Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I’m writing to formally request a Credit (CR) designation for my final grade in MATH 126 (Calculus II) from the 2024–2025 academic year. While I acknowledge that I faced personal challenges during the Fall term, an additional reason as to why I am requesting this CR is due to the substantial changes made to the course during the Winter semester as a result of the TA strike. These changes drastically altered my ability to recover my academic performance from the fall term.

During the Fall, I was dealing with serious personal challenges that made it difficult to be present in class and stay on top of the material. I missed more classes than I should have, and I completely own that.These mental health challenges resulted in me travelling to toronto many times throughout the fall, and in turn I fell short of academic focus.
At the same time, I gradually realized my priorities and recovered from my personal circumstances, and I was determined to turn things around in the Winter term. I saw that as my chance to salvage the year, especially in a course like MATH 126, where I knew consistent engagement was key.

However, the TA strikes in the second semester brought significant changes to the course syllabus that severely impacted my opportunity to recover:

- The midterm exam was cancelled and removed from the grading scheme.
- The overall grade weighting structure was changed, altering the balance of how assessments integrated to the final mark. This made it harder to plan and strategize where to focus my priorities during the strike.
- Assignments 5 to 8 were originally listed as Winter assessments, which I was relying heavily on to build back my average. However, following the strike, only Assignments 5 and 6 were counted toward the final grade.
- Assignment 5, which I submitted late, received an automatic zero. I take full accountability for that, but I had expected Assignments 7 and 8 to help balance it out, which would normally have been executed if they weren't cancelled. With those later assignments removed from grading, the single late submission disproportionately affected my final mark.
- The final exam format was changed to multiple choice only, which meant I could no longer earn partial credit marks for showing work. This severely limited my ability to demonstrate even partial understanding and further hindered my performance and efforts in preparations for the exam.

I had gone into the Winter term fully committed to turning things around. The changes described above removed a marginal amount of opportunities I had to do that. I recognize that accommodations were put in place to simplify grading during the strike, in my case, these changes took away key components I had been counting on to stabilize my grade. While my professor kindly removed the late penalty for Assignment 5, bringing my grade to a 60, I still feel that the course , due to the said changes, and my personal issues from the fall semester that completely set me back, doesn’t reflect what I’m actually capable of. I spoke to Professor Taylor directly, and he expressed that although he doesn’t usually support CR requests, he understands my personal situation and is willing to support this petition.

Since then, I’ve taken serious steps toward academic recovery. As for my personal circumstances, I have consulted my healthcare professional, and I am actively utilizing resources to keep my academics succeeding rather than in strain from personal issues. Additionally, I’m currently enrolled in three summer courses, including a retake of WRIT 125, where I previously earned a C, as the first step in improving my academic trajectory. I’ve also formed a one-on-one tutoring relationship with a company that supports Queen’s students, and I’ve already found that kind of individualized support is exactly what I needed to stay engaged and accountable.

Looking ahead, I plan to retake ECON 222 in the Fall, and I’ve made it a top priority to be more connected with my professors and consistently present in class. My personal circumstances have improved, and I’ve learned through this experience just how much structure and engagement matter for my success in the future.

I know I’ve had a tough year, and I’m not asking for the CR to avoid consequences. I'm requesting it because I believe I’ve shown and will continue to show that I’m committed to turning things around. A CR in this course would give me the chance to continue that recovery without the weight of one disrupted course continuing to affect my GPA and academic goals.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider this request. Please let me know if any additional information or documentation would be helpful.

Sincerely,
Laila Maharaj