Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Bénard,

My name is Jenna Polla and I am a fourth-year student at Queen's studying English Literature and Italian. I am writing to you in hopes of waving the 21-day deadline in order to apply for Credit Standing for English 200, a course I took during the winter semester of my second year. English 200--a mandatory course outlining the history of English literature--was a course that I enjoyed greatly; I found the content enlightening and Professor Wehlau's teaching style informative and engaging. It was also a course in which I was performing well, until notice of my grandmother's illness and declining health one day before the final exam.

My grandmother and I were extremely close--I lived with her while growing up and was her primary caretaker whenever I was home. When my dad called me the day before the English 200 exam to inform me of her illness, which would lead to her death in the coming months, I was devastated--my mental status debilitated greatly, and I was unable to concentrate. Although I tried to remain focused on my exam the next day, I could not pay attention to anything except for her wellbeing. I was, at that point, overcome with grief--a condition that would carryover while I was writing my exam. Notification of this one day before my exam completely obliterated my mental health--I was extremely anxious during the exam, as I was solely thinking of how I wanted to rush home to be with her. My performance during the exam was in no way a reflection of my abilities, my previous performance in the course or the knowledge I acquired. However, as the final exam was weighted heavily in the course, my poor performance substantially lowered my final grade. This poor grade is not an indication of my aptitude, as demonstrated through the final grades in the other classes I achieved that semester and the other marks in literature classes that I have received since then.

I knew I should have reached out to my professor after the exam to explain why I performed so poorly, but as soon as the semester ended I rushed home in order to spend time with my family as my grandmother's health declined. I was so focused on my grief that school became the furthest thing from my mind. After the initial shock of her status passed, I considered appealing the grade, but noticed that more than twenty-one days had passed. I was, at this time, unaware of the ability to appeal the time constraint; in fact, I only recently became aware of this after the revitalizing of Queen's ArtSci website, which articulates rules and regulations more clearly than before.

Queen's has always been an inclusive place; the extent of accommodation that students with physical and mental disorders are able to receive here is inspiring and reassuring. I truly feel as though the faculty is genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of the students, regardless of whatever obstacles they need to overcome. I feel privileged that Queen's places such an emphasis on mental health, and that I have the opportunity to present my extenuating circumstances.

Thank you for taking the time to read my request; I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Jenna Polla