Petition Letter
Attention Associate Dean (Academic),
I respectfully wish to appeal my grade for COMM 621 (Winter, 2021) and would like to convert this grade to a credit standing on my transcript.
On April 27th, the day before the final exam for this course, I experienced extenuating circumstances beyond my control. Until that date, my grades in this course were in good academic standing (approx. average of 73) and I had wholeheartedly believed I would be able to achieve a passing grade in the course following the exam. Unfortunately, the day before my exam I received unexpected negative news regarding the terminal illness diagnosis of my only surviving grandparent. I believed at the time that I could overcome this circumstance and complete the exam consistent with my performance during the term, however, this was not the case. I am currently studying remotely from Edmonton, Alberta, and due to Covid-19 was not able to visit my grandfather given the provincial lockdown, thus increasing the anxiety associated with this news. While maintaining a part-time job and a full course load during a high-stress exam period, I found this news extremely overwhelming, even more so the day prior to the COMM 621 exam - which significantly affected my performance. This situation caused increasing exam anxiety and negatively affected my ability to concentrate and apply myself in an exam scenario. This was catastrophic given that the final exam was worth more than half of the overall course grade, and as a result, I completed the course with a grade of D. I am appealing only this course because it was the only exam I had left to complete after receiving this news. I believe that the grades I received in my other courses this term (3.85/4.33 on the GPA scale) are a testament as to how severely this circumstance affected my academic performance on this specific exam and my overall grade in this course.
Following these events, I sought the advice and support of my parents to cope with this circumstance and will continue healthy coping mechanisms to ensure this news does not further negatively affect my academic progress.
Best regards,
Kianna Kozak
I respectfully wish to appeal my grade for COMM 621 (Winter, 2021) and would like to convert this grade to a credit standing on my transcript.
On April 27th, the day before the final exam for this course, I experienced extenuating circumstances beyond my control. Until that date, my grades in this course were in good academic standing (approx. average of 73) and I had wholeheartedly believed I would be able to achieve a passing grade in the course following the exam. Unfortunately, the day before my exam I received unexpected negative news regarding the terminal illness diagnosis of my only surviving grandparent. I believed at the time that I could overcome this circumstance and complete the exam consistent with my performance during the term, however, this was not the case. I am currently studying remotely from Edmonton, Alberta, and due to Covid-19 was not able to visit my grandfather given the provincial lockdown, thus increasing the anxiety associated with this news. While maintaining a part-time job and a full course load during a high-stress exam period, I found this news extremely overwhelming, even more so the day prior to the COMM 621 exam - which significantly affected my performance. This situation caused increasing exam anxiety and negatively affected my ability to concentrate and apply myself in an exam scenario. This was catastrophic given that the final exam was worth more than half of the overall course grade, and as a result, I completed the course with a grade of D. I am appealing only this course because it was the only exam I had left to complete after receiving this news. I believe that the grades I received in my other courses this term (3.85/4.33 on the GPA scale) are a testament as to how severely this circumstance affected my academic performance on this specific exam and my overall grade in this course.
Following these events, I sought the advice and support of my parents to cope with this circumstance and will continue healthy coping mechanisms to ensure this news does not further negatively affect my academic progress.
Best regards,
Kianna Kozak