Petition Letter
Roslyn Brennen (20013766)
Thursday March 5th, 2020
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I am requesting that my grade is appealed for an assignment worth 20 of my final grade in Professor Pamela Dickey Young¿¿s Religion and Sex Class (RELS 236.) On February 25th I had an assignment due in her class at 10:00 a.m.. This assignment required me to submit a verity of blog posts and responses that discussed content from weeks 1-6. The syllabus states: ¿¿Your blog posts and responses must be collected together into one document and turned in by 10:00 a.m. February 25, 2020 (material weeks 1-6.)¿ I did indeed submit the assignment on time however some of my blog posts and responses discussed content from week 7 (which was content from the week of February 25th.) With this being said, under the assumption I could submit up until February 25th, in my mind any content before the 25th would be counted as eligible for discussion in the blog posts and responses. Today, upon handing our assignments back (and multiple students being upset with their final grade), Professor Young explained that if we discussed any content in our blog posts and responses during the week of the 25th the content counted as week 7 material and would not be accepted. Though the syllabus stated the blog posts and responses were to be on content from weeks 1-6 and the due date was February 25th, many of us were under the assumption that content from the week of the 25th was fair game to discuss. Not including my blog posts and responses from the week of the 25th was enough to bump my grade down to 42 thus failing. I am requesting that this grade be appealed because I am in my fourth and final year of my undergrad and I need to pass the course in order to graduate in the spring.
After class today upon receiving my grade, I politely explained my understanding of the dates and timeline of the instructions for the assignment and asked if there was anything I could do to make up the grade or part of my grade. Myself along with 2 other students (although I am certain there are more) who stayed after class to speak to Professor Young are in the same situation as I am. Professor Young said she would ¿¿think on it¿ however she felt the syllabus was extremely clear (though multiple of us were confused) and that all I could do to possibly resurrect my grade is to ¿¿do better next time.¿ I even asked Professor Young if I could redo the assignment or do an additional blog post and response during the second half of the course (which is now), to which she responded with ¿¿no.¿ This was extremely discouraging and disappointing considering the amount of work I have put into this course throughout the first half of the semester. The previous assignment I completed in the class I received an 82 and worked extremely hard. Additionally, despite having accommodations for extra time and even joining the class late, I have never asked Professor Young for an extension on any assignment this semester.
Though this is the only course I have had a conflict in all semester, going forward for my remaining and final weeks at Queen¿¿s I will ensure to clarify with my professors if there is a detail I do not understand or find ambiguous surrounding an assignment ahead of time. It would be greatly appreciated if my grade could be appealed in order to help me pass the course to ensure I graduate this upcoming spring. If the 20 could be omitted /weighted differently/rejigged that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for considering my appeal and I do take responsibility for not connecting with Professor Young sooner to clarify.
Best,
Roslyn Brennen
Thursday March 5th, 2020
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I am requesting that my grade is appealed for an assignment worth 20 of my final grade in Professor Pamela Dickey Young¿¿s Religion and Sex Class (RELS 236.) On February 25th I had an assignment due in her class at 10:00 a.m.. This assignment required me to submit a verity of blog posts and responses that discussed content from weeks 1-6. The syllabus states: ¿¿Your blog posts and responses must be collected together into one document and turned in by 10:00 a.m. February 25, 2020 (material weeks 1-6.)¿ I did indeed submit the assignment on time however some of my blog posts and responses discussed content from week 7 (which was content from the week of February 25th.) With this being said, under the assumption I could submit up until February 25th, in my mind any content before the 25th would be counted as eligible for discussion in the blog posts and responses. Today, upon handing our assignments back (and multiple students being upset with their final grade), Professor Young explained that if we discussed any content in our blog posts and responses during the week of the 25th the content counted as week 7 material and would not be accepted. Though the syllabus stated the blog posts and responses were to be on content from weeks 1-6 and the due date was February 25th, many of us were under the assumption that content from the week of the 25th was fair game to discuss. Not including my blog posts and responses from the week of the 25th was enough to bump my grade down to 42 thus failing. I am requesting that this grade be appealed because I am in my fourth and final year of my undergrad and I need to pass the course in order to graduate in the spring.
After class today upon receiving my grade, I politely explained my understanding of the dates and timeline of the instructions for the assignment and asked if there was anything I could do to make up the grade or part of my grade. Myself along with 2 other students (although I am certain there are more) who stayed after class to speak to Professor Young are in the same situation as I am. Professor Young said she would ¿¿think on it¿ however she felt the syllabus was extremely clear (though multiple of us were confused) and that all I could do to possibly resurrect my grade is to ¿¿do better next time.¿ I even asked Professor Young if I could redo the assignment or do an additional blog post and response during the second half of the course (which is now), to which she responded with ¿¿no.¿ This was extremely discouraging and disappointing considering the amount of work I have put into this course throughout the first half of the semester. The previous assignment I completed in the class I received an 82 and worked extremely hard. Additionally, despite having accommodations for extra time and even joining the class late, I have never asked Professor Young for an extension on any assignment this semester.
Though this is the only course I have had a conflict in all semester, going forward for my remaining and final weeks at Queen¿¿s I will ensure to clarify with my professors if there is a detail I do not understand or find ambiguous surrounding an assignment ahead of time. It would be greatly appreciated if my grade could be appealed in order to help me pass the course to ensure I graduate this upcoming spring. If the 20 could be omitted /weighted differently/rejigged that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for considering my appeal and I do take responsibility for not connecting with Professor Young sooner to clarify.
Best,
Roslyn Brennen