Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Academic Governance Board,

I would like to appeal a previous decision by my professor, Laurent Seroude, to prevent a late drop of BIOL 404 in light of extenuating and unforeseen circumstances. Through this appeal and all accompanying communication I am seeking a retroactive drop for the course, following my initial request on May 2nd.

In BIOL 404 all work is assigned to partnered pairs to be divided between the group members. Seeing as this is an accelerated course, the workload is designed to be heavy, but manageable, for a pair of individuals across a two week period of time. On the third day of the course my partner declared that they would not be returning to the class, leaving me to complete the entirety of the course alone. In effect, this doubled an already heavy workload and made effective course work management or learning impossible.

Following this communication with my partner, I reached out to Professor Seroude in order to relay the current status of my group and attempt to find a remedy for the situation. Specifically, I requested that I be allowed to join another group or receive an altered workload/adjustments based on the situation. Despite this request, Professor Seroude denied any of these proactive solutions.

My partner decided to stop attending the course three days after the last drop date, which was on the first day of the course. But for my partner’s unexpected departure, I would have otherwise completed my work on time and had a manageable balance of course material to complete over a two week window. This departure left me reasonably incapable of completing the course effectively, as I would be undertaking a full and accelerated course load two times over.

Further complicating the situation was Professor Seroude’s unwillingness to work with me in order to find a fair and equitable solution to the situation. But for Professor Seroude’s denial to work towards a solution for the now doubled course work, I could have completed the course and remained in fair academic standing rather than remain hopelessly buried in work that is doubled in comparison to my peers in the course.

Therefore, I would ask that the Board review the situation leading up to and following my initial drop request on May 2nd in the hopes of securing a retroactive DR for this course. I am happy to accept an academic penalty with the drop remaining on my transcript, and I am also amenable to a full monetary penalty for dropping the course. That being said, I have worked tirelessly to build my GPA in hopes of good employment and further academic pursuits after graduation, and marring my transcript with a failed course significantly impacts the luster of my work at Queens. In order to spare my future career and academic prospects from undue hardship, I would ask that the board grant me a retroactive drop for BIOL 404.

Thank you,
Ethan Goldberg