Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing to drop my fall 2019 courses, namely BCHM 315, BCHM 317, BIOL 243, BIOL 369, and ENGL 100, from my transcript and I am requesting a refund for these courses. I fully intend to use the refunded tuition to return to these courses in the next academic year. This has been a significant set-back in my studies and were it not necessary I would not have resorted to this measure.

I would like to drop and receive a refund for these courses since I was not able to attend, or gain any value from them, due to acute severe mental illness. In this condition, I have not been able to attend lectures, tutorials, and lab sessions since the start of the academic year. The burden accrued from numerous absences would be unrealistic to make up in the remaining time of the semester, and I cannot make up for mandatory lab experiments or tutorial projects. I have been physically unwell as a result of severe depression and unstable living circumstances. My psychiatric healthcare provider recommended I take a complete break from my studies as a necessary respite. Documentation of this recommendation is provided.

This illness was caused by factors out of my control, and has prevented me from attending classes or taking advantage of the resources for which I have paid through course fees. Therefore I did not receive the academic services for which my fee was assessed. Notwithstanding, attending lab sessions is absolutely necessary to passing BCHM 317, therefore I managed to attend a few of these throughout September. However, as the note from Dr. Campbell details, I was not present in his lab since the 20th of September.

I did not drop the courses sooner because success was something I wanted to achieve, even if consideration had to be given for my absences and late submissions. However, after meeting with an academic advisor, I found this was not a feasible plan due to the growing burden of my full course load and the limited time remaining in the term. Furthermore, I could not afford to lose a term's cost in tuition because I would likely be financially incapable of completing my degree program, and therefore did not opt to drop my courses for a 25 refund the week of October 28-November 1. If this tuition refund is granted, I would appreciate the opportunity to return to my program of study in the fall of 2020.

I am enrolled in the Biochemistry Specialization degree plan, I plan to write a thesis as part of my honour's degree, and I spent the summer of 2019 working for the biology department as a SWEP student. I deeply enjoy studying at Queen's, and unfortunately this set-back has presented itself and I would like the chance to continue my studies in 2020 when I am capable.

In sum, I am appealing to restart my 3rd year and for this I require tuition credit toward these courses or a full refund. I could not attend classes, exams, or important sessions due to severe mental illness. This is an unwelcome set-back that I could not control due to extenuating circumstances as described above, and I was not able to learn from my experience this year at Queen's since I could not be present or use the resources for which I had paid. I have the full intention of returning to my studies in the next academic year, but I would require a refund or consideration for free enrollment in the fall of 2020 for this to be possible.