Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Deans,

My concerns with PHGY216 began when I was advised not to write the midterm on February 28th by my QSAS counsellor, Jay Harris, due to a documented unforeseen circumstance that was associated with my accommodations. I was advised that it was best to not write the exam if I was not in good health to do so and accommodations would be supported by QSAS for my circumstance. Unfortunately, Dr. Ward did not allow for a midterm re-sit exam therefore the weight of my midterm was added to the final exam; my final exam weight becoming 65. I advised Dr. Ward that as a QSAS student, a final of that weight was not ideal and would not be the best way to support my success however, I was told that there were no other options. I was advised by my QSAS counsellor that I could appeal this decision but I decided not to as I did not want to challenge Dr. Ward. I did however, request to write the midterm for practice so I could gauge my progress in the course as well as experience Dr. Ward¿¿s testing style. Physiology is inevitably a content-heavy course therefore I believe it is beneficial to have insight into the professor¿¿s writing style and expectations on exams; especially given my final would be worth so much. Dr. Ward said that I could see the midterm but I had to come to Kingston to do so. I find this very inappropriate. I am a distance studies student in a distance studies course in a distance studies program. In no way should I be obligated to drive to Kingston nor should students have an advantage based on where they reside. Dr. Ward¿¿s logic for not allowing me to re-sit the midterm was that I may have an unfair insight into the midterm content because students tend to share information about the exam. Dr. Ward¿¿s logic for not allowing me to see the midterm unsupervised is because I could take photos of the exam and share them. I suggested that the midterm could be reopened with a proctor as it is a service I pay for, or we could zoom call and go over the midterm, or that he could have it sent to a proctor in my city. Dr. Ward advised me that the exam committee said this was not possible and that I would have to come to Kingston. I reluctantly agreed however, due to the University closing due to Covid, I did not have the opportunity.

My PHGY216 final was scheduled for 3 hours but with my accommodations I am entitled to an 30 minutes per hour. I was very anxious about the exam due to its weight and I felt as if I did not know what to expect. At the 3.5 hour mark I received a notification from Examity that my time was over and my exam would be closing. A few seconds later Examity closed. My exam was still open so I rushed and submitted it because I did not want to be reprimanded for academic misconduct. I emailed the course email to explain that I did not get to finish my exam and I believed that my additional time was not added on correctly. After numerous follow up emails, I received a response from Dr. Ward 15 days later. Additionally, as I was concerned about my additional time being added on for my PHGY215 exam which was scheduled days later. I emailed Dr. Ward to enquire about my allotted time but did not receive a timely response and therefore rushed to write the exam in 3 hours to ensure I finished the exam.

I have been advised that there was a technical issue in my exam and it was not an accommodations issue. I was questioned as to why I did not contact technical support, as I have many times in the past. I did not contact technical support because it did not appear to be a technical issue as I received a notification that my time was up. Further, I submitted my exam so I did not think it was possible for Examity to reopen my exam as they were unable to do so in the past. Additionally, I began the exam bit late knowing that I would not receive my full 4.5 hours. Normally, I would receive a notification that I would not receive my full allotted exam time but I did not receive this notification which added to my thought that it was not a technical issue but in fact an issue with my accommodations. Lastly, my additional time has not been added to numerous exams/tests in the past; thus, I do not think it is an unreasonable assumption. All of these factors lead me to the reasonable conclusion that it was not a technical issue.

Since I was not able to finish my exam, I was not able to attain the grade that I feel like I deserve. Effectively, I missed earning an A+ in the course by 2 marks out of 80 on the final. I am confident that with the appropriate time I would have earned 2 more marks. Dr. Ward has explained that I answered all of the questions therefore I finished the exam. I do not agree. I had numerous multiple-choice questions flagged for review and I had not edited my short answer responses. Overall, Dr. Ward¿¿s email correspondence with me has been tardy and abrupt; in some cases, he has not provided the correct information.

I have been advised that I can take a ¿¿P¿ for the course which is not a reasonable solution for me as I have applied to professional school. Further, I believe that providing a ¿¿P¿ is a solution that applies to Covid-related circumstances. I do not feel like my personal situation here is Covid related. The expectations on me as a distance studies student did not change due to Covid; I did not have reweighting of assignments or exams or cancellations. Thus, I think it is reasonable that my appeal be assessed accordingly. I was also offered to rewrite the final in August. Unfortunately, that is not a reasonable solution either as my transcript is currently being reviewed by professional schools. Thus, potentially updating my grade in August does not help my situation. Further, I am in a fulltime course load and due to graduate this summer. Adding another exam onto my schedule would impact my other courses.

Overall, I am asking for my grade to be adjusted to an A+ as I was not provided an equitable opportunity to earn the grade. Firstly, I believe I would have earned it if given the proper time on the exam as well as not being cut off unexpectedly. Secondly, this is compounded by the fact that my exam was heavily weighted, and I was unable to write or view the midterm. To add to this point, I received a 93 on my PHGY215 exam despite rushing to write it in three hours because I approached the exam differently with the time constraint. I do not feel like I was set up for success in this course. I work very hard as a student and deserve an equitable opportunity. I am discouraged by the lack of understanding, support and overall respect by my professor as a distance and QSAS student. I believe that I have gone about these issues in the correct manner and have been transparent and respectful to Dr. Ward and the process but have not received the same courtesy.

Thank you for your time and consideration in evaluating my appeal. I hope you will understand my concerns and circumstances. Please contact me if you require further information, clarification or supporting documentation. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Ash Hopkins