Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am an entering third-year student majoring in Global Development Studies. This summer I enrolled in two on-line courses: Ancient Humor/CLST 205 and Contemporary China/HIST 270. Please accept this email as my formal appeal to request that Contemporary China/HIST 270 be dropped from my transcript.

After successfully completing the Winter Term in Kingston, with a strong GPA, I decided to spend a month at my parent's house in the States. It was very difficult to be there and focus on my work, but I did the best that I could and completed as much of the coursework as I could given the challenging circumstances at home. I returned to Kingston on July 6, and after a 14-day quarantine, moved to a new apartment. Unfortunately, the internet company has been unable to connect WIFI in my apartment for over 20 days. I worked with them on a near daily basis to get this sorted out but even through the end of the course and the exam I was without internet. KFLA Public Health guidelines during COVID limited my ability to work in cafes (with WiFi) and since the campus libraries and buildings are closed, there was no place that I can work at Queen's either. And due to social distancing guidelines, I was not able to work anywhere else.

Because I was so overwhelmed and anxious about COVID and other challenges I have been facing this summer, I reached out to the course instructor and then, at his suggestion, to someone in the accessibility services/student wellness department. I tried to express to them the pressures that I was feeling and a desire to see if we could work out some different requirements for me to fulfill the course requirements. Unfortunately, I don't think either of them really understood what I was dealing with and other than offering an extension or a suggestion that I speak with someone in student counseling, were not able to help.

Outside of Queen's I meet regularly with a physician/mental health professional and per the suggestion of Lucy Mackrell, I am attaching a letter from him in support of my appeal.

Thank you for your consideration of this appeal. Based on my experience with the winter term, I thought that I would be able to manage both on-line classes along with the other challenges I was dealing with this summer. Because I was not able to do this, I respectfully request that HIST 270 be dropped from my transcript.