Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I have spoken to an academic advisor regarding my situation and she has told me to submit an appeal, as well as other tips to assist in my studies, with a permanent disability. My request is to drop the ANAT 215 course due to 3 reasons that have vastly affected my mark. For some background information, I will attach my documentation that I have received from the Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) from the beginning of this semester. The accommodations that I qualify for include an extra 15 minutes per hour, a note taker and a maximum of one examination per day.

For examinations, the course coordinator usually notifies me of the exam location, which is separate from the rest of the class. This did not happen for the 1st Bell Ringer (Midterm Lab Exam), a fast-paced, timed examination that requires very quick thinking. My very low mark of on this examination heavily influenced my grade in this class. This same day, I also had another midterm examination in another course worth a significant amount of marks.

As per my accommodations registered by QSAS, I have a note taker for each course. I have been provided a note taker for every class except ANAT 215 and CHEM 281. However, with CHEM 281, I have peers that are willing to share their notes with me, which I am very grateful for, as for every other note taker in other courses. Although, in ANAT 215 I do not have any peers that are willing to share notes, therefore I have to write out my own notes. There are notes that are to be taken prior to lectures, from an audio recording, but I have been falling behind in these notes because taking notes from these 15-25 minute recordings take up a significant portion of my time, as they are very detailed. I have been falling behind in taking notes for these lectures and it has been a struggle keeping up with writing them, on top of that, reviewing them and retaining the knowledge. Other examinations in this class have also had poor marks, even though I had spent the majority of my time taking notes for this course. This has made it difficult to keep up with other courses, having written a total of 11 midterm examinations this semester.

ANAT 215 is an elective, therefore it dropping this course will be very helpful, since I do not require this course for my Environmental Toxicology Specialization. I have calculated the maximum mark that I can potentially earn in this class at this point, along with the required grade to pass. With my performance in this course up until this point, I believe these grades are unattainable. After this experience, I have learned my lesson and will take a lighter course load as opposed to a full course load, as advised by the academic advisor, since this is more adjusted to my capability. My academic advisor had also suggested that I buy a smart pen to assist with my studies, as it will be able to translate my writing into text on a computer, as well as record lectures. This appeal is crucial for my well-being, along with my grade point average. Thank you for your time and consideration.