Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: April 2, 2018

Dear Associate Dean (Studies):

My name is Lauren Murray and I am a fifth year student-athlete in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies. I am writing in regards to my graduation status for the Spring of 2018. As a result of being misadvised by an academic advisor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, I would like to request a late drop of either grade in the repeated course Brain and Behaviour I to qualify for a degree with distinction.

Having suffered a concussion near the end of the Fall term in 2015, I chose to go through with my exams while the material was relatively fresh in my mind, as writing or deferring my finals were the only options made available to me. I received a final grade of C in PSYC 271 Brain and Behaviour I - an outlier when compared with my recent grades - and made an appointment with an academic advisor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies to discuss repeating this course. Although I was aware I could upgrade my mark, I wanted to sit down with someone to confirm there was no negative impact of repeating a course. I was reassured my GPA would simply exclude the lower of the grades, and should I be willing to pay the fees for no additional course credit, there would be no negative impact in the long run.

This being said, when I signed on to SOLUS to apply for graduation, I saw a message in my academic planner that read: You may have met the requirements for a degree with Distinction. You must have a Cumulative GPA of at least 3.50, as well as a Plan GPA of at least 3.50, with no failures, incompletes (IN), deferred grades (GD), or repeats on your academic record to be eligible for a degree with Distinction. Needless to say, when I realized the ramifications of this, I was devastated.

I have since spoken with Melody Monte in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, who quickly let me know this was a criterion she had long forgotten. I have also met with staff from the University Ombudsman's Office and recognize that in hindsight, the circumstance would have allowed me to appeal for a credit standing rather than repeating the course, however this was not brought to my attention when I sought academic advice. Furthermore, I understand that it could be argued that even if given the knowledge a repeat would make me ineligible for distinction, I would have gone forward with the same decision. I would like to make it clear that although I had some other low grades throughout my first year, I knew I was working towards a masters degree where my first year grades would not be considered. I trusted I would make up for these throughout my second, third, and fourth year, and had this criterion been brought to my attention, I would not have gone forward in repeating this credit.

With this in mind, I would like to request a late drop of one of the two grades in the repeated course Brain and Behaviour I. I would understand if repeating this course was the difference in achieving a GPA of 3.50 and qualifying to graduate with distinction, however my grade e in either case would not be low enough to lower my GPA below this threshold. Having invested 5 years of time, finances, and emotion into my undergraduate studies, I feel as though I did my due diligence in seeking academic advice within the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies prior to making the decision to re-enroll in this course. I am a varsity athlete and 3 time Academic All Canadian, and although I recognize that this will not affect my overall GPA, graduating with distinction is hugely important to me.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my circumstance.

Lauren Murray

10119525