Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,

I am a fourth year Sociology student at Queen¿¿s University, writing to you with concerns about the course ENIN 240 that I took this recent fall 2020 term. I performed very well over the duration of this course, achieving an A+ on each of my significant assignments. However, I finished this class with a B because I received a grade of 0 on a self-reflection survey weighted 20 that cannot be traced, though I do believe that I have submitted it. I am writing this appeal to request that this self-reflection survey is dropped from my final grade or perhaps re-weighted, considering that this is a technical error that was outside of my control¿¿causing my final grade to be an inaccurate reflection of my performance in this class. I was encouraged by Dr. Burge to submit this appeal, after my request to resolve this with Professor Matrix was denied.

Throughout my undergraduate career, I have approached each of my courses with a strong sense of responsibility, dedication and discipline. I have high expectations for my academic performance and consistently take it upon myself to deliver on these expectations. This held true for my performance in ENIN 240: I attended every optional live session, I participated in each class discussion board, I completed every quiz and excelled on both of the assignments for this course.

Following this pattern, I also recall completing my self-reflection survey for the course. When my final grade for ENIN 240 was updated on January 8th 2021 as a B, I reached out to Professor Matrix thinking that a mistake may have been made. She let me know that she did not have a self-reflection survey on file for me, which weighed my grade down to a B. I contacted Queen¿¿s ITS to see if they could trace my survey on the backend, but they confirmed that they could not trace a submission. I believe that there was a technical error somewhere along the line, perhaps on my end. While I cannot be sure about what went wrong, I am sure that I participated in this self-reflection assignment and I do hope that my proactivity and achievement in this course reflects this. I would never intend to forfeit a grade, let alone a self-reflection that I view as a wonderful opportunity to advocate for my performance in the class.

I am requesting special consideration for a technological issue¿¿a part of this course that goes beyond the course components and assessments, which I believe I have taken very seriously. Navigating an entirely digital learning space has been a significant challenge for students like myself and instructors alike. These are extenuating times and though it is important for each of us to adjust and apply ourselves now more than ever, I believe that we are bound to see complications, especially when technology can often be unpredictable and difficult to navigate. I see this as the reason that my self-reflection was not received and hope that this can be considered. Going forward, I have intentions to follow up with my Professors after I submit my assignments to confirm that they were received, as well as take screen-captures of my submissions once I have turned them in. Hopefully these actions will help me avoid this from happening in the future, so my grades are a reflection of my academic efforts and achievements alone.

I really do appreciate your time and consideration in this matter. I look forward to hearing your decision.

Many Thanks,

Zoe Malik