Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am copying here a letter I sent as part of my Tuition Fee Amendment Appeal for fees related to an online course I never attended (ENIN 240). Since then, I have been advised to file for an Academic Appeal first, and then resubmit (as the course in question was technically not dropped before deadline--which I was not aware of). I thank you in advance for your attention and consideration:

April 30, 2019

To Whom It May Concern:

This is to support my appeal for tuition fee amendment.

My reason for appeal is that I had never attended the class in question, and was in fact not eligible to attend the class in question (ENIN 240). My enrolment should have been invalidated / cancelled, and I will explain why.

I enrolled to Queens U last summer as an Interest Student, in order to eventually gain status to pursue a BA in Psychology. As you are aware, Interest Students need to complete two courses, or 6.0 credits, in order to advance to the third course and be moved into a category called ¿¿Non-Degree Continuing¿ where we are then able to take up to 9.0 credits and eventually qualify to be invited to the BA program of our choice.

I had enrolled into the first course (ENIN 140) and completed it with an A+. I had then enrolled into my second course, WRIT 125, and was doing just as well. Unfortunately, as I communicated in my form, near the end of the course I experienced disturbing, extenuating circumstances which I outlined to my professor, Lori Vos (who was very supportive), and then in a subsequent Permission for an Incomplete Grade or Deferred Examination form, which I was instructed to submit in order to buy some extra time to complete the course instead of failing it, and therefore prevent the loss of opportunity to attend future classes at Queens U; as you are aware, if an Interest Student does not achieve a minimum 1.6 GPA on the first 6.0 units, we are not be eligible to take further classes at Queen¿¿s (as per your online documentation).

The thing is, I had already pre-emptively enrolled into my third course (the window for enrolment opens up before the previous term class is wrapped up), anticipating I would be able to complete the WRIT 125 course and qualify to move on, but when my request for Incomplete Grade was not approved (due to a technicality I will describe below), I realized all was lost. I also rightfully assumed that since I did not pass my second course, I would therefore not be eligible to move on and attend the next course (again, as per your online documentation).

I only found out weeks later, that I was actually charged for this third course, which not only did I not attend (I am sure you can check records to see I never once logged into it), but I also should not have been eligible to attend, even if I wanted to¿¿as I had failed the previous course when the accommodation was not granted to me. (My request for Incomplete Grade for WRIT 125 was fully supported by my professor but did not go through due to a technicality which I could not find a way to remedy; I did not realize there was a request for more information had taken place, and was not able to respond to this request in the allotted time. I am including the submitted form in this package for your reference.)

In closing, I am really truly disappointed that I was not able to move on in my studies at Queens U, and I wish that the process for granting me the Incomplete grade had not gone so wrong, and that I was able to be afforded the opportunity to continue on my path to the BA. Perhaps if I was in Kingston, in person, and not in Toronto and remote, this could have been better resolved. Sadly, I could not get to anyone via phone or email to help me sort things out.

Just to be clear; I never attended the course in question, and was not technically eligible to be enrolled in it / attend it, and as such would like to see the fee stricken from my record.

Thank you for your time, understanding, and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Dejana Erich

416 832-9065
dejana@geistcreative.com