Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,

I am appealing to waive the petition deadline for my request to have all my grades from Fall 2014 to Winter 2017 changed to credit or aegrotat standing. I have submitted appeals both in 2016 and 2019 to change my grades to credit standing. Some of my requests in the past have been granted, and other courses were denied due to being C+ or higher. In your 2019 Appeal Decision Letter to me, you stated “Edward, let me assure you that a grade of C+ is considered a good grade. In the future, you can certainly explain that there were extenuating circumstances during this year that led to those grades and that that they are not indicative of your abilities if you believe these grades are impeding your progress.” I am writing today because I do not have the ability to explain these grades for my purposes, and I would request again that I be allowed to appeal them to be changed to credit standing.

I am a Queen’s alumni from the class of 2018. I graduated in 2019 with a BAH in English Language & Literature. I was on medical leave from my studies in the 2017-2018 academic year due to severe extenuating circumstances. I am a recovered alcoholic who was active in my addiction for the first three years of my undergraduate studies. My addiction caused me severe cognitive impairment. I was often unable to leave my home or attend classes. I engaged in self-harming and suicidal behaviour regularly. I had a physical dependence on alcohol that caused withdrawal symptoms when I stopped drinking. In winter 2017, while a student at Queen’s, I attempted suicide in my home. The severity of my mental illness at the time made me diagnostically incapable of engaging with my life or my academics as I otherwise would. Please see the attached documentation from my family physician to support these claims.
In the summer of 2017, I was lucky enough to be supported in making a drastic change in my life. I attended a two-month residential treatment program in British Columbia and returned to my father’s home in Toronto to engage in an outpatient therapy program while attending 12-step meetings. I have been sober since August 31st, 2017. After one year of sobriety, and engaging in treatment resources, I returned to complete my degree in the 2018-2019 academic year.
Since that time, I have gone on to complete my Master of Social Work degree at the University of Toronto. My cumulative graduate GPA is 3.97. I work in private practice as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist at the same outpatient therapy program I attended in my first year of sobriety. I have fallen in love with working in healthcare and helping individuals who are in the same position that I once was.
After gaining clinical experience, I am now beginning to prepare my application for medical school to become a psychiatrist. I believe that I can do more to help those I serve, and my personal and professional achievements have proven that I am capable of this. You once told me that a C+ is considered a good grade. Unfortunately, for the purposes of applying to med school, the grades that were denied appeal in the past are not good enough and will prevent me from having a competitive GPA. If I completed a second 4-year undergraduate degree with a 4.0 GPA while working full-time, I would still only have a 3.39, which is not high enough to receive an interview invitation from most or all Canadian medical schools. Many schools would electronically eliminate me before viewing my application.
I believe that the grades I have in my first 3 years of school at Queen’s are substantially lower than might have been expected. My graduate GPA gives a more accurate picture of my academic ability. Changing these grades to credit standing would allow me an opportunity for a second chance, and the ability to achieve my dream.
If this appeal is granted, and subsequent appeals for my grades are allowed, I plan to complete two more years of undergraduate studies while working full-time as a psychotherapist, study for and take the MCAT, and apply to medical school.

I have been told by the Academic Petitions Team that my petition requesting to waive the petition deadline for these courses will be considered after graduation in the case of an undiagnosed (at the time) disability. This is information that I was not given at the time of my previous appeals, which is why I am submitting this petition now. I am also looking to have these grades changed due to my recently established goal of attending medical school. At the time of my last appeal, I was told that I could not appeal grades of C+ or above. I would humbly ask that you reconsider this, and allow me to waive the deadline so that I may appeal the other courses from the 2015 Winter, 2016 Winter, 2016 Fall, and 2017 Winter semesters.
The supporting documentation from my physician speaks to the academic impacts of my substance use disorder (defined as a disability by the Canadian Human Rights Act), which also led to my inability to engage with the appeals process at the time. The changes in my academic performance are directly observable in the grades I achieved following my diagnosis and treatment.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I greatly appreciate the ability to tell my story to you and I hope you will consider this petition in the interest of offering me a second chance at a career which will allow me to empathetically support others like me.

Sincerely,

Edward Boyle
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