Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson

I am appealing to drop Micro 386 (Fall, 2020). I believe that I should be able to drop the course due to the extenuating circumstances surrounding my situation this semester. This semester has been very hard on me, unlike any other before. I am a very collaborative learner and as such, I have had great difficulty in many of my courses but especially Micro 386. It has been very difficult to adjust to the new mode of learning and presentation. Being stuck in my house all semester has also not helped, as I have been diagnosed with mental health problems before and this semester is only worsening my current state. My family currently lives in the US and my doctor has just retired from the practice due to the pandemic but I will have my mother send a letter supporting my claims. Other supporting documentation can attempt to be gathered if needed. It has also not helped that I have found growths on my body and have had to get them screened and examined causing me much more stress in an already stressful environment. Currently, I feel miserable in my studies as I spend long hours every day to only wake up the next day and repeat the process over again.
This was made worse by my limited possible course that I could select this semester due to the pandemic and my major. I was only able to enroll in 4 courses this semester that meet my degree and 5 next semester, making things much more difficult for me to graduate in a reasonable amount of time. This also meant I had to take some challenging courses that I have had to get multiple tutors for, as these current 4 classes (Bio 441, Bio 360, Bio 343, Micro 271) are my only possible choices that can count towards my degree program.
While taking Micro 386 I have run into a few problems with the course. I have found the material and its presentation very difficult in an online format. I believe my peers would agree with this statement as an email was sent to Dr. Michael Adams, the director of the Bachelor of Health Sciences program, outlining the concerns of the class cosigned by 75 students. The midterm average from the previous semester also decreased from and 85 to 61 this semester. Due to these issues, I had been thinking of potentially dropping the course if I could find another way to meet my graduation requirements.
I had been checking for my midterm grade through OnQ and my Queens' email but never received any notification that the midterm grade was available. I only noticed that my midterm grade had been posted by checking a general discussion board posted on November 4th in which a classmate posted the midterm grades had been placed on Elantra. I saw this post the morning of the 6th and immediately emailed the professor to ask when the midterm had been posted and he replied it had been posted earlier that week meaning the earliest it could have been posted was on the second. I knew the exam was difficult, but I never expected to get such a poor grade and now I realize I cannot get a decent grade which has added to my already difficult situation. Since it was posted late I was unable to make a decision on dropping the course in a timely fashion
I chose to enroll in Micro 386 as it would allow me to take Micro 320 next semester which brought me to 5 courses that count towards my degree. Now, the biology department is adding Bio 315 to the winter semester meaning I have no reason to take Micro 320 or Micro 386 anymore. I can now graduate without taking those two courses and the addition of Bio 315 has made graduating slightly easier again. I was able to enroll in Bio 315 on November 9th when enrollment began.
If I am able to successfully drop Micro 386, I will be able to enroll in 5 courses that count towards my degree without having to take extra courses. I have enrolled in Bio 401 for the summer term and have asked to also enroll in Bio 404 over the summer. This will leave me only one course short of my requirements which I can make up through finishing Organic chemistry 2, also presented in the summer. This path to graduation is much easier for me and requires fewer extra classes while also providing me with some time that I can use to improve my current emotional and physical state while also helping to spend more time on other difficult courses.

Ryan Sivertson (20051977)