Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing for Credit Standing in the courses HLTH 230 (Fall 2017), BIOL 243 (Fall 2017), BIOL 202 (Winter 2018) and BIOL 201 (Fall 2017) to waive the requirement to withdraw for a year.

The extenuating circumstances that affected my academic ability over the last couple of years were brought on by a severe internal family conflict. More specifically this refers to the arrest of my father the summer before I started my studies at Queen¿¿s University, who was charged with assault, uttering threats, and assault with weapon, and the fallout of the situation which continued well into the end of August of 2015. I¿¿m appealing for credit standing and to waive the requirement to withdraw for a year as my academic performance this year was impacted because I¿¿ve been incredibly miserable and unhappy being away from home and wish to be in a more diverse and multicultural environment. I would be very grateful to have a chance to continue my education elsewhere as I have been struggling to continue my studies at Queen¿¿s.

This year I made the descion to transfer to Ryerson University, as it has been incredibly difficult to be away from home. With transferring, grades play a critical role and to my anticipated relief I was accepted into Ryerson. In order to transfer I¿¿m required to have a clear academic standing and submit a transcript with my final grades. However, with my current cumulative gpa of 1.55 I¿¿m required to withdraw for a year because my gpa is not a 1.6 and doesn¿¿t leave me in good academic standing. I ¿m writing to explain that my time at Queen¿¿s has made me unhappy with who I¿¿ve become and feeling like I¿¿ve hit rock bottom. I left high school with ambitions of going to medical school and becoming a surgeon. However, the last three years have been a rude awakening from the hopes and dreams that I fought so hard for. I¿¿m writing in the hopes that the dream that I have watched slip away doesn¿¿t get further delayed by 0.05 grade points.

These circumstances had an impact on the courses for which I am appealing for credit standing, as they were courses I had no interest in taking but had to take in order to raise my grade point. Steps that I took to deal with the extenuating circumstances included consulting with a counsellor on campus for my mental health. I also made an effort to connect with professors to understand what was expected and with someone from student academic success services to develop strategies that would help me to excel in my studies. I chose not to drop these courses earlier in the term prior to the drop deadline of the term as I needed them in order to raise my gpa to remain off of academic probation. Additionally, my gpa has steadily increased this year to a 1.66 in Fall 2017 and 1.98 in Winter 2018, and was only less than 1.6 in Winter 2017.

My circumstances are being managed such that I¿¿m able to start my studies at Ryerson, as things have stabilized. I¿¿m in a much better place in terms of the aforementioned circumstances. Moving forward, I strongly believe that I would benefit from being closer to my family and support systems. At Ryerson, I intend to continue consulting with my professors, counsellors, and academic services in order to ensure that these circumstances do not continue to negatively impact my academic progress.

As mentioned I have appealed these circumstances in the past, but despite the steps that I took to deal with the circumstances (consulting with a counsellor, professors, with student academic success services and taking a lighter course load) I still felt miserable at Queen¿¿s. Despite the occurrence of the issue happening a couple of years ago, the last few years at Queen¿¿s have been some of the hardest. I truly hope to be able to have another chance at being happier and continuing my education elsewhere and hope that 0.05 points won¿¿t hold me back from that.

In conclusion, I have taken steps to ensure that my circumstances have stabilized and I¿¿m in a better place than I was at the onset of them, despite the impact on my academic performance. I truly hope for a fresh start in the Fall to begin my studies at Ryerson University.

Thank you,
Aneesah Abrahim
101 987 93