Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Notes for Appeal- request to remove from transcript

I am appealing to drop PSYC 271 (Summer 2020) without academic penalty. Due to Covid-19, my workplace was closed as per government laws in May 2020. I enrolled for the course in May not knowing that my workplace would open mid-way through the term. I would not have enrolled with the knowledge that I would be able to work. Since my workplace has reopened, I have been working 44 hours per week in order for me to be able to pay for my education and rent for the rest of the academic year, thus making it imperative to work.

In order to balance my course load and work commitments I had been putting as much time as I could when I was not at work, towards my course. Between the personal stresses brought on by Covid-19 and the effort of time management through my work and course load I have developed a lot of anxiety to the point I have had to speak with my doctor regarding this matter.

In my present circumstances, I have no choice but to work in order to save money to place towards my rent and my academic fees. I cannot complete the course as I cannot dedicate the time it requires due to work commitments now.

I did not drop this course at the 8 week deadline due to the fact I was motivated to keep working on it by the professors discussion post on June 26th days before the drop date.

This extenuating circumstance of Covid-19 has placed me under copious amounts of stress as it has changed my financial plan completely. I was not eligible for government funds which had set me back on my financial plans and obligations, causing me to need to catch up as fast as possible in order to be able to pay for tuition in the fall and rent now.

In the future knowing my financial demands I would have to plan my course load accordingly. My plan is to not take any academic courses in the summer term to allow myself to handle my finances for the fall and winter terms. This will be helpful to manage my stress load and not get overwhelmed with high demands.

Given my difficult personal financial circumstances and the uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, I respectfully request that the faculty allow me to drop PSYC 271 without academic penalty.
I am happy to answer any further questions the faculty might have regarding my personal circumstances as well as providing any supporting documentation that might be helpful.

I look forward to your response in respect of this matter.

Sincerely,

Isabelle Keegan