Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing to drop PSYC 370 Winter, 2017. In this course, I received a D on the first midterm, (worth 25) and a D+ on the second midterm (25). I am looking for this grade to appear as a DR on my transcript. My grades throughout University have been consistently As and Bs, and I take pride in doing well in my academics. I took PSYC 270 in the fall of 2016, and received a B+ in the course. I do not come from a science background and worked harder than I ever have for a course to receive the mark I did. Along with this, I thoroughly enjoyed the class and found it very rewarding to challenge myself. This motivated me to take PSYC 370 and entered the course knowing how hard I would need to work to receive a grade I am proud of. I worked even harder than the previous semester and despite this I have gotten the poorest grades of my University career. I spent more time and effort working on this course than my other 3 courses combined and still came out with an unacceptable mark. The grades I have received are inconsistent with my mark in the 200 level of the course as well as with my other grades. I am planning on entering into a Masters program for Occupational Therapy specializing in pediatrics. OT will give me the opportunity to use my passion for psychology to shape young minds and the possibility of working in this field is what motivates me to hold myself to a higher standard with each day. Entry into these programs is highly competitive as occupational therapy is becoming an increasingly popular career path, and in order to stay competitive I need excellent grades in my 300/400 level courses, which is completely in my grasp if PSYC 370 is taken off of my transcript.

I am currently enrolled in 4 course and am taking an extra year to complete my undergrad to ensure that I am doing everything I can to succeed academically. For the future, I know that although I found it rewarding to challenge myself, it is best to know when the challenge will negatively influence my academics rather than benefit them. Moving forward I will make sure that the courses I choose to take are within my abilities while still stimulating my interest.