Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hello,

My name is Natalie Woodland. I am entering my fourth year of global development studies. This summer, I am currently enrolled in DEVS 410 Work Placement. This is a unique course in that it operates in two parts. The second part of the course is DEVS 411 Work Placement, which occurs during the fall semester.

I want to appeal this course. However, I am first and foremost wondering, am I able to drop the course I understand the drop date for May-July summer courses is July 3, but this course is unique because it runs all summer long. From there, it continues in its second part. These sections cannot be separated into independent courses, despite separate course codes it is one complete course. By continuing to be in DEVS 410, I am automatically obligated to take an entire fall course. Since this course runs from late May to December, a later drop date would be appropriate.

Furthermore, any coursework that is completed over the summer is not marked until the fall.

Typically, this course has students working abroad in the development field. The entire objective of the course is to give you first-hand development work experience. Due to COVID-19 and university regulations, I was no longer allowed to work abroad this semester. During the winter term I was on exchange at the National University of Singapore and intending to stay abroad. I spent countless hours researching and applying for different work experiences. For example, one of the tentative positions I had was working at a refugee camp in Greece. Instead, I was hired for the Queen's University International Centre, where I work as the World Link Social Activities Coordinator. Due to the radically changing nature of my job position due to COVID-19, it would be unethical and unfair to deem the nature of this work development work.

Since this is a relatively new position and had never been done online before, there were many unknowns of how this job would be carried out. Predictions at the time of hiring were that I would be returning to work in the office by mid-summer. Understandably, that has not happened, and I am and will continue to work from home for the duration of the role.

My role in the past designed in-person cultural and social activities for students. All events are being planned for online formats now, which has significantly impacted the kinds of work and events I am creating. The scope of my role has been continuously redesigned throughout the summer. I have become one of the social media coordinators and now spend the majority of each workday designing graphics and posting things on social media. I have, on average, two short meetings a week where I summarize for my boss what I have worked on throughout the week.

This job was supposed to allow me to work closely with international students, have day to day interactions with people, and have a significantly broader scope of work. All of which drastically impact my experience and are no longer deemed anywhere close to the realm of development work.

DEVS 410/411 is unlike a typical course due to its length. COVID-19 has significantly limited the job opportunities to apply for and this position and continues to change what is expected of me in my current role. These extenuating and unanticipated circumstances have led me to appeal.

If you have any further questions, please let me know. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Natalie Woodland
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