Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Appeal Letter Request for Aegrotat Standing Grade April 8, 2022
Kaeden Hoecht (20231073)
BAH (Political Science/Certificate in law)

Good afternoon,

I am writing this letter to address an academic appeal involving a request for aegrotat standing grade in all my courses. I ask that I receive extensions on all outstanding assignments and have them reweighted so I do not need to take final exams in the summer.

The extenuating circumstance in question is that my father, Rob Hoecht passed away unexpectedly March 25th, 2022 due to a heart attack. This has caused for me to lose all focus on studies currently as I have been dealing with emotional trauma and grieving over my father. On top of the previously mentioned factor, I am also very worried about the future as my father helped me out with anything I ever needed and now I do not have that kind of support from him. I am unable to determine how long this will affect me as I talked to him every day and it seems like each morning is worse right now. I have been in contact with the program coordinator for the certificate of law as well as student wellness services in which I was told to appeal for academic consideration. As its already been two weeks I am becoming increasingly worried about the future of my studies. If there is any possibility to meet with someone in person to discuss aegrotat standing I would gladly take that opportunity.

I have been attempting to watch some lecture videos for some of my courses, but my mind wanders and I cannot focus at all. Prior to the event I had no signs of any mental disorders such as ADHD or anything that may affect my focus. The reasoning behind asking for extensions on all assignments/quizzes is due to my lack of focus currently, I am hoping it improves with time as well as my mental health. In terms of why I would like them reweighted and not have to write exams is due to financial instability, in order to do well as I have in my previous courses, I would have to take several weeks off of full-time employment at my job in Kingston to study. This could have devastating effects on my mental health further as then I would be stressed about income and don??t have my father to fall back on. Furthermore, I worry I will not be able to study like I usually can due to this lack of clarity in my head. If I do need to take exams in the summer I believe I will do much worse than previous terms which ultimately will affect my end goal of getting into law school. Getting into law school is very important to me especially after the event because I always told my dad I was going to be a lawyer and I am going to make him proud by doing so.

In my entire university career I have never handed in anything late and have always had a solid GPA, I have never requested extensions on assignments/quizzes either. I believe what I am asking to be fair and reasonable especially as I will complete all outstanding assignments/quizzes for the courses proving my knowledge to the instructors slowly over the next few months, I would like to determine exact dates preferably in person (can be done over email/phone) and after one or two counselling sessions to see where my headspace is and what the professional says would be a good timeline for me. As of March 25th I had completed all my coursework that was due by then and even some of the next weeks assignments further proving I am a dedicated student.

In terms of the steps I am taking to deal with the passing of my father I have my first counselling appointment booked April 14th and will be seeing the professional every Thursday. I have also been staying in Belleville with my family during this hard time. I am trying to talk with all the people that care about me including friends and old teachers of mine to stay positive.

Following March 25th, I had my mother (Eleanor Macniven) contact student wellness in which they filled out an extenuating circumstances form for me, I can attach it to his letter if there is an option for that. I never had any say on what was put down in the form and I don??t necessarily agree with the timeline 2-4 weeks as it??s already been two weeks.

Please email me at 19krh5@queensu.ca for updates on my appeal process as it will help me figure things out.

Thank you for your consideration,

Kaeden Hoecht