most of my life.

If I can get credit standing in Psych100 and SpanishP10, my GPA will be sufficient to allow entry into DEVS as a major.

I have attached to this letter, documentation from Lycée-Claudel in Ottawa showing the diagnosis of and accommodations for my dyslexia. I will be presenting these documents and all other necessary paperwork to register my dyslexia with the Accessibility Services Office upon my return to Queens this September.

I hope this will be enough for you to allow my request for credit standing in the above mentioned courses.

If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a wonderful summer,
Sincerely,
Holly Vandermeer