Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

This appeal is to request credit standing in CHEM 281. The situation surrounding COVID-19 in the Queen??s community and the effect it had on the timing of the exam, prevented me from achieving the grade I could have in this course.

After the cancellation of the final exam less than twelve hours before it was originally scheduled, I was put in a situation where there were many unknowns surrounding the postponed exam. In the following days, the information was constantly changing about whether the final and lab exam could be rescheduled for later in the original fall semester exam period, or if there would be no choice but to postpone it until after the break. Furthermore, my fear of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the Kingston and Queen??s communities was a huge distraction, as I knew if I were unlucky, I could unknowingly infect my family. As a student with ADHD, I need to work exceptionally hard when it comes to time management and planning study routines. Without a definite answer to the scheduling of the exam, it caused significant challenges as I tried to revise my studying timeline to enable me to be prepared once again for the new date. A far different strategy needs to be implemented to write an exam with 3 weeks time compared to two days.

On December 16, after I had completed all of my other exams, the CHEM 281 exam was rescheduled for a window three days later. This change left me in a position where I needed to choose between rushing to develop a new study plan and return to studying, or risk needing to recall the information after a few weeks and hindering my start on school work in the winter semester. The decision itself was a major source of distress, as I felt neither option was right, and I hesitated to choose as I stressed over the possible repercussions of each. The inability to commit to a choice quicker had consequences on my performance in the exam since I was unable to work towards preparing myself in the two days when I was not even sure that I would write the exam on the 19th.

During the exam I was anxious and immediately realized I had made the wrong decision in not deferring my exam. I was angry at the situation and disappointed in my reaction to it. I could not calm myself to think clearly through the questions and had difficulty staying focused enough to read and understand the questions and develop ways to solve the problems without thinking about the mistake I felt I made. I finished the exam in half of the time allotted after I found myself mixing up what I had previously studied and felt confident in and decided to trust my original ideas about the multiple choice.

Upon reflection of my perceived performance on the exam, on December 27th before I had received my grade, I e-mailed Dr. Carran and asked him whether there was a possibility for me to write the deferred exam. I was confident this would better reflect my abilities and requested to take the grade of the deferred exam, regardless of its outcome. He responded within minutes and explained, ??That??s not possible, sorry.?

I strongly believe that had these not been the circumstances I was in during the Final and Lab exam in this course, my level of achievement would have been better. Up until then, I had not received a mark back lower than a B in CHEM 281, and the large grade difference can be attributed to the distractions from stress about the exam decision and COVID-19. When combined it is clear that these extenuating circumstances impacted my performance in the final and lab exam in CHEM 281.

Thank you for your consideration, support, and understanding in this matter.

Sincerely,
Jacqueline Edwards
(20218205)