Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies):
The Request:
I am appealing for the issue of a retroactive Letter of Permission (LoP). More specifically, I would like the LoP issued in the spring/summer of 2012 to the University of Toronto to include permission to enroll in PSY 471H1, so its completion may be counted towards my Bachelor of Science (Honours) Psychology degree.

Extenuating Circumstances:
One of the requirements of a Psychology (Honours) degree is the completion of three seminar courses. Due to my own schedule and class availability, I could not finish this criterion at Queen¿¿s during the Fall/Winter semesters. Thus, I petitioned and received two Letter of Permission, one to the University of Toronto and the other to York University.

Upon enrolling at the University of Toronto, I experienced some technical difficulties. The online enrollment system (ROSI) prevents visiting students from making any modifications¿¿including adding and dropping upper-level classes¿¿ to their schedules. As a result, while I believed that I withdrew from another seminar course, I remained registered in it. By the time I noticed this, it was too late to drop the class.

While speaking about this with an undergraduate advisor at the University of Toronto, it was suggested to me that I enroll in PSY471H1, which fit into my schedule and could fulfill the seminar requirement I needed. Because the advisor had access to my enrollment information, I incorrectly assumed that they had verified my LoP and that PSY471H1 was one of the courses I had permission to take. I enrolled in PSY471H1 and completed it successfully.

In sum, not asking for the inclusion of PSY 471H1 on my LoP was a genuine oversight on my part. Because I had received approval to enroll in several seminar courses that term, I misremembered PSY471H1 as being one of them. I was only informed of the contradiction between my LoP and my transcript in the enclosed e-mail exchange with Karen McBride on May 7th, 2015.

Future Plans:
First, I would like to express my apologies regarding this situation. I had no intention of enrolling in coursework that had not been approved by Queen¿¿s University.

Secondly, I would like to articulate how I would proceed if my appeal for a retroactive Letter of Permission were granted. I would make every effort to ensure that PSY471H1 meets the requirements of the Queen¿¿s University Psychology Department. As suggested in the attached e-mail from Karen McBride, I would submit a retroactive LoP request and a course description to my Undergraduate Department Head and, if it was evaluated as equivalent to a Queen¿¿s undergraduate seminar, PSY471H1 would be added to my transcript. Moreover, if I were to take any further courses on an LoP, I would take care to personally verify that every class I was enrolled in corresponded with that which was listed on my Letter of Permission.

Finally, PSY471H1 is one of the last two courses I require to graduate, and the last seminar-based course. Given the difficulty of finding space in small seminar courses as a visiting student and my inability to commute to Kingston during the oncoming Fall/Winter semester due to employment and familial commitments in Toronto, I would sincerely ask that the Associate Dean grant my appeal, for both practical and academic reasons.

Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further inquiries regarding this situation.