Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Dr. Jill Atkinson, Acting Associate Dean (Academic):

I am writing to appeal to drop MUSC 289 after the drop date due to extenuating circumstances. I took this course through ArtSci Online in the Winter 2021 term.

On Wednesday, February 17, 2021, I was in a motor vehicle accident. In the days immediately following the accident, it became necessary for me to prioritize bed rest for the sake of recovering. In the weeks following, the injury sustained meant I still had to work at a reduced capacity. The action of dropping a course, though simple, became something I could not remember to do, let alone physically complete.

I recognize I am only appealing one course out of many from the Winter 2021, but I believe I have a sound explanation for this. Many of my other classes had front-loaded their assignments. Additionally, they had fewer deliverables in general. As a result, it was easier for me to complete the work for those courses. In MUTH 111, there were more deliverables towards the end-of-term, including various components of an essay. MUSC 221, similarly, has an end-of-year jury component. In examining the marks for these courses and comparing them to MUSC 289, we can see that I noticeably struggled in all classes where many deliverables were due after the date of my accident but struggled the most with MUSC 289.

I remained enrolled in this course after the Week 2 drop deadline because I was interested in the material, and the gravity of my extenuating circumstances eclipsed the Week 8 drop deadline. I see my doctor and a physiotherapist for my injury, so I am sure that this injury will not affect future course loads. However, this injury decidedly impacted my academic performance in MUSC 289 and is the reason for this appeal.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration,

Brent Nuevo