Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

Re: Appeal for AEGROTAT Standing for BIOL 102

I am a first-year student registered with QSAS. I had to withdraw early in the year for medical reasons. Upon the advice of my academic advisor, I am writing to you for assistance initiating an appeal to request the following:

That I receive AEGROTAT standing for my Biology 102 mark as I was unable to attend the final exam due to medical reasons, but had a score of 59/66 entering the exam.

This appeal is being made because I had an acute exacerbation of a serious physical illness that necessitated my withdrawal from Queen's University in early January. I have been successful in deferring my Chancellor's award until I return to Queen's for further study.

Unfortunately, I have been living with a serious physical illness for the past four years. This illness is associated with inflammation in multiple organs, including my eyes. Prior to commencing at Queen's University, I registered with Queen's University's Health and Wellness Centre and was provided with accommodations that allowed me to attend University.

Sadly, I developed a serious vision-threatening condition during my exam period; it affected both of my eyes. For this condition, I have been under the care of two subspecialty ophthalmologists. The condition with which I am suffering causes poor vision, significant pain, and photosensitivity to both light and computer use. It also makes sleep exceedingly difficult.

While I was prescribed hourly drops and nightly eye cream in an attempt to control my ocular condition (in addition to a variety of systemic medicines to control my general condition), given the exacerbation of my illness, I requested, and was given, a deferral of my Biology 102 examination to January 12, 2019. This request was made in part because my ocular inflammation recurred within the 48-hour period preceding my Biology examination, as I was adjusting to my therapy.

Following careful thought and consideration, and despite my high marks in the courses for which I was able to write exams, I concluded that withdrawal from school was best to allow for full healing and minimization of damage to my physical health. Accordingly, I withdrew from Queen's in early January with hopes of returning in the near future.

Over the entire first semester, I worked closely with all resources available to me, including my assigned counsellor, Bonney Hunt at QSAS, my academic supervisors, Brandy Wilkes and Spring Forsberg, and my team of specialists from GI and Ophthalmology. I also notified the Biology department to request that my initial examination be deferred, and again that I could not attend the final postponed examination due to my medical illness.

My decision to withdraw was a particularly difficult one. My interim marks which I achieved despite serious illness were A+, A+, A, A-, and my cumulative mark prior to the BIOL 102 exam was 59/66. As Biology 102 was a half year course, I was given a D- for the semester; I believe that this was based on a mark of zero being assigned for not writing the examination.

Over the past number of months, I have been prescribed a more potent systemic medication that significantly reduces the probability that I will develop a recurrence of my ocular condition. I am hopeful that this alteration will allow me to successfully return to Queen's University in the future.

In summary, due to the fact that I had an exacerbation of a physical illness in the 48-hour period prior to my initially scheduled Biology 102 exam and ultimately received a mark of zero for not writing the examination, I would like to appeal for and receive AEGROTAT standing for Biology 102, based on my cumulative score of 59/66. I hope to return for further study at Queen's University in the future as a Chancellor's recipient.

Thank you very much for considering this appeal.

Sincerely,


Neel Sharma
Student ID: 20007948