Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I would like apply for an appeal to drop the following four courses past the academic deadline: ANAT 100, BIOL 102, BIOL 103, and PHAR 100.

There were four courses that I decided to take in the summer 2018 term. My initial plan was to take these four courses as prerequisite courses for the summer term and continue taking 100-level or introductory level courses for the fall 2018 and winter 2019 term so that I could continue the term after in the life science stream. However, on May 22, 2018 I received an email about my academic standing from the Faculty of Arts and Science stating that it was required to withdraw from the Faculty of Arts and Science for a minimum of three years. I then decided to withdraw from the Faculty as well as drop the four courses that I was enrolled in and take that time to reflect on my academic plan thus far and my succeeding steps to reshape my academic standing.

The last day to drop those courses was June 29, 2018 and I missed the deadline by one day late, on June 30, 2018. I tried dropping the courses on June 30th and received an error message but given that Saturday June 30th and Sunday July 1st were a weekend and Monday July 2nd was a statutory holiday, I had to email Continuing and Distant Studies (asc.online@queensu.ca) Monday July 2nd for assistance for dropping the four courses and I got a response the next day stating that I was not able to drop these courses without submitting an academic appeal. I will also attach the email conversation from the continuing and distant studies administration for further clarification.

I was meaning to apply for the appeal but from the time of the letter to withdraw, I was inactive on Queen¿¿s University email, SOLUS, Student Center and other university services since I was no longer a student and the appeal to drop courses past the deadline had slipped my mind. I take full responsibility for this mistake; I should have been more attentive and applied for the appeal sooner. I only got reminded of the courses that I did not drop when recently I received mail to my current residence in Toronto from Queen¿¿s Student Receivables two weeks ago. The mail stated that I had an overdue balance of 3178.47 to date. Only when I relogged in to Student Services did it come to my attention that there were the four courses on my transcript still and an original tuition fee of 2943.60 and I believe a late fee of 15.90- 17.07 every month since May 15, 2018 to date. I will also attach a fee summary for better clarification. I emailed Queen¿¿s Student Receivables the same day I got the mail, explaining my situation because I became flustered that I had an outstanding balance and since it has been overdue for so long, it was going to get forwarded to a collection agency. I will also attach the email conversation between both Brittany Howard from Faculty of Arts and Science, Student Resources as well as Anke Starratt from Financial Services. But I would like to reiterate what I explained to them, I did not partake in any of the four courses in any means- no course materials, no assignments/ projects submitted, and most definitely did not partake in the final course exams. The Arts and Science registration made it clear that I would also have to make an appeal to the Associate Dean (Studies) to drop the courses and given my appeal status, I would then have to apply for another appeal with the Financial department to reassess the tuition fees for the courses and whether I have to pay these fees.

I would greatly appreciate if you would consider this appeal and I want to express that I deeply regret not tying this loose end sooner. It seems like when I have slowly overcome the academic hurdles from the past, I have been thrown this curveball. I take full responsibility for this mistake because I should have addressed it sooner because I only missed the deadline by a day and now, I am dealing with it over a year later. It would also be more beneficial if these four courses are dropped because it would mean that there aren¿¿t four failed courses on my transcript. Having the failed course status for four of the summer 2018 courses would be unfair representation of my academic capability for these courses since I did not even partake in these courses. Also if I were to appeal the requirement to withdraw from the faculty for three years, the chances of the appeal getting granted would be less substantial. I am aware that it will not look great when I choose to appeal the requirement to withdraw for three years early but I have spent the last year and five months away from school to strategize a good academic plan because I have identified what problems stood in the way of my academic success in the past and I¿¿ve addressed how I expect to mitigate the problems in the future academic terms and this is one of the actions that I am taking to clear the path to return to school as well as it shows the extent of desire to return to Queen¿¿s University as a student. Since then I have completed numerous lab training exercises online, I have submersed myself in the science field by having an occupation at Ontario Medical Association as part of their administrative team and familiarized myself with the real-life associations of the bachelor of science knowledge. I still wish to complete a bachelor of science but change the interest from life science to health sciences (online) and pursue a career in health science field as I already feel submersed in that field. I have made personal adjustments such as modifying my education path, surrounding myself with my personal support group such as my friends and family and overall have a better mindset as to what I want to achieve in my academic career and what I have to do to achieve it. I thank you dean for your time and I hope you will take this appeal into consideration Please reach out to me if you have any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Vivekha Kengatharan

Vivekha.k@hotmail.com

647-542-4064

Student : 10151443