Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Associate Dean (Studies)
Queen¿¿s University Faculty of Arts and Science

Dear Sir or Madam,

Request:

I am writing to you to request a waiver of the deadline for submitting an appeal to have certain courses removed from my academic transcript.

I am a Queen¿¿s Bachelor of Commerce graduate who successfully completed the requirements for the Commerce program in the spring of 2013. Upon completion of my Commerce degree, I elected to return to school in the fall to earn a secondary degree in Economics, despite struggling with what had already proven to be a fragile mental state at the time.

I would like to appeal to have certain course records related to my attempt to earn a secondary degree, during the fall 2013/winter 2014 academic year, removed from my Queen¿¿s academic record on the grounds that I was medically unfit and should not have attempted the program at that time.

Explanation of extenuating circumstances:

Firstly, I would like to unequivocally state that my years at Queen¿¿s remain some of the most intellectually expanding and enjoyable times of my life. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to receive a world-class education and to form a great many valued, lifelong friendships during my time in Kingston. In spite of the academic struggles that are the topic of this letter, I remain deeply proud of my university and all that it represents.

Although I always found the work at Queen¿¿s to be rigorous, I believe that I, admittedly with some growing pains, equipped myself well through the first 3.75 years of my university education. I began my academic career by earning a decent but not stellar marks in my very first term, and through diligence and hard work managed to earn a 3.53 GPA in my final term of my Commerce degree. I had always planned that upon completing my Commerce degree, I would embark on a secondary degree in economics, as I wanted to supplement what I felt to be an excellent practical business education with some additional theoretical knowledge and experience.

However, with graduation fast approaching in the final weeks of my fourth year¿¿s winter term. I fell into a mental paralysis. I would go to the library for hours on end, day after day, week after week, and no matter how hard I tried to motivate myself, I felt frozen and could not make significant progress on the many papers and assignments that were coming due. The more I struggled, the less confidence I had in my abilities and the more worried I became, leading to an even bigger mental block. I became at risk of not completing my Commerce degree, and finally, at the urging of the Commerce department, I sought help from Queen¿¿s Health, Counseling, and Disability Services. I began counseling sessions with Marlo Gillis at HCDS and, with some extensions from some of my professors and an appeal to drop one course, was able to successfully graduate with my Commerce degree in June 2013.

I believed myself to have recovered sufficiently over the summer and I did not want what I perceived as a minor blip in my studies to have a major effect on my academic plan. I therefore returned to school begin my secondary degree in September of 2013. In retrospect, this was a mistake. Although I continued to receive counseling periodically through HCDS, my academic struggles manifested themselves in much the same way as the previous spring, and as a result, I was unable to complete much of my required work. At Christmas, I considered leaving school but felt that I was so close to earning my second degree that I decided to try to stick it out. However by June 2014, I felt completely mentally exhausted. With my productivity and confidence at an all-time low, I felt it was best to suspend my academic efforts and no longer devote any more mental anguish to what was in effect an optional supplement to my previous BComm degree. I did not feel it was necessary to address my academic record at that point because I mistakenly believed that my earlier existing academic record from my separate degree would stand independently.

Instead, I embarked on a different sort of learning experience. After leaving school, I launched a social media start up with two fellow Queen¿¿s grads. The startup did well. We obtained grants from the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Science, were accepted into the Queen¿¿s Innovation Connector and InvestOttawa¿¿s incubator program. We worked hard and progressed towards commercial launch but in the end were derailed due to technical issues. Although this was a disappointment, I learned much about the product development process and what it takes to manage a small company. I have since moved back home to the NYC area and have begun working as a junior analyst for a small investment management firm.

Future plan:

I now wish to seek further career opportunities but find that my academic record from 2013/14 is a major stumbling block to my self-confidence and is causing me severe distress. I am concerned that leaving it as it stands will hinder any professional and/or graduate level academic opportunities I may wish to pursue in the future. I only recently realized this question of my record to be an issue because I had assumed that my transcript would be limited the courses from my Bachelor of Commerce degree, as I never completed nor advertised myself as completing any secondary degree. Additionally, I would like to reconcile my personal relationship with the university that I cherished for the better part of four years and allow myself to reflect fondly and proudly on what Queen¿¿s means to me without the severe mental anguish that characterized my last few terms.

I humbly request that the time limit to submit an appeal should be waived and that certain course records relating to my secondary degree attempt should be allowed removed. I was mentally unfit to be attempting this coursework during that period and this record is not a fair reflection of my academic ability or potential.

Thank you for your careful consideration.

Yours Sincerely,
W. Cameron Allen