Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing to have the course PHIL 301 (Bioethics) with Professor Udo Schuklenk, dropped from my transcript. This is the first, and the only course that I have ever failed in my life and I do not feel as though a failing grade on my transcript is reflective of my effort or knowledge in the subject matter but rather a reflection of unfortunate circumstances. I struggle with my mental health and I was also recently diagnosed with ADHD, both of which I am currently taking medications for. As well, my mother was recently diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer and was given a 20 chance of living 5 years. This, in combination with my father's poor health, my siblings' dependency on me, my mental health, the tragic passing of my friend Bethany (boat), and the overall chaos posed by the current global pandemic has evidently impacted my studies in a negative way. Unfortunately, I was unable to secure documentation of my mental health issues until relatively recently, so I have only just recently secured an LOA to assist me in my future studies. It is my hope, that with such accommodations, I will not run into such an issue again although, I think it would also be reasonable to assume that if such accommodations were in place earlier, I would not have failed this course. Thankfully, my professors in my other courses were very accommodating and were able to assist me during such unprecedented times. Unfortunately, this was not the case in PHIL 301 as the professor maintained that only students with documented accommodations would receive even minor assistance in that regard and quite frankly, left me feeling embarrassed and unintelligent when I reached out. I was also about two days late in securing the textbook for this course as authored by my professor, as I ran out of funds for textbooks in the first week and had to wait until my next paycheque in two days; I reached out to the professor to ask if under such circumstances and in light of the ongoing pandemic, I would be able to submit the first assignment two days late when I could secure the textbook, and I was met with the response: I don't know how you cannot afford it, it's not that expensive and thus received no accommodations. I felt extremely embarrassed and was nervous to reach out to the professor after this encounter, which certainly had a negative impact on my ability to effectively learn and work in this course. I was directed towards this process of appealing during my meeting with QSAS, for I fear that leaving a failing grade on my transcript may impede my ability to apply to Law schools in the future. It is my hope, that in light of the various circumstances mentioned here, and in light of the unique challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic, that you may consider allowing me to drop this course from my transcript.