Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Deans,


I am writing to you to humbly appeal the drop of CISC101 after the drop deadline from the Fall 2014 semester.

Before the drop deadline, I regularly attended the CISC 101 lectures and did well in the labs. In late November and December of 2014, I started suffering from a series of kidney stones and infections. The stones caused me agonizing flank and pelvic pain that would come and go at random. The episodes of pain left me weak and dehydrated. Embarrassingly, my bladder muscles were weakened and I often could not make it to the bathroom in time. I was unable to attend many of my classes. Lab attendance was essential to succeeding in my computer elective, and after I missed a couple of labs in late November I quickly fell behind in the course. It was not as difficult to maintain my marks and involvement in my other courses because I was familiar with the arts format and could keep up with the readings from my apartment. It was difficult to maintain my computer mark without going to the labs, because had no previous relevant experience with logic and applied math. I was doing well in the computer elective before my painful episodes and was enthusiastic about the new material I was learning. Unfortunately, I failed CISC 101 and it has left a disastrous dent in my GPA in my forth year as an art history major.

The doctor in the emergency room prescribed me antibiotics and medication. I was unable to obtain a note from him. Last summer I switched doctors and am now a patient of Dr. Woo's at Women's College Hospital in Toronto, who left for maternity leave around the time I began having kidney problems. I've included pictures of the prescribed medications including the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin HCL and Oxycodone, a very strong but necessary painkiller that I was taking around the time I would have been preparing for exams. I've also included a letter from my mother who was my primary support during the episodes.

Thank you very much in advance for your kind consideration. I acknowledge it must be difficult to consider my appeal without a doctor's note, but I give my word that these circumstances were absolutely beyond my control.


Sincerely,

Victoria Melnyk