Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Requesting an extension of an incomplete grade in FILM389

Dear Associate Dean,

I hope all is well. My name is Diana Rasoul and I am in my final year of my undergraduate degree as a MAPP major. I am writing this letter to request an appeal for my Incomplete grade in FILM389 past the academic deadline.

As an Arab international student, I have grown up under a certain oppressed environment that not only devalues mental health but forced me to major in a subject not of my interest. For my first three years of undergrad, I tried my best to please my parents by studying in the sciences even though I had a passion for art. I felt unfulfilled and depressed. Due to this, my grades were slipping, and I was on verge of academic probation.

In the summer approaching my fourth year I decided to have a discussion with my parents about switching to a major of my choosing (MAPP). They did not approve of this change. I had to put up with constant verbal abuse and threats of pulling me out of university. In the end, I managed to convince them to agree to this under one condition: I must find a way to have graduated by the end of my fifth year.

This meant that I would need to finish a four-year program in only two years. I explained the extenuating circumstances to the film department's undergraduate assistant Stephanie Wilson. I was eventually given permission from the department head Scott Mackenzie to be admitted as a MAPP student under the condition that I take all pre-required courses during my fourth year and ace them, otherwise I would be pulled from the program (documentation provided). I had successfully obtained these credits to be in the program. However, this entire situation put me under an extreme amount of stress. My peers started to show concern for me and recognized the harmful impact it had on me personally. In this case, this challenge was an added stressor to an already toxic environment that severely hindered my mental health. I reached out to crisis counsellor Tahany Okby to grow a support system that was unavailable back home. I had access to mental health services without my parent's knowledge.

Being an international student, I had to leave Kingston immediately in 2020 because of Covid19 and head back home to Dubai. This decision was not of my choosing. Coming from an unhealthy household while trying to treat my anxiety and depression, I tried to access mental health services from student wellness and resume sessions with Tahany (documentation provided). However, Considering I am abroad, SWS refused to allow me to continue my treatment or contact any crisis counsellors because they are only licensed in Ontario. The result of being home has disrupted my treatment and academic performance as I was constantly under severe scrutiny, pressure, and abuse. It hindered my ability to work on my courses and complete assignments. I knew that I needed documentation for academic consideration due to my extenuating circumstances. I was finally able to schedule a Zoom meeting with Tahany in order to obtain documentation. Due to the fact that I am overseas, I was not able to have a counselling session, it was merely a consultation in which she was unable to intervene. This was the only aid that I had at my disposal. Considering I come from a household with different value, cultural heritage, and beliefs that diminishes, mocks, and undermines mental health, my parents refused the necessity of gaining access to mental health services. My siblings are able to seek secret therapy sessions and pay out of their own pockets, I however am not financially and rely on my parents as source of income. I was denied any resources in Dubai, thus not allowing me to access the help that I used to reach back in Kingston.

All throughout the Fall 2020 - Winter 2021 Academic year, I had to get by with completing my coursework by contacting my professors, explaining my situation at home, and hoping they would grant me permission for extensions and even incomplete grades. I felt as though this was my only option, I needed to keep my grades up for a full course-load so that I would be eligible to graduate by the end of the year, all the while dealing with my mental health issues and enduring the toxicity of my living environment without any help from crisis counsellors or therapists. During Fall of 2020, I took FILM389 under the instruction of Emily Pelstring. She kindly offered me multiple extensions, unfortunately however it was not enough. My professor was aware of the severity of my situation in Dubai, which was amplified because of COVID19. In this case, she accommodated me and accepted to keeping my grade as an incomplete until I was prepared and well-equipped to finish the outstanding midterm and final assignment (documentation of these emails provided) required to complete the course.

I was informed that I had until April 30th to submit my assignments, otherwise my grade will automatically be converted to a Failing grade. At this point, I had three incomplete grades from winter semester, and two incomplete grades from fall semester (one of them being FILM389). This is when my mental health issues reached an all-time high, so with immense strain I was able to submit the final assignment for grading on time. However, I had an issue with my midterm assignment that I had resolved with my professor and submitted for grading only after the internal deadline had passed. My professor reassured me not to worry, and that she can submit a late change of grade request, so that my grade would later be readjusted from a failing grade to a new grade according to my submitted assignment. However, as my professor was attempting to change my grade, my name was no longer showing up on the class list in Solus. Unfortunately, she was unable to change my incomplete to a passing grade, which meant that I did not fulfill the last three required units for my program, and my application to graduate in July had been revoked.

I was not aware that I needed to write or go through with an appeal for the change of grade nor was I aware that my professor's late change of grade request would be declined. I believed that this matter would be resolved based on the agreement between the professor and I considering she was aware of my intense struggle with my mental health and its massive effect on my academic performance. This situation has set back my plans to graduate, which was my only ticket to move on from my household. I do not feel safe to inform my parents of this issue, to their knowledge my application for graduating had been accepted and that I am awaiting my diploma in the mail. I write this appeal in hopes that you take my situation into consideration and allow my incomplete grade in FILM389 to be changed passed the deadline so that I am able to request a degree completion letter and apply to graduate in the upcoming Fall semester. I have provided supporting documentation from my crisis counsellor Tahany Okby as well as my professor for FILM389 Emily Pelstring and have also provided 3 PDFs of email exchanges as mentioned above in the letter. Thank you for your time and consideration, I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Diana Rasoul.