Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I hope this message finds you well.

At the beginning of the first semester, I received the news that my dad has stage four cancer, and tumours in three places, including the brain. He was admitted into the hospital on September 13th, with an official diagnosis dated September 15th and my brothers and I were made aware on September 18th. This situation has been very difficult for me and my family, as he has been undergoing treatments that involve radiation and chemotherapy. The doctors informed us of the severity of his condition and therefore my family has been taking protective action in case the worst may occur.

This has affected me tremendously in numerous ways. Especially because I study on campus, I was not able to be with my dad and family during the first few weeks of diagnosis, being a critical time of continuous and swift news. As a result, I have not been present and my friends and family have noticed my distance. I also have been trying to spend as much time with my dad as possible, as these times are very important to me while he is undergoing treatment. To add to the complexity of the situation, my dad has of course not been working. Therefore, on top of family and academic obligations, I have been working throughout the term to pay for tuition and rent independently. This has spread my responsibilities and overextended my mental and physical capacities.

Since this was discovered, I have been taking proactive measures to remove stress in order to stabilize my emotional and academic well-being. This involved speaking with Student Wellness, academic advisors, as well as outside-of-school councillors. I was fortunate enough to receive academic accommodations for the term and although the councillors advised me to drop classes early on, I was premature in thinking that I could pursue the courses I enrolled in and continue to perform at the academic level I am used to. The severity of these circumstances has resulted in my failing each course due to the lack of work submitted. The first term does not reflect my academic ability in any way, and, as a result, my GPA has dropped nearly a full point. This is important to me, as it does not represent the level of academic standing that I have worked hard for in the past and will continue to going forward.

Throughout the past few months, my family and I have been working through this. I also have been vocal about needing support and therefore have developed a financial plan that encompasses my needs and allows me to focus on my priorities. Given the severity of my academic fall last term, my top priority is undoubtedly school. I feel that I have processed this situation and am currently doing far better than before. This being said, my emotional well-being is in a place where I feel I am truly able to perform to the best of my ability and reestablish my academics in the way that I am used to.

Since last semester, I have been in communication with my professors to ensure that I am seeing through all of my options. Of the four courses, three professors are willing to grant me incomplete status and the ability to have my work assessed. I have completed the coursework for all of these classes and am grateful for being able to submit and have my work marked. I am awaiting a response from the last professor.

However, in my efforts to recover from the last semester, I was unable to enroll in winter courses. This is because I was not able to choose any new courses that were dependent on the outcome of the last semester. I have been working with advisors throughout January in order to best overcome last semester and regain solidity this term. Though, as much as I have tried to be timely with this extremely unideal situation, given this busy time of the year, this has resulted in the inability to solve this as swiftly as I had hoped. After numerous ten-minute drop-in meetings earlier this month, I booked a meeting as soon as I could after regular bookings resumed on the 23rd. Since this meeting, I have clarity in my academic plan and have been advised to reach out to you. We were hoping for any possibility that I could be admitted into classes this semester.

I am very sorry for reaching out later than I had hoped. Between my meeting on January 24th and now, I have been in contact with professors and my program office to better understand all of my options as well as compiling all documentation from my family and councillors. I understand we are a couple of weeks into the term, though I am determined to be successful. If this is possible, I will reach out to all potential professors immediately and ensure that I am caught up with no delay. This would be greatly appreciated as I am working hard to move forwards from the bump last semester, and not being enrolled does not allow me to make up for lost time. I assure you this opportunity will not be taken for granted, and I will continue to perform at my greatest academic ability. I understand this is a large undertaking, though I am more than certain in my ability to be successful this semester. I feel that I have been working so hard to get ahead of this and I am eager to refocus that effort on my academics as normal.

Please let me know if this can be accommodated. Any opportunities to improve my academic standing will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Quintin Zavislake