Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Letter: Dear Board of Studies,

I am appealing the Associate Dean??s decision to deny my appeal (7437) for Aegrotat Standing in ENIN 140 (winter 2020) and Aegrotat Standing in GEOL 106 (Winter 2020). I am requesting a reconsideration of the potential assignment of Aegrotat Standing or to allow for incomplete status in the courses so I may finish the requirements.

Firstly, please consider the following explanation regarding why I was unable to appeal to the Board of Studies by the 21-day deadline. I received my first level appeal decision on April 5th, 2021 and my secondary appeal deadline was April 26th, 2021. While working with my health care provider for documentation to support my secondary appeal I unfortunately experienced severe degeneration of my physical health. This resulted in a severe recurrence and exacerbation of my previous psychological illness as described in my original appeal letter. Unfortunately, at that time my degeneration in health resulted in a severe personal injury involving multiple fractures that took place in mid-April, which eventually necessitated hospital admission. This injury is well documented with my family physician and an off-campus physician's note will be provided in support of this. Furthermore, I am now re-devoted to addressing my secondary appeal and providing my letter with the necessary additional information and documentation.

My decision letter states that I did not explain why I did not connect with my instructors in the summer to make arrangements to complete the outstanding work in the courses. In response to this, I provide the following explanation. Firstly, upon experiencing my extenuating circumstances in winter 2020 my ability to continue my academics severely diminished. It was necessary to leave Kingston due to both the progression of my symptoms and the pandemic. This left me without the regular counselling and medical treatment I was receiving on campus. Furthermore, upon my return to my family home, my family physician had no availability due to overwhelming demand in addition to limiting the types of cases that were being seen due to the pandemic. Thus, my medical and counselling support system broke down and I was unable to continue my medication regimen. This poor treatment of my symptoms caused the continuation of my extenuating circumstances throughout the spring and into the summer. Consequently, I was unable to stay up to date on Queen??s policies regarding course difficulties in light of the pandemic.
As I was gradually able to access my family physician for treatment, I experienced minimal recovery. Upon learning that I had missed the opportunity to receive pass grades or dropp courses due to extenuating circumstances related to the pandemic I did not believe I had the option to address the courses retroactively. In response to the missing credits from my transcript, I enrolled late into a summer French course. Despite my diminished state, it was certain I could manage the course due to my proficiency in French. I also enrolled in additional summer courses later on in the summer term to compensate for my disruptions from the winter. However, I had to drop the courses as participating in the earlier summer French course was detrimental to my recovery and caused great struggle for me despite my proficiency in French. It was recommended by my counsellor, Dr. Khanna, who is supporting this appeal with documentation that I drop the summer courses, as I was not in the state to complete schoolwork over the summer.
Near the end of the summer Louise Winn, the Associate Dean of Life Sciences and Biochemistry, reached out to discuss the disruptions to my transcript. Upon discussing my situation, she informed me that I would be able to appeal the courses. I opted to request to receive Aegrotat Standing as I was not advised to take on additional requirements during the academic term. This would have disrupted my ability to handle all my workload. Furthermore, if the Board believes that this explanation does not qualify me to receive an estimated grade as I should complete the final requirements, I am highly motivated and willing to complete the final requirements at this time.

My decision letter also states that despite completing and passing more than 60% of the course work I did not complete enough of the required components to have met the learning outcomes in the courses. I am appealing that the Board consider the level at which I was completing my work and my academic standing in the courses without the final requirements. The vast majority of the work I was able to complete in each course was either at the A+ or A level. In addition, for each course, I was unable to complete only the last requirement, either an assignment or test and was still able to receive passing grades of C+ and B+. Therefore, I believe this supports that before I experienced my academic disruptions, I was highly devoted to fully understanding and performing well in the course, allowing me to grasp the learning outcomes. Thus, I believe that receiving Aegrotat Standing in both courses will accurately represent my actual grasp of course materials and ability to perform in the courses. Furthermore, if the Board does not believe I qualify to receive Aegrotat Standing in either course I am requesting that I may be allowed at this time to finish the last requirement for each course.

Finally, it is also stated in my decision letter that the instructor for GEOL 106, Dr. Anna Harrison, reached out to me in the summer and I failed to respond. However, this was a misunderstanding as I did receive any emails from Dr. Harrison over the summer. After communication with Dr. Harrison, she explained that she did not reach out to me but rather was waiting for students to communicate their plan to address outstanding work first. My inability to address my outstanding work over the summer is explained above.

Moreover, I have never had such extreme disruptions to my academics which have spanned over multiple semesters and affected my academic standing greatly. The consideration of my circumstances will allow me to finish off my degree in such a manner that is representative of my academic abilities and will align with the academic trends I have displayed before my interruptions. I look forward to the chance to discuss these circumstances further with the Board.

Thank you for taking the time to address my letter.

Best regards,

Osarumwense Brenda Omoruna