Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: June 14, 2024

Dear, Jennifer Stephenson, Ph.D
Associate Dean (Academic),

I am writing this letter to request that my requirement to withdraw be waived and that I remain on academic probation for another academic assessment term in order to improve my GPA and accomplish my goals.

I am aware that my GPA is terrible and it appears that I have not taken my academics seriously. That is not the case. Achieving my educational goals by obtaining my degree is extremely important to me and my career. I have been under so much stress each semester that I have not been successful, desperately trying to make it work.

It has been a very difficult few years for me. Now that I look back, I should have made some different choices and taken a step back from my studies on my own while I worked through everything. I left an abusive relationship, I moved from NL to ON, i have had significant health issues and I have children with special needs. I have also struggled financially and mentally. I had to take a full time job a year and a half ago because I couldn’t afford to live in ON with the NL student aid that I was receiving. It has been incredibly stressful and difficult. Through it all, my academic goals have always maintained important to me.

Each semester that I have not been successful, I have made changes to ensure the next semester is better. Over the past few semesters, I have had a chance to reflect and make changes so that I can be successful in my current and future terms. Even though it has taken awhile for me to get to this point, I feel I’m at a good place now to be successful. I am doing well in all of my current summer courses and will pass them all. I also have plans in place to be successful for the fall and my studies going forward. I have been attending counselling, I have court orders in place for my safety and the safety of my children, I have moved to a more affordable home, secured proper supports and child care and I have stopped working so I can focus my time entirely on being academically successful.

As a strategy to improve my GPA, I have been planning my courses around redoing courses that I didn’t previously pass to improve the marks for my GPA. These are courses that I now know I didn’t drop early enough when I should have. I’m not sure whether there is the possibility to late drop these classes I didn’t complete previously to improve my GPA?

Aside from all of the changes I have put in to being successful, my concern if I am required to withdraw now is that my online PSYC degree is being discontinued. If I don’t complete the courses this year, they may not be available to me in the future and I won’t be able to obtain my degree. I have been working with ASO supports to plan my courses. It was my intention to enrol in the following courses prior to the discontinuance of the online psych program. Fall 2024 PSYC 221, 236 & 241
Winter 2025 PSYC 271 & 331.

I clearly cannot change any of the choices I have made academically over the past two years. I can just make the changes to ensure my future success. If given the chance to continue, I will ensure that I pass all of my classes and greatly improve my GPA in order to be successful in my degree at Queen’s University.

Sincerely,

Ashley Hart
20192303