Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

Over the past three years I have had three extenuating circumstances that have contributed to my poor academic standing. The sudden illness of my mother in first year, my tonsillitis and subsequent surgery in second year and my grandmothers tragic battle with cancer in summer 2015.
During my first year of university, the transition into university life was far more challenging than expected. While on my Reading Week vacation in February 2014 my mother was diagnosed with VKH syndrome, which is a very rare eye disease. Her condition was so severe that my mother and father had to stay in the United States to continue her treatment with a specialist. I flew home to British Columbia to take care of my two brothers for 10 days in March and again in April just before final exams. I missed a lot of school and once I returned it was very difficult to focus on my studies and catch up on the work I missed. I was consumed with worry due to the uncertainty of my mother¿¿s recovery and implications of her illness.
During my second year of university I was sick with severely swollen tonsils from the beginning of January until the end of April when I had to get a tonsillectomy. I endured repeated tonsil infections that included constant pain and fever. I was seen by Dr. Jones, the ENT specialist at Hotel Dieu. Since the recovery time after a tonsillectomy is two weeks, I opted out of getting the surgery done until after final exams. Unfortunately, I was very ill throughout the semester and had to be on antibiotics for four months. Due to the severity of my swollen tonsils I had to miss class a number of times to go get treated. It was very difficult to catch up on the work I had missed during class and my attempts to complete assignments and prepare for exams were not successful.
In the summer of 2015, I took Sociology 100 online with the intention of concentrating on the course material and boosting my average. Sadly, my grandmother was diagnosed with Stage four-colon cancer in June and despite aggressive new treatments it spread very quickly. On September 6th, 2015, she passed away. I returned to Queen¿¿s right after the funeral and spent my first semester still grieving her death.
This past semester all the emotions and difficulties from the past three years affected my concentration during my studies. I tried to deal with everything on my own but realized it was becoming overwhelming. During this Christmas Break, I finally opened up to my family about how I have been feeling and how everything has affected me. Now with the support from my family and the accessibility for me to talk with people, I¿¿m able to focus on my last semester of University.
Due to the three situations mentioned above, my studies at Queen¿¿s have been adversely affected. I know the grades I am capable of but have not been able to put the time and attention needed to receive a higher GPA. I would greatly appreciate a review of my appeal for either the drop course to help me get back on track with my degree.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Marisa Atkinson
10091075