Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 6186
Submitted: September 26, 2019 at 5:37:40 PM
First Name: Benjamin
Last Name: Wu
Student Number: 20027040
Email: 16bhyw1@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BScH
Plan: BCHM
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Add a course after the academic deadline
Code: BIOL 350
Term: Fall
Year: 2019
Petition Category: Add a course after the academic deadline
Instructor's Name: Lonnie Aarssen
Province / Region: Eastern Ontario
Exam Centre: Kingston
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: September 26, 2019
To whom it may concern,
I am writing you to appeal for registration of a class after the September 18th deadline. It is my goal to join BIOL350 for the 2019 fall term.
The circumstances that have led me to want to enrol in BIOL350 after the deadline is an error in my own judgement that I solely accept responsibility for. When choosing my classes for the fall term, I only had 2 required courses for my degree plan which allowed me to pick a few other courses as electives. One of the courses I chose to take was CHEM398, a laboratory course without a lecture component. Given my past course history with chemistry, I assumed the content and workload would have been similar to previous second year level classes in the subject. Upon starting the course, there was no issue as working on an experiment that spanned a couple of weeks. After completing my first lab, I was tasked with writing up the report, which is when I had the realization that the standards of success in the class were substantially above what I had been used to/expected. As an elected course, the workload involved was very strenuous in comparison to my compulsory classes. To clarify, I had just finished the first lab and realized the effort required to succeed. Unfortunately, due to the length of the experiment, the deadline to add classes had already passed by the time I recognized the difficulties associated with the course. However, I still felt that it was in my best academic interest to drop the course and enroll in a less intense class before the semester progressed any further. Immediately after coming to that conclusion, I made an appointment with student services on the 24th of September to speak with an academic advisor to review my plan. With affirmation that my plan was fair and reasonable by the academic advisor, it was also restated that I would still need to file an appeal to join another class. As such I written to you today on this matter.
To whom it may concern,
I am writing you to appeal for registration of a class after the September 18th deadline. It is my goal to join BIOL350 for the 2019 fall term.
The circumstances that have led me to want to enrol in BIOL350 after the deadline is an error in my own judgement that I solely accept responsibility for. When choosing my classes for the fall term, I only had 2 required courses for my degree plan which allowed me to pick a few other courses as electives. One of the courses I chose to take was CHEM398, a laboratory course without a lecture component. Given my past course history with chemistry, I assumed the content and workload would have been similar to previous second year level classes in the subject. Upon starting the course, there was no issue as working on an experiment that spanned a couple of weeks. After completing my first lab, I was tasked with writing up the report, which is when I had the realization that the standards of success in the class were substantially above what I had been used to/expected. As an elected course, the workload involved was very strenuous in comparison to my compulsory classes. To clarify, I had just finished the first lab and realized the effort required to succeed. Unfortunately, due to the length of the experiment, the deadline to add classes had already passed by the time I recognized the difficulties associated with the course. However, I still felt that it was in my best academic interest to drop the course and enroll in a less intense class before the semester progressed any further. Immediately after coming to that conclusion, I made an appointment with student services on the 24th of September to speak with an academic advisor to review my plan. With affirmation that my plan was fair and reasonable by the academic advisor, it was also restated that I would still need to file an appeal to join another class. As such I written to you today on this matter.
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: In preparation for this appeal, I have researched other viable classes and it was clear to me that BIOL350 is related to my field of study and fit my timetable as well. Furthermore, I reviewed the syllabus and found that the content as well as the structure of the class was going to be manageable as to not put me into another situation where the workload would be too much for me to handle. Additionally, I have spoken to the instructor of the course, Dr. Aarssen and have confirmed that it is possible for me to catch up without too much difficulty. He has also allowed me to sit in on his lectures until the appeal gets processed. Equally important, I have contacted the Department of Biology and have received support for my appeal to join the class by email which have been forwarded to Spring Forsberg at the Faculty of Arts and Science.
Enrolling in BIOL350 will contribute to my academic success by balancing my workload and credit fulfillment without compromising on the increasing pressure of a strenuous class.
Enrolling in BIOL350 will contribute to my academic success by balancing my workload and credit fulfillment without compromising on the increasing pressure of a strenuous class.
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: Letters of support from the Instructor as well as the Undergraduate Chair of Biology in an email forwarded to Spring Forsberg at the Faculty of Arts and Science