Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing to late drop ENGL 100-Introduction to Literary Study (Summer 2019), as my academic result in this class inaccurately portrays my attitude towards academics and will hinder my future developments a student.

When the summer semester began, I was unsure of being able to manage a four credit course load. However, after talking to an Academic Advisor about wanting to take four courses to catch up academically and in order to stay on track, and with my therapist at the time about the positive state of my health I decided to stay in the course load for the summer. I also did not get a job so I could have ample time to focus on the courses. The semester progressed and I was doing well, and I finished my FREN 107 course with an A+ by the end of June. I was feeling confident even as the drop date deadline passed. But then in July, I experienced some unexpected family circumstances that were beyond my control and it negatively impacted both my mental and physical health. This was especially unfortunate because the majority weighing for the ENGL 100 course fell in this month. I struggled to keep up and had increasingly difficulty focusing and partaking, and therefore even with given extensions, through my accommodations, I could not produce satisfactory results. This was because the work was very content heavy and required both a lot of time and labor as many of the assignments required thorough research and application often in 1000 or more words, which I could not adequately do based on the circumstances of my health at the time. The work in my other French course (FREN 106) was a lot less intensive and not as time demanding. Much of the work and weighting for the course was also done in the beginning months and therefore I was luckily able to maintain my standing in the course. The nature of the course itself was also different form that of the English course which made it easier for me to complete. I sought out for help and increased the frequency of my appointments with the therapist and although it aided in improving my mental health it did not retract the damage that had been done in the English course and I ended up not passing the course.

Moving forward from the summer, including this semester, I have been making a lot of changes in my life. I am physically much better than I was over the summer and at a better place mentally as I have become adjusted to my family circumstances. This is as a result of beginning a Mindfulness and People Skills workshop this semester that has been really been helping me manage my emotions and increase my distress tolerance. I also did not overload my schedule and limited my involvement of extra curriculars, expanded outside of Queens for professional mental health support, and have been in constant communication with my professors and TAs so I could academically succeed. In continuation I am fully utilizing my accessibility services and am in contact with my accommodations advisor if I have any confusion. I have been working hard and am already been seeing the results as many of my assignments this semester has been graded above a 75. I am working hard to improve my GPA, with the goal of bringing it above a 3.0, and having this grade removed would be just the addition I need to progress, both academically and mentally.

Thank you for your consideration.

Kindly,

Harini (Shasha) Thirimadura Wijeratne
20020993