Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Deans (Studies),
I am writing to appeal the requirement to withdraw for one year and to drop the course CISC 121 taken during the winter semester of 2017.
I began my studies at Queen's University in August 2015, excited to pursue a degree in Computer Science. Though I was passionate about the computing courses in my first year, I was unfortunately not able to successfully meet the requirements for most of these courses. This included CISC121 taken during my second semester at Queen's in the winter semester of 2016.
My academic experience as I was attempting to successfully complete my computing courses, though upsetting, allowed me to review my strengths and weaknesses and reassess my decision to pursue a degree in Computer Science. With the support and advice of Dr. Tonya Bauermann at Student Wellness Services, I found that a degree in Geography would be a much better fit for me in order to pursue a career in agriculture. Thus, I reframed my academic plan to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Geography instead.
Granted this, I took courses in geography this year and as my GPA reflects, I both enjoyed them and was successful in meeting the requirements for my new degree plan. Additionally, Dr. Bauermann helped me manage the previous state of my mental health and my grades were able to further improve under her guidance. I also attempted to retake some computing courses in the efforts of raising my GPA during my second year. These efforts included retaking CISC121 during the winter term of 2017. Unfortunately, my new grade in CISC121 did not help me to raise my second year GPA and adversely affected my academic standing to the point where I am currently being asked to withdraw from Queen's University for a year. The main reason I am requesting to drop CISC121 from my transcript of the winter term of 2017 is so that I can return to Queen's in good academic standing, particularly since I have learned that Computer Science is not the right career path for me. Seeing as I was passing the course at the time of the deadline on March 3rd, 2017, I was optimistic about the possibility to meet the requirements to pass the course and decided to not drop the course.
I love Queen's University, and it would mean so much to me to graduate with a degree in Geography from this school and pursue a successful career in agriculture upon completion of my studies. Please understand that my low GPA that led to the request to withdraw for a year does not indicate that I am a bad student. I believe I am a hardworking student who was in the wrong degree program. As an international student, I have established relationships and a life here and all I can ask is that you can give me a second chance to allow me to continue to love and experience Queen's and Canadian life. Living without an education for a year will not only hinder my studies in geography, a discipline I'm dedicated to, but also my migratory status in this country; as I will not be able to renew my visa if I am not currently continuing my education. If my appeal is accepted, I will continue to focus and do much better in my new academic plan and continue to seek the counsel of Dr. Bauermann throughout the year. Thank you for considering this appeal.