Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Members of the Petition Committee,

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I am writing to respectfully request an exception to the withdrawal deadline for two courses, EMPR210 and EMPR260. Due to a combination of extenuating personal and academic circumstances, I could not make an informed decision regarding these courses before the withdrawal deadline. I hope you'll take these circumstances into account.

In addition to my academic workload, I have been working a job to support my education and financial responsibilities, which resulted in a workload I couldn’t realistically keep up with. These commitments left me with little capacity to evaluate my academic performance, weigh the consequences of continuing or withdrawing from courses, and act within the official deadlines. Additionally, the uncertainty caused by the recent strike and the resulting changes to course weightings, evaluations, and overall course structure further complicated this process, creating confusion and uncertainty about how the winter semester would proceed and conclude. This made it extremely difficult to determine the best course of action to support my academic progress.

Recognizing how my commitments and responsibilities impacted my education, I would like to assure you that I have taken steps to ensure that this issue will not affect my academic performance moving forward. I have put myself in the position to leave my job at the end of May and have terminated my external education responsibilities so I can fully dedicate myself to this upcoming summer term and my studies at Queen’s for the remainder of my time here. In addition, I have reconnected with a counsellor, one whom I've used during my time in high school to help get me back on the right track, as I believe there is also room for self-improvement as well. Lastly, with the support of my academic counsellor, I have begun engaging with Queen’s academic resources to better navigate program-specific challenges and stay on track.

I greatly appreciate your understanding and consideration of these circumstances. I am fully committed to my academic success and have taken steps to ensure that I can manage my workload more effectively in the future.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.