Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Academics,

I am appealing the Board¿¿s decision to not grade the written portion of my PSYC 100 final exam.

This past year has been challenging for all parties, seeing as it has been entirely online. My PSYC 100 final exam (worth 40 of final grade) consisted of two parts, a multiple choice section (worth 20) and a written submission (valued at 80). The written portion asked students to save a document containing questions and answer them directly in it and submit the completed file. I followed these steps and believed the document that I handed in was complete.

I was extremely shocked and upset when I was notified that the document I submitted was blank. After my demanding exam schedule was finished and I returned home, my mother found a document that was saved April 14, which was the exam date. The title of the document was ¿¿week 22 assignment¿. In that moment, with my brother and mother as witnesses, I opened the document only to quickly verify its contents. I forgot that I had been asked to not to open the exam document if it was located. The pandemic fatigue, and academic exhaustion both fogged my mind in that moment because my elation that the document had been recovered overtook a rational approach. The file was open long enough for me to scan to the end and for it to be properly renamed. I should have saved it as a new document and sent both. If I had been thinking clearly and more knowledgeable of how to use my computer perhaps my exam would have been marked the way I deserve.

Instead, my computer experience in high school revolved around Google Docs automatically saving work. I had no understanding until returning home, on how to set up folders, and organize my documents. This experience and know how was not part of any of my secondary school credits nor part time employment.

Considering the weight of the exam and the fact that I still managed to pass the course, it is clear that I take my grades seriously and worked hard. My goal is to be accepted into the Life Sciences program. With the exception of my Physics course, I had every reason to believe I would have received at least a B+ or better in PYSC 100. If I am unable to receive the mark from the PYSC exam that I studied and prepared for, this one technical difficulty will ruin my goal. A technical error during a pandemic should not define my degree program.

I chose Queens over University of Toronto in part, due to the reputation your institution holds. One that is known for having professors that want to see students succeed. I have offered to rewrite the exam or write a supplementary evaluation or have my computer undergo a forensic evaluation to prove my academic integrity. None of the solutions have even been considered. It¿¿s unfair to presume first year students have the technical acuity to become proficient enough to ensure glitches like this don¿¿t happen, while dealing with unprecedented worldwide circumstances.

I am asking that if the board is not able to grade my exam properly, that they provide me with a standing credit in the class and allow me entrance into the Life Sciences program.

Additionally, I would like to apologize for the late submission of my appeal. Immediately after returning home from Kingston, I began my summer contract work which has me putting in 12+ hours a day with no days off. I take this matter immensely seriously and wanted to ensure that I was able to properly advocate for myself.