Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to appeal the courses of Econ 212 and Math 126, I am hoping to apply for a late drop from these courses as I have yet to write the exams. I had a very rough semester especially after undergoing a program change and complications regarding my health. I suffered a mild concussion in December break and in turn affected me academically. I also fell ill again for 3 weeks in November after a COVID outbreak in my building. I do not mean to make excuses for my academic performance but I would like to explain my circumstances.

I thought I could handle the workload, and I still think I could have, except that my father became very ill this year. He was hospitalized multiple times as a result of a recently identified heart condition. I was forced to travel between home and school constantly which took a toll on my mental health. I am the only child that lives nearest to my parents and taking care of my father on a 24 hour watch was too much to handle for my mother. Just when I thought things would get more difficult, my siblings were involved in a really bad car accident which resulted in our car being totaled. Both of them are undergoing physical therapy and needed someone to care for them as they were healing. While my father was home sick and unable to work, I had to commute home every weekend and some weeknights to help out with household duties. Needless to say, the 2.5 hour drive each way cut into my study time, as did the chores I had to do at home. Even when I was at school, I was very distracted with the home situation and was unable to focus on my schoolwork. Again, in March I underwent a surgery that took between 2-3 weeks for me to recover. I was not able to eat much and I had low energy levels, during this time I did take the initiative to reach out to my professors, however, I now understand that I should have communicated with my professors (instead of avoiding them), or even taken a leave of absence earlier on. I thought I could handle all of these burdens, and I tried my best, but I was wrong.

Frankly, it has been a challenge navigating my academic career as I have been dealing with so much at home and mentally. Things became increasingly tough after my older brother was incarcerated this year. Regardless of that fact, I am still worthy of a degree and it would mean so much to me if I can get these courses dropped. It would mean even more to my family as they fled Ethiopia and came to Canada as refugees and have worked tirelessly to ensure I succeed. I intend to work hard and focus on completing my degree. Fortunately, my father??s health has been somewhat improving after a recent heart operation. He is able to move around better so I should not need to travel home nearly as often. Also, I have met with my academic advisor, and I will follow her advice about communicating better with my professors from now on.

Please understand that my low GPA that led to my dismissal does not indicate that I am a bad student. I truly hope you give me a second chance, I really need this and it would mean the world to me. Thank you for considering this appeal.


Sincerely,


Sara Jamal