Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

New Information: I have just noticed that the appeal is incomplete but I am not sure why so I am re-submitting everything.

Dear Associate Dean,

I am writing to appeal for a Credit Standing for BIOL206 which I completed in Winter 2021. At the time of the final exam, I was struggling with health issues related to the stress of COVID-19 circumstances during the relevant time period, as per the attached documentation. The circumstances related to COVID-19 severely hampered my ability to perform well on the BIOL206 final exam. Over the exam period, I struggled with performing in all my courses (except BMED373 - no final exam). For example, I did not submit the final assignment for CHEM222, and I did not do well on the final for CLST201 (compared to my average for the course). Despite the fact that the other courses' final exams were also negatively impacted, I am content with the final grades in my other courses, as they did not reflect such a significant drop in performance. I am only appealing for a Credit Standing in BIOL206 because my performance in this exam severely lowered my final grade. Further, the BIOL206 final was mainly multiple-choice, which tends to be a relative weakness for me due to my learning disability, and this prospect added to the difficulties I was having due to COVID-19-related stress. It is worth noting that at the Week 8 drop deadline, I was passing BIOL206, and I felt as though I had just completed a successful midterm (which turned out to be quite true). Therefore I did okay at meeting the expectations in the course throughout the bulk of the semester, but the disappointing final exam result was mainly due to COVID-19-related issues which in turn, impacted my overall health, resulting in a final grade that does not reflect the knowledge that I gained or the effort that I put into the course over the term as a whole. It is my hope that once in-person learning begins again, I will be better able to rely on my support systems (therapists, friends and family help, etc.) and thus better prevent external stressors - such as COVID-19 - to add to my regular struggles.

Thanks so much for taking the time to consider my appeal,

Charles Madeira-Shapiro 20026370