Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

I am in my fourth year at Queen's University. I have put in a lot of effort these last two years to attain the Dean's Honour List. Unfortunately, the marking of my final report in HLTH 415 will not allow this.

Throughout this course, there was only one other assignment based on writing, in which I received an A-. Other than that, the only grade I had seen was my exam for this course from last semester. When I checked SOLUS and saw that I received a C+ in this course worth 6 credits I was very surprised and disappointed.

After emailing the instructor, I learned that this low mark was due to receiving a D+ on my placement report, which was worth 35. This was confusing as I had received feedback from the TA on my draft that had said what to keep, what to change. Had the feedback indicated that I was off track I would have ensured I met with my TA or instructor in order to be successful. This feedback is attached.

Later that day, my instructor emailed me explaining that at first I received an F and she generously changed that to a D+. She had told me to look at the rubric again as I did not follow it at all. I went back to the course outline and looked at the rubric, which I attached as well. It was a few bullet points that did not help explain how I received this mark. The rubric stated that I relate what I learned to class material, discuss failures and successes and provide future recommendations. I believe I had outlined this criteria throughout my paper. This is why I was confused that I had first received an F on this paper.

I was very upset and decided to call Lucie to explain the situation. She was very hostile on the phone and inferred that if she remarked the essay I would most likely receive lower than a D+. This is why I greatly appreciate having my paper remarked by someone other than my professor.

In this class we had tutorials every other week, at which I attended all but one throughout both semesters. Not only was I upset about my final mark, but at the way Lucie spoke to me on the phone and through emails. I would call and mention my name and she would respond Who very rudely. This was frustrating as the HLTH 415 class was small, and I had been emailing her frequently.

In conclusion, as a fourth year student I believe I am able to follow rubrics and write a paper effectively. Considering this report had little criteria and was to be focused on my personal experiences with my placement, I am confused and disappointed as to how I was able to fail this paper. I have been diligent and present in class and at my placement. I am hoping to apply for graduate school, and this mark greatly impacts that. I put a lot of effort into this paper, and believe I deserve much higher than a D+. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to try and remedy this situation.

Thank you,

Holly Makarchuk
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