Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

My name is Katie Ryujin and I am going to be entering my fourth year at Queen¿¿s this upcoming fall. I am appealing to drop RELS 131 and enroll in DEVS 240 this summer. The past two years have been very difficult for me as many unforeseen events have occurred. Last year my mother underwent major surgery where complications occurred and my sister was in an abusive relationship which was very traumatic. My family is very close and despite how hard I work at school, emotionally these took a toll on me which was apparent in my academic performance. I spoke with my undergraduate chairs, came up with a plan and worked really hard this entire year to get back on track. I was able to bring up my grades and was also involved in extracurriculars, serving as an ASUS co-chair for Alzheimer¿¿s Outreach. Early in the school year one of my house mates attempted to commit suicide in my home while I was home. My house mate continued to struggle with her mental health and confronted me countless times for guidance. Having never dealt with such a serious issue in such close proximity before I turned to Allison, my undergraduate chair for support. Despite the resources I passed along to my housemate the episodes still continued with her mental health fluctuating throughout the semester. I thought I could handle the situation but the pressures and constant stress took a toll on my academics. Coming home to the uncertainty if something would happen made my living situation feel unsafe and uneasy. I have been having sessions with a counsellor that I see back home in Vancouver over the phone for the past year which helped me cope. But, despite my efforts I wasn't able to bring my grades up quite as high as they needed to be. I am currently only 0.32 below the requirement to stay in my psychology majors program. If there was anything I could do to earn the 0.32 to stay in my majors program I would be more than willing to as it is my desired major. With much disappointment and a heavy heart, I have been faced with the difficult decision to switch out of my psychology majors program into a PSYC/DEVS medial.

When enrolling into my summer school classes this year I was under the impression I would still be in the psychology majors program. If I am to be accepted into the medial program I will be behind in DEVS credits. Thus, staying enrolled in RELS 131 this summer does not provide me with much benefits. I would like to switch into DEVS 240 to get ahead start on my credits as I am already very behind. Please help me make this possible.

I am very hard working student despite the adversity I have faced and have been involved in the Queen¿¿s community for my entire academic career thus far. If approved, I will continue to have regular sessions with my counsellor and work closely with my academic advisors to make sure I am on track. My immediate goal is to do well in my summer courses to bring up my GPA overall and help me switch into the medial.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my appeal.
Best,
Katie Ryujin