Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Deans,

I would like to request for an appeal for a CR standing for Biology 205. I had a really rough semester starting at the end of October 2019, all the way to December due to extenuating circumstances which impacted my performance in most of my classes. Because of this, I was not able to perform to the best of my ability which resulted with a grade letter of a D+. I need to take Biology 206 to be able to take some of the third year Biology courses, but I am unable to take that class because it has a prerequisite of a C- for 205, I am only 3 points away from obtaining that. It would be so devastating to to be put behind a whole year because of that, in addition would require more financial expenditure, both resources that are limited for me. Due to extenuating circumstances, I missed out on a few tutorials and quizzes in Bio 205 and was not given the opportunity to attempt them, which could have helped my grade. I understand that it is my responsibility to make sure I hand in assignments, participate in the quizzes etc, but my mental health and other situations were limiting me from performing in class with my full potential.

My parents were going through a messy separation in which I in turn became the mediator. It turned out to be more than just a parent to parent conflict, rather I was deeply involved in it. As my parents live on the west end of the country, it was much more difficult to sort and deal with ongoing family problems because of the distance. In addition to just parents, my siblings were also involved in the dilemma and ultimately keeping me at an all time state of stress. Problems at home were really bad with ongoing arguments daily.Additionally, my mother was not physically well and there was a lot of financial stress on my family. Eventually it started to affect my mental health and lead to multiple panic and anxiety attacks. Most days I was not able to leave my home or get out of bed. I was in a state of no motivation, and hopelessness. This had persisted for several weeks until I was guided to start going to the councillor to speak about the ongoing problems that I was facing.

Despite being able to pick myself back up again at the end, I did miss out on a significant amount of work that I would have been able to do if I had gotten the chance to make up. I understand that it is not the professor's responsibility to understand my situation and grant me an extension or a bump for my grade. But I know how I perform in school and this semester was a very poor reflection of how I am able to perform academically. I would really appreciate the chance to make things right and get back on the right track.

Thank you for your time,

Sincerely,

Manahil Aslam