Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

The following letter is regarding the status of my future at Queen¿¿s University, more specifically the requirement to withdraw for one-year. After a lot of consideration, I am asking to appeal the Associate Dean (Studies) decision that I must withdraw for one-year and mustn¿¿t return until September of 2017. I understand that I am late to appeal, but I have been considering this with my parents for a long time, I hope you can understand. I am willing to comply with any needed proof or documentation if needed be.
Unfortunately and suddenly, my mother was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in late October. This greatly affected my small family, and especially me. Then mid-November, my grandmother passed away in England. I promptly left school on the 9th of November for roughly 2 weeks, and I already consulted Mr. Rob Snetsinger of the Queen¿¿s Biology Department about this event as I had to hand in a laboratory report later that week.
These extenuating circumstances no doubt affected my academic performance during the Fall and Winter terms of the 2015/2016 school year. I took a lot of time out of school due to these circumstances that were out of my control. Since the diagnosis in October, I would travel from Kingston to Windsor very often to ensure my mother¿¿s well-being. There were times where I would spend the week in Windsor and only comeback to Kingston for mandatory labs (CHEM112 lab on Tuesday mornings, BIOL102/103 labs bi-weekly on Monday mornings, and PHYS117 labs bi-weekly on Wednesday mornings). My schedule was leave Wednesday mid-day after my lab and come back on Sunday night on the Via Rail. I rarely had times to fit my academics into this schedule because my sole priority was my mother. At Christmas break, I was considering on transferring to the University of Windsor, but my parents told me that my education is their number one priority which I completely understand. However, for me the only thing that mattered was that my mother was healthy so, the trips back to Windsor began to last longer as her hospital trips increased. Since my father works in Michigan, across the border, I felt obligated to take care for my mother. I missed quizzes and assignments and fell behind in my classes. Trying to juggle home, school, and my feelings of guilt for not being able to look after my mother daily overwhelmed me and left me feeling helpless. My head needed to be focused on school but my heart was at home. My academic performance fell drastically and that¿¿s why I am in this position today, the one place where I hoped I would never be.
Fortunately, the cancer is being treated well with chemotherapy and medication; she is scheduled to have her last surgery sometime August. With this in mind, I feel as if my academic performance will drastically increase when I return to Queen¿¿s University. I would ease back into the studies as if I was starting fresh, but with the experiences gained from the first year. My goal has always been to achieve academic excellence and perform in my studies to the best of my ability, which was not shown this past year due to circumstances beyond my control. I knowingly accept the situation I am currently in, but I wish to move on and improve my character at Queen¿¿s University now that the worst is behind me. After a lengthy conversation with my family, I feel a sense of security and peace of mind that I haven¿¿t had this past year. Although I did consider transferring universities, I knew it would be the wrong choice for my future, and so do my parents. Lastly, I hope this appeal will be accepted and I am fully aware of the academic probation that will still be in place. This past year has had its toll on me, but now I am ready to push forward, and utilize the materials and tools Queen¿¿s offers to succeed in my endeavour.


Sincerely,

Nikil Patel