Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Alexandra Walters
10127404
195 Earl Street
Kingston, ON

January 19, 2017

Ms. Sue Blake
Associate Dean (Studies)
Student Services, Dunning Hall
Queen's University

Dear Ms. Blake:

This request is for a credit grant a Credit standing (CR) for HLTH 333: Contemporary Issues in Sexuality, completed within the Fall 2016 academic term. I am requesting this appeal due to extenuating circumstances which affected my performance throughout the course and therefore contributed to my final grade being much lower than expected, given my previous academic success at Queen's. These previous achievements include a Dean's Honours List standing (2014-2015), Dean's List with Academic Distinction (2015-2016), Varsity All-Star Status for the Queen's Varsity Figure Skating Team (2015-2016), a research internship through the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies (2016-2017) and balancing a part-time job.

Physical illness is the cause of my poor academic success in this course. Since the Winter 2016 term I have been chronically ill, experiencing extreme exhaustion, weakness, continuous illnesses (colds, sinus infections, etc.), anemia, digestive problems, and most significantly, extreme weight loss. Although the source of my illness remains unknown, a medical team (twp GP's, Psychologist, Endocrinologist, Gastroenterologist, Allergist) has been working with me throughout the past summer and Fall term to determine the root cause and attempt to alleviate some of the adverse symptoms. The Fall academic term was extremely challenging in all areas, but particularly in HLTH 333 due to the quick, thought-provoking and conceptual thinking required. This course was different than my previous and concurrent courses as the majority of those courses were based on factual data requiring memorization, identification and recall, rather than the formation of new ideas and critical thinking of HLTH 333. Resulting from my exhaustion and weight loss, my ability to think quickly has been affected and it has been much harder to concisely describe my ideas onto paper. In addition to the cognitive challenges, this course was only offered for a lecture time on Wednesday mornings (8:30-10:30am) which coincided with the only available appointment sessions of some medical specialists. Therefore, on a handful of occasions I was unable to attend the full lecture because of medical appointments. Although I received notes from a classmate, met on numerous occasions with my Teaching Assistant and attended my professor's office hours, I was unable to fully grasp the content I had missed.

Although I received a passing grade of a B in HLTH 333, I feel this is far below my academic abilities. As demonstrated by my transcript, I am an A level student in nearly all my courses and am a strong, passionate and driven student. This one course has greatly impacted my overall GPA, which is of concern when looking forward to graduate school applications and my academic career beyond undergraduate studies. After meeting with the Undergraduate Chair within the SKHS, I have determined it is within my best academic interest to apply for a credit standing and have the grade removed from my official transcript.

With assistance from the SKHS Undergraduate Chair, I have been able to construct an academic plan which will align me for my continued academic success this Winter term and into the final year of my undergraduate degree. I have decided to reduce my academic load, taking 12.0 credits this term (in which the additional credits will be made up with summer term courses). Further, I will be speaking to each of my professors individually, notifying them of my illness. The classes I have chosen are all in a style of cognitive thinking that is particularly based on identification and recall, with which I have previously demonstrated success. Although I am not in perfect physical health, I have been successful in taking multiple steps which have improved my health, enough to feel confident I can excel academically this term. I will continue to be monitored by my medical team. Although I enjoyed my part-time job, I made the decision to take an extended period of leave from it to allow me to concentrate on other areas. This year I have taken a flexible training based role (as opposed to a competitive one) on the Queen's Varsity Figure Skating Team, and am no longer attending all of the daily practices. This allowed me to get sufficient sleep and conserve my energy stores for my studies. I am confident the combination of these choices and steps will allow me to once again achieve a high level of academic success this term.

Please find attached a letter from my physician at Queen's University (Dr. LaCapara) in support of this appeal. Should you have any further questions or inquiries please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone (613-852-9746) or by email (alexandra.walters@queensu.ca).


Sincerely,

Alexandra Walters
10127404