Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

I recently received a shocking grade back in my PHIL318 class, Philosophy of Law, taught by Kyle Johannsen, receiving a D-. This was quite unexpected, as my grade was a B- before my submission of the final exam worth 30.¿The take home final exam for PHIL318 was released December 19, 2020 at 11am and due for submission within a 24-hour window (by December 20, 2020 at 11am). I submitted an exam file during that timeline and not past the deadline, however I mistakenly clicked the wrong file.

I contacted my professor immediately after seeing this grade and asked him to advise me on why my grade had dropped so much and requested my exam grade (as it was not displayed on OnQ). I had not known at the time of submission that I submitted the wrong file. Professor Johannsen stated that he graded the exam himself, and gave my submission a grade of 0, as I submitted a take home exam to the folder that was meant for a different course.¿

I responded and apologizing profusely for mistakenly submitting the wrong file to the drop box. I accidentally submitted an exam file meant for another course, as that other course's instructor had asked us to name the file very similar to the file I was supposed to submit to Johannsen's submission folder. I was never advised by my professor that the wrong file was submitted, and thus, did not realize my huge mistake. At the time of submission, this exam was my last exam from a semester where I was constantly stressed and overwhelmed and was relieved to be completed this semester and earned a break. This was my first semester of online learning, which was a new learning environment for me, and I have been constantly stressed with an overwhelming workload this past semester (Fall 2020). I replied to my professor genuinely apologizing for the mistake and sent him the proper file and screenshots with proof (see attached), that the file was not opened past December 19, as it was due on December 20. This proving I was not trying to cheat by submitting a file later on after I had more time to work on it; I genuinely completed this assignment in the given timeline and made a mistake. I asked if he would grade my submission of the proper file which I attached in the email, or if he would even give me partial marks, and he still refused and said my submission was a 0. Thus, as I did not get a chance from my professor to have my submission be graded, I am extremely frustrated and upset, as I know my submission was well-written and feel my professor is being unreasonable.¿This mark would negatively impact my GPA, as I have been working extremely hard to boost it this semester (as seen within the rest of my final grades this semester which are three B+¿s and one A-). I have put so much effort into this class, which I found fairly challenging, and am very upset that my grade was so negatively impacted as a result of this mistake made under stressful and unprecedented times.

I spoke with an academic advisor who advised me to bring up the issue to my undergraduate chair. Christine Sypnowich responded stating that she contacted the instructor and asked that he reconsider his decision regarding the marking of my exam.¿ She told me that Dr. Johannsen has declined to do so and thus I am putting in an appeal for a Credit Standing in this course.

While I realize I made a mistake now, I had no idea at the time and was never advised by my professor of the wrong document being submitted. I completed the exam in the given timeline and submitted in the appropriate timeline, but I made a mistake in submitting the wrong file. This was a mistake any student could have made, and I feel wronged that I did not have the opportunity to have my submission graded. I feel that I deserve to have my submission graded and count towards my grade and do not think my professor is being fair, especially considering this was the first online semester I have experienced and typically write exams in person. I do not feel my entire grade should be defined by one little mistake made. Thus, I feel that I have been wronged and experiences circumstances beyond my control that drastically affected my grade. This grade was substantially lower than I expected, even though I did complete all the work in the course.

Thank you,
Keiley Fineberg
20105280