Petition Letter
Jessica Horton
57 Colborne St. Apt.14
Kingston, ON, K7K 1C7
December 11, 2015
Queen's University
94 University Ave.
Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6
Attention: Associate Dean of Studies,
Dear Sir/Madam:
RE: Appeal Request
I am appealing to drop PSYC 352 after the academic drop deadline in the Fall 2015 session.
I am requesting to drop PSYC 352 because I am currently failing the course and the failing grade is unlikely to change to a pass following the final exam. I was unable to meet the academic drop deadline because I had only received one grade at that point in time and remained optimistic it could be improved upon. Although this grade was extremely poor, I thought perhaps it was attributable to being a first test in the course, combined with the workload pressures of having three other midterms and assignments also occurring the same week as the disastrous exam.
Additionally, I have a medical condition that causes me to feel extremely tired, to have a lack of concentration and to have difficulty remembering things when my medication needs adjustment. These symptoms recurred in October 2015 and I was working with my doctor to get the levels adjusted. Since the diagnosis of my condition is relatively new to me, I am still learning to recognize when I might need to return to the doctor. This means, I probably did not see the doctor as soon as I should have to ensure my levels and symptoms did not get to the point that they did. Once my medication has been adjusted it then takes 5-6 weeks to take full effect. Stress also has an impact on my autoimmune disease causing my levels to fluctuate even when taking what appears to be a proper dosage level.
My stress levels were very high during the week of the first midterm exam and I believe this caused me to perform poorly on the exam. I decided to continue in the course working to the best of my abilities without getting discouraged, with the hope of rehabilitating my grade to not only a pass but also to a level more in keeping with my other course performance. Failing midterms and performing poorly in any course is not a common occurrence for me, as can be seen throughout my transcript. Unfortunately, the second evaluation did not take place until after the drop deadline, and my mark on the second midterm exam was also poor. Although the content has been interesting, I strongly believe the combination of the evaluation methods and my medical issues at the time has effected my performance in the course.
Although I am currently enrolled in a Psychology minor, I do not intend to fulfill its requirements. After noticing a trend in my performance in the psychology program courses, I have decided against pursuit of the minor; it seems psychology is not a subject in which I can excel. This decision to curtail the psychology minor was also based on the fact that I plan to pursue a Master's in Speech Pathology following my undergraduate degree. Having only arrived at this decision in summer 2015, it is impossible to complete the psychology minor prior to graduation within the four-year period, while also catching up and completing the many prerequisite linguistic courses the graduate program requires. I chose to take PSYC 352 Cognitive and Language Development as an elective because it would pair well with linguistics and the content was of high interest to me. I did not expect the course to go as poorly as it has, even with a solid and dedicated effort. In order to make up for this course I plan to take an extra course during the 2016 spring session, to keep me on track to graduate in the spring of 2017. I regret that I did not drop the course at the first midterm, as now I risk having a poorly chosen elective course impact graduate program admission.
Going forward, I will be more conscious of my initial grades and instincts about a course to ensure that I work my hardest but also to ensure that important deadlines such as the drop date are not missed. I will ensure that I critically evaluate my success and failures to determine if a course is the correct fit for me prior to the academic drop deadline.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Jessica Horton
57 Colborne St. Apt.14
Kingston, ON, K7K 1C7
December 11, 2015
Queen's University
94 University Ave.
Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6
Attention: Associate Dean of Studies,
Dear Sir/Madam:
RE: Appeal Request
I am appealing to drop PSYC 352 after the academic drop deadline in the Fall 2015 session.
I am requesting to drop PSYC 352 because I am currently failing the course and the failing grade is unlikely to change to a pass following the final exam. I was unable to meet the academic drop deadline because I had only received one grade at that point in time and remained optimistic it could be improved upon. Although this grade was extremely poor, I thought perhaps it was attributable to being a first test in the course, combined with the workload pressures of having three other midterms and assignments also occurring the same week as the disastrous exam.
Additionally, I have a medical condition that causes me to feel extremely tired, to have a lack of concentration and to have difficulty remembering things when my medication needs adjustment. These symptoms recurred in October 2015 and I was working with my doctor to get the levels adjusted. Since the diagnosis of my condition is relatively new to me, I am still learning to recognize when I might need to return to the doctor. This means, I probably did not see the doctor as soon as I should have to ensure my levels and symptoms did not get to the point that they did. Once my medication has been adjusted it then takes 5-6 weeks to take full effect. Stress also has an impact on my autoimmune disease causing my levels to fluctuate even when taking what appears to be a proper dosage level.
My stress levels were very high during the week of the first midterm exam and I believe this caused me to perform poorly on the exam. I decided to continue in the course working to the best of my abilities without getting discouraged, with the hope of rehabilitating my grade to not only a pass but also to a level more in keeping with my other course performance. Failing midterms and performing poorly in any course is not a common occurrence for me, as can be seen throughout my transcript. Unfortunately, the second evaluation did not take place until after the drop deadline, and my mark on the second midterm exam was also poor. Although the content has been interesting, I strongly believe the combination of the evaluation methods and my medical issues at the time has effected my performance in the course.
Although I am currently enrolled in a Psychology minor, I do not intend to fulfill its requirements. After noticing a trend in my performance in the psychology program courses, I have decided against pursuit of the minor; it seems psychology is not a subject in which I can excel. This decision to curtail the psychology minor was also based on the fact that I plan to pursue a Master's in Speech Pathology following my undergraduate degree. Having only arrived at this decision in summer 2015, it is impossible to complete the psychology minor prior to graduation within the four-year period, while also catching up and completing the many prerequisite linguistic courses the graduate program requires. I chose to take PSYC 352 Cognitive and Language Development as an elective because it would pair well with linguistics and the content was of high interest to me. I did not expect the course to go as poorly as it has, even with a solid and dedicated effort. In order to make up for this course I plan to take an extra course during the 2016 spring session, to keep me on track to graduate in the spring of 2017. I regret that I did not drop the course at the first midterm, as now I risk having a poorly chosen elective course impact graduate program admission.
Going forward, I will be more conscious of my initial grades and instincts about a course to ensure that I work my hardest but also to ensure that important deadlines such as the drop date are not missed. I will ensure that I critically evaluate my success and failures to determine if a course is the correct fit for me prior to the academic drop deadline.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Jessica Horton