Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

This letter is to request for the considering of the following:
1. Dropping of both Chem281 in the fall term, and Micro221 in the winter term
2. Credit standing on Stats243 in the fall term, and Psych100 which was a full year course.

At the beginning of the semester in the second week of September, I was at wrestling practice when I got injured. The injury to my knee resulted in going to multiple physiotherapy, and chiropractor appointments due to excruciating pain. The pain deterred me from walking to class some days. During the fall semester, I was constantly going to multiple doctor¿¿s appointments both in Kingston and in Toronto. These visits took up a lot of time which is why I was not able to put forth the appropriate time required for my classes. This eventually lead to bad final grades in my exams and midterms in the fall semester. I was unable to drop Chem281 because the midterm grades were distributed after the deadline to drop the course. One might question why the reason for a good grade in Anatomy. This good grade in the fall semester was because it was an online class which did not have a final examination and I was able to study from my bed. During the winter break I was given a surgery date, and the surgery was performed on Feb. 10 2017 in Toronto. During the winter semester, I was still going to physiotherapy due to rehab and the pain. Once I received a date for my surgery, I contacted my professor for Micro221 and asked to have the midterm deferred because it fell a few days after my surgery. He deferred the exam, however due to the strong medications (Percocets) I was taking, I misjudged the impact on my ability to be able to study. I had also missed a lot of classes due to this which resulted in a poor grade. I was unable to drop the course because the results I had been given for my midterm mark were distributed after the deadline to drop the course as well. This injury affected my entire year, due to prolonged visits with doctors and the getting a date for my surgery.

I feel I did improved in my academics this year, and had this injury never happened, I would have performed exceptionally better in my classes. My plan, if granted this appeal, would be to retake both dropped courses, Chem281 in the fall and Micro221 in the winter, and seek weekly tutor sessions. I will also be taking a lighter course load with 4 courses a semester, and easier electives each semester to balance out my work load. I have already taken the two dropped courses, so I am better prepared to do well in those classes because I will have more time to allocate studying for them.

My plan is to graduate with a Life Science¿¿s degree and apply to medical school. I feel I am committed and dedicated enough to my goal, and had this not injury set me back, I would have been on my way to achieving it. I would appreciate your consideration and help in achieving my goal.

Sincerely,
Gurjot Ravi