Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I want to start by thanking you for taking the time to read my appeal request. I am writing to you today to request an aegrotat standing in the course ENIN 140. I received a 0 on an End-of-Term Self-reflection Survey that was worth 20 of my grade. I am appealing that the mark I received on that survey could not be included in my final grade or be given a chance to complete an alternative assignment.

I am a first-year student, still learning how to do online learning and balance the workload successfully. During the fall exam season, I went through a lot of anxiety and was extremely worried about all my exams and final projects. I worked hard in ENIN 140 and earned a 93 on my last assignment and 87 on my midterm assignment. Overall I had around 85 in that course. After I handed in my final project, I was under the impression I had given in all the necessary work for ENIN 140.

I then turned my focus to studying for my Psychology exam, which I was anxious about. Given my focus on my exam, I did not see any other work due in that course. It was only on January 11th, after the break was over, when I learned that an End-of-Term Self-reflection Survey was an assignment that is worth 20 of my grade. I was not aware that this was an assignment and realized that I should have double checked there was nothing else due for the course before it ended.

As soon as I realized my mistake, I emailed my professor immediately apologizing and asking if there's anything I can do; however, she said it was too late to hand in the assignment. I have also emailed her a second time asking if it is in any way possible to do a recovery assignment, but I have not received an email back yet. Because of this, I am not asking to hand in the assignment late; however, I will happily do any replacement assignments or anything to increase my mark.

I would not be appealing this if it did not affect my GPA so significantly, and I am extremely concerned and anxious, I will not be able to get into the Psychology major. Before this mistake, my overall average was around 77; however, as of now, my GPA is 2.3. I have never done anything like this before, and I am extremely disappointed with myself and going to work extra hard to get my GPA back up to where it was so I can go into Psychology.

I have always been an excellent student, and I have never not handed in an assignment. If I was aware, this survey was assigned, I would have handed it in. However, since I completed the final project in that course, it was not clear that there was a second assignment of such significance. Unfortunately, I checked the assignment tab on OnQ, assuming that everything I had to do would be listed under that tab because that is where all the other projects in that course were listed. The End-of-Term Self-reflection Survey was not listed under that tab, so it was not clear to me that it was an assessment we had to do. I understand now I should have checked all the tabs on OnQ but, I am still adjusting to online learning and how every teacher organizes assignments and OnQ differently, sometimes making it difficult to see what is due.

I recognize it is my responsibility to always double-check the syllabus for assignments and will always ensure to do so moving forward. It is extremely unlike me in the first place, and I have been filled with anxiety, trying to figure out how to fix this one mistake and still get into the Psychology major. Moving forward, I will ensure to triple check there are no assignments on OnQ I did not see, and I will always ensure to check the syllabus if I am unsure. I will also work very hard to ensure my anxiety does not affect my schoolwork. I will do extra work in all my classes to help bring up my GPA and take an additional course. I can guarantee this will never happen again, and it was a genuine mistake. I will also work on getting accommodations for my anxiety so I can be less nervous about school and further ensure that this will never happen again. If my appeal is accepted, I will be grateful and able to focus on getting my GPA even higher to keep my academic admission award, hopefully. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my appeal.

Thank you,
Grace Sosin