Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Deans,

I am appealing to drop MUTH111 (Winter, 2018) and DRAM100 (Fall, 2017 to Winter, 2018) due to a sudden illness of my mother.

As shown on the Medical Records, my mother entered the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Renji Hospital, Shanghai at 15:00 on March 11, 2018. My mother was diagnosed with Sepsis along with Septic Shock, Polyserositis, Acute Cholecystitis, Hepatic Lesion, Urinary Tract Infection, and Kidney Cyst. She was kept under observation for 17 days until she checked out the hospital on March 28, 2018.

It was a difficult time for me to cope with her critical illness, especially from a long distance. Feeling overwhelmed, I performed poorly on some assignments and quizzes that worth significant percentages of my overall grades. I received a D and two Fs from two assignments and one quiz in MUTH111 which weighed a total of 15 percent. Before these three grades were counted towards my final evaluation, I had an average B grade on all my previous assignments and quizzes. I received an F from the scenography assignment which weighed 25 percent in DRAM100. MUTH111 and DRAM100 are the only courses I was taking in the winter term, and both were impacted by the situation. I didn¿¿t contact with my course instructors in time to extend the deadlines for the assignments or do makeup quiz, as I was experiencing a mental breakdown and felt very uncomfortable to talk to anyone about my mother¿¿s illness until her life was out of danger.

I believed that I could perform better on these two courses if I drop these two courses and retake them this year. I would definitely reach for help from therapists and school counselors if I face similar circumstances again in order to avoid negative influences on my mental health and academic performance.

Thank you for your time reading this letter. Please let me know if you need more supporting documentation or information.

Sincerely,

Wanyi Pei