Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: March 27, 2023
Dear Associate Dean,
This letter is a request for a late drop of the course PHIL 330 (Fall 2023). I am requesting a late drop because I was unable to complete the course content due to extenuating circumstances.

I had a 40% final essay for the course due on December 18th that I failed to submit. On December 11th, my mother had a mental health crisis that resulted in my 24/7 care for her. On December 22nd, I emailed my professor asking if I could submit my essay by December 25th due to the circumstances. The professor had decided it was a hard deadline and that extenuating circumstances did not apply. I then asked if we could apply my academic accommodations to this essay, which he also denied, stating that a hard deadline does not allow for the inclusion of accommodations. Finally, on December 27th, after consulting with others in the department, I asked if he would support a request for an incomplete on the course and provide me with a new due date for the essay. He said this was impossible as it would threaten fairness to the course. I felt highly discouraged by this, which is why you are only just receiving this petition.

I could not provide documentation of the situation at the time, so I did not apply for academic consideration. In the future, I will do my best to inform my professors immediately when I am having a familial crisis, even if I do not know the extent to which it will impact me. I will also ask emergency services to provide proof of using their services while I speak with them to have the appropriate documentation to prove my situation.

This situation did not affect my other course because I had completed the course content before December 11th. I have struggled with university in the past, and I am working very hard to ameliorate my situation enough to graduate with a decent GPA. I want to do a master's in disability studies and, hopefully, research and spread awareness so that disability issues like my mother's will not affect other children or students because they have the support they need.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my request.
Amelia Nicholas (she/they)