Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Associate Dean (academic)
Queen’s University

Hello,

I am writing to request that two courses be dropped from my transcript. These are the first-year economics courses I was enrolled in part-time during the winter term of 2021. While taking these courses I suffered a concussion at work which prevented me from completing the course material and as a result I received a failing grade. I am currently considering an application to PhD programs, but these marks from my undergraduate degree bring down my average and make me less likely to receive funding.

In March of 2021 I was hit on the head at work, and suffered a concussion that prevented me from working or viewing any screens due to frequent headaches, dizziness, and sensitivity to light. I was taking two introductory economics courses part-time to burnish my resume during this period but could no longer work on assignments or take the final exam.
I did not drop the courses at the time because my injury’s severity was not clear to me until after the deadline to drop courses without financial penalty. I was worried that if I did drop the courses I would have to pay money which I did not have, due to OSAP seeking repayment of its grant. I should have contacted the school at the time asking if an exception could be made and if it would be possible for me to drop without financial penalty, but I did not.

This is partly because I had already been accepted into a graduate program at Carleton University, who assured me that my funding had already been secured and would not be affected by these failing grades. At the time I was certain that a Master’s degree would be my final level of education, with plans to enter the public service immediately after, and so I was not too concerned about the long-term consequences for my transcript.

I understand that these sorts of appeals are meant to be submitted within a year the course was taken. I have not appealed until this time because I only recently decided to undertake a PhD. That is, to apply for funding (such as OGS and SSHRC) and only if I am successful in attaining sufficient financial resources will I enroll in a PhD program. Despite receiving exclusively A level grades during my Master’s, the final “year” of my Bachelor’s including two failing grades may impact my eligibility for funding.

I have included a WSIB report written and signed by my physiotherapist discharging me from treatment. Given that this incident occurred two years ago, submitting a recent medical note may be difficult. This form, however, specifies the date of my injury (March 2nd 2021), and the fact that I had only ended treatment nearly three months later (on May 26th 2021), testifying to the severity of my injury. I hope that this form is sufficient, but if further documentation is required I could try to contact my physician.

I hope you will consider my request. Please let me know if you require any further information.
Jacob Wilson (Queen’s Student ID: 10048399)