Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Jingyi, and my student number is 20219217. I am writing to you to appeal the decision to withdraw me from the Faculty of Arts and Science for one year. I would appreciate a moment of your time to explain the reasons behind my appeal.

Firstly, I would kindly like to raise a question regarding whether the decision to withdraw for a year would result in significant additional expenses for an international student. After careful consideration, I believe it is important to mention because there are many restrictions on the choices I can make during the suspension period. For instance, I am unable to work with a study permit during this time. Additionally, school policies prevent me from studying outside of the institution, limiting my options in Kingston. Furthermore, even if I were to return to China for a break, I would still need to pay rent for the full year to ensure that I have a place to store my belongings in Canada. Moreover, the 15-hour flight duration makes it impractical for me to transport all of my items from Canada to China and then back again after a year.

Secondly, I believe that I have the ability to improve my GPA, and the failing grade in KNPE 255 was a result of a mistake. The decline in my GPA occurred during the 2023 winter term when I fell ill and missed a second term test. I had a high fever of up to 38.8 and experienced severe headaches and sore throat, causing me to faint at home during the week of the second term test. The term test accounted for 25% of the final grade and was scheduled on a day when I was incapacitated. I was extremely frustrated when I regained my clarity of mind because I had put in a lot of effort to prepare for this test in hopes of improving my grade, but I missed it due to my illness.

A friend who was taking the same course tried to console me by suggesting that the missed mark might be factored into the final exam. Plus, all five of my roommates (they are all graduated now) tested positive for Covid-19, so I had to isolate myself for a week as a precaution. There were only lectures and exams in this course, so I reached out to other courses’ TAs (for group work and attendance) except for this one. It was only later that a Chinese-speaking professor informed me about the option to apply for academic accommodations. Prior to this, I was under the impression that accommodations were only granted for travel or family-related reasons.

I was disappointed when I checked my grade on SOLUS because it became apparent that my friend's information was incorrect, and the missed mark was not carried over to the final exam. The lesson I learned from failing KNPE 255 is that I should no longer avoid reaching out to professors and TAs, regardless of difficulties or challenges. I deeply regret using the comfort of my friend as an excuse to avoid contact with professors and TAs at that time. I feel deeply ashamed of this behaviour, but I believe it was not due to a lack of capability but rather a failure to actively seek help.

Since the year before last year, I made multiple appointments with Susanna, a counselling therapist at SWS (Student Wellness Services) at Queen’s. At the beginning, I was very afraid and would actively avoid strangers. However, with Susanna's help, although I still feel nervous when interacting with strangers, I no longer resist or avoid communication with them recently.

I kindly request another chance to continue my studies at the school so that I can have more opportunities to improve myself. Thank you for considering my appeal. I would greatly appreciate your understanding and support in this matter.

Sincerely,
Jingyi