Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
I am currently a third year Life Sciences student at Queen's. I am appealing to drop PHYS P20 for reasons that I will outline. I am taking the online version of PHYS P20 this semester and the evaluations for the course include two essays and a final. Our first assignment was worth 20 and was due on February 7th, before the drop deadline. The second was worth 40 and due March 6th, which we received the marks for on April 1st, both dates being after the drop deadline.
I was very disappointed in my grade as I am a good student. I graduated highschool with an IB Diploma, have been on the Dean's Honor List every year of my undergrad, and am set to graduate with Distinction. This would be the only course that will drive down my GPA. For the two assignments I believed I was very prepared and had written great essays. However, my marks did not seem to reflect that. When I contacted the TA about seeing the rubric to know where I lost the marks, they mentioned that no rubrics were used when marking these assignments. This is an issue that is impacting both my brother and myself and so we both contacted the professor and have received no response. We have spoken with Heather Carter for academic advising and got in touch with Katie Philips. I was able to speak to Dr. Mark Chen as well and got his input on the situation, which I have included. I do not know how to improve for the exam as there has been no rubric and am afraid that this course will be the only course to drive down my GPA.
I did not expect that this course would turn out the way it has as I only had 20 of the course mark before the drop deadline and as Dr. Chen also mentioned, this was not enough to predict my performance in the course.
If I was faced with a similar situation in the future, I would take the same steps as I have so far, before resorting to drop the course. I would speak to the TA and professor early in the course to find out what they use for evaluations and if there are any rubrics. If I still received a disappointing mark I would contact them again to see what I can improve. The steps I would take after would be much like those I have taken for this process, I would get in touch with academic advisers and subsequently those of higher authority for their input and advice. Dropping the course would be a last resort that I would consider after having spoken to these individuals.
Ultimately, I wish to appeal to drop the course late because I did not have a substantial amount of the course mark back before the drop deadline and now that I do, it is shaping up to be a low mark that I did not expect and more important, one that will certainly negatively impact my GPA.
I am currently a third year Life Sciences student at Queen's. I am appealing to drop PHYS P20 for reasons that I will outline. I am taking the online version of PHYS P20 this semester and the evaluations for the course include two essays and a final. Our first assignment was worth 20 and was due on February 7th, before the drop deadline. The second was worth 40 and due March 6th, which we received the marks for on April 1st, both dates being after the drop deadline.
I was very disappointed in my grade as I am a good student. I graduated highschool with an IB Diploma, have been on the Dean's Honor List every year of my undergrad, and am set to graduate with Distinction. This would be the only course that will drive down my GPA. For the two assignments I believed I was very prepared and had written great essays. However, my marks did not seem to reflect that. When I contacted the TA about seeing the rubric to know where I lost the marks, they mentioned that no rubrics were used when marking these assignments. This is an issue that is impacting both my brother and myself and so we both contacted the professor and have received no response. We have spoken with Heather Carter for academic advising and got in touch with Katie Philips. I was able to speak to Dr. Mark Chen as well and got his input on the situation, which I have included. I do not know how to improve for the exam as there has been no rubric and am afraid that this course will be the only course to drive down my GPA.
I did not expect that this course would turn out the way it has as I only had 20 of the course mark before the drop deadline and as Dr. Chen also mentioned, this was not enough to predict my performance in the course.
If I was faced with a similar situation in the future, I would take the same steps as I have so far, before resorting to drop the course. I would speak to the TA and professor early in the course to find out what they use for evaluations and if there are any rubrics. If I still received a disappointing mark I would contact them again to see what I can improve. The steps I would take after would be much like those I have taken for this process, I would get in touch with academic advisers and subsequently those of higher authority for their input and advice. Dropping the course would be a last resort that I would consider after having spoken to these individuals.
Ultimately, I wish to appeal to drop the course late because I did not have a substantial amount of the course mark back before the drop deadline and now that I do, it is shaping up to be a low mark that I did not expect and more important, one that will certainly negatively impact my GPA.