Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Thursday, June 10th, 2021

Dear Dr. Stephenson,

I am appealing to drop ENIN340 (Summer, 2021) past the academic deadline (June 4, 2021).

A combination of extenuating circumstances and a lack of clarity in my progress in the course have led me to this appeal. Firstly, I have struggled with several anxiety disorders in my young adult life. My mentally demanding summer job in tandem with a summer course has made my anxiety a significant barrier in keeping up with this course. Had I known that my job would induce such anxiety that would affect my schooling, I would not have enrolled in a summer course, but the situation was simply unforeseeable. This six-week course requires participation in at least 5 of 6 weekly discussion forums to pass, having missed two discussion forums because of extreme stress; I will not receive a passing grade in the course despite my participation in over half of the assessing content thus far. My reasoning for not dropping the course before the academic deadline is the same, because of stress and anxiety, it was not on my radar as it would typically be.

Secondly, now halfway through week four of six, I have not received a single graded assessment back. Not one indication of how I am standing academically or progressing in the course. To my understanding in a normal 12-week course, a student would have some indication of their academic standing in a course before the final date to drop a course without academic penalty in week 8. I believe this consideration should apply to condensed courses as well. As I appeal for a late drop of this course, I still have no indication of what my hard work in the course has earned. You could say that my Catch-22 is either receiving a failing grade because of a late drop or I continue to participate in the course and receive a failing grade because of a missed discussion post.

I have discussed this situation with the instructor, Professor Matrix. We mutually decided that the two options for me at this time are to appeal for a late drop or to submit academic accommodations that may help me complete the course. My reasoning for an academic appeal is two-fold; I am concerned that my request for accommodations may be a lengthier process than the remaining two weeks of the course and I would like to retake this course at a time where I don't feel the additional anxiety of my summer job.

My academic standing and transcript are evidence that I take my education very seriously. This situation is one I hoped would never happen at my time at Queen's. However, I'm taking precautions to ensure that this doesn't happen as I enter my fourth and final year at Queen's. This summer I will be registering with Accessibility Services to receive academic accommodations that can address my anxiety and its effect on my studies.

Thank you for your consideration,

Ciara Meneley