Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am writing this appeal letter to explain the extenuating circumstances that lead to me failing all of my courses during the 2020 Winter term, as well as one course in the 2020 Summer term.
When I made the decision to come to Queen¿¿s I was reassured by my parents that I would be financially supported throughout my time here. At the beginning of my third year of studies I was told by my father that I would need to apply for OSAP if I wanted to continue studying at Queen¿¿s. From that day I did not receive any more financial assistance from my father and this change in financial assistance added a lot of stress to my last 2 years at Queen¿¿s. While I found summer employment during the summer of 2018 which gave me financial breathing room during the 2018-2019 academic school year, I had difficulty securing employment the following summer. This reduced income meant I was operating on a stricter budget during the winter of 2020, creating a very stressful environment.

During the winter term of 2020, I faced personal events beyond my control that directly affected my academic performance. There are multiple events that contributed to my academic challenges and created psychological barriers. Firstly, my grandmother passed away in late February of 2020. This loss was difficult for me as my grandmother lived in the United Arab Emirates and I had not seen her in ten years. Seeing my mother so distraught made it difficult for me to focus on my academics.

Finally, my parents' marriage ended. My parents are from a place in the world where divorce is not an option, so this divorce was informal but still had very real impacts on me. While my parents' marriage had been disintegrating for some time, it came to a crescendo in mid-March 2020. When I heard this news I definitely did not know how to handle it, or what tools were available to me to help.All of a sudden I could not bring myself to focus on my classes, I missed assignments and tests, and I withdrew from the people around me. For each of the classes I was enrolled in, I did not submit or complete any work during the months of March and April. I just couldn¿¿t bring myself to, I was numb.

I know I should have reached out for help, but coming from a family background where mental health issues are waved away, I didn¿¿t know reaching out was an option. I was unaware of the March 5th drop deadline, and I missed it. I honestly thought this was my last semester at Queen¿¿s and dropping courses was an option that never even crossed my mind. With the addition of the pandemic, the following months were extremely difficult. I knew I had failed the semester, and I picked up COGS 100 during the summer because I felt as though I needed to keep making forward progress. Unfortunately I did not participate in the class at all.

Over the next few months I found it difficult to take steps to deal with the circumstances. I have recently found support within my siblings to talk through these issues, and this has helped me tremendously. I have also recently consulted with an academic advisor at Queen¿¿s, and have decided that a change in my Academic Plan is necessary. I am currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Global Development Studies. I have recently decided to change this plan to a Bachelor of Arts in Global Development Studies. With this change of plans I would already have completed all of my necessary course requirements to graduate. The only thing stopping that graduation is my GPA. If this appeal is successful and these failed courses are dropped, I would be able to make the plan switch and graduate.