Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

Thank you for your time and consideration.

I took the course ASTR 101 during my first semester at Queens in Fall 2023. There were three tests throughout the course, as well as a final. The last test was about a month and a bit before the final was scheduled to take place. A couple of weeks before the final, I had finally received my grade for the second test, which the professor had called “the midterm.” I didn’t do well on it, and I was worried about my final grade with test three still not being graded and the final approaching. I emailed my professor asking if it was possible for me to complete any additional assignments to make up for lost marks and boost my grade in the course, but he never responded. A few weeks later, I took the final, and I had still not received my grade for test three. After the winter break and the grades due deadline, I had still not received any marks for test three or the final, so I emailed the professor, and again, there was no response. I later checked SOLUS, and it showed that my final mark was an F.

I am petitioning that the deadline be waived due to extenuating circumstances. The course ended in December 2023, and the final grade was posted in SOLUS in January 2024. As I mentioned, 2023 was my first semester and year at Queens, and I was not aware until my second year (September 2024) that I could appeal courses, as I had inquired with an academic advisor about it while discussing courses I needed to take for my program. They did not inform me of a deadline for it, though. However, during my 2024 fall semester in September, my best friend, Coral Burke, found out her grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer, and his prognosis wasn’t good. This obviously affected her significantly as she was very close with him. When she told me about the situation, I was obviously worried for her and made sure to be there for her and her family as much as possible. In October 2024, her grandfather passed away due to his illness, which took a significant toll on the family. A few weeks later, Coral and her family found out they were losing the house they had lived in for many years because their landlord was selling it. This also affected her because there was a lot of sentimental value and cherished memories in that house, and between losing her grandfather and finding out that they would be losing the house in such close proximity, it took a massive toll on her. So, I did my best to ensure I was there for her and her family even more than before, trying to help out as much as I could. It was a very challenging time that lasted quite a few months, and between that, keeping up with my academics, and working, it was hard for me to keep up with deadlines, and I didn’t have time to submit an appeal until the beginning of the winter semester (2025) where I submitted an appeal in February which was denied and it was in that message that I learnt about the one year deadline.
After receiving that email, I got discouraged from attempting to pursue this matter further because of everything I had going on. It wasn’t until now that I had some time to sit down and review everything in depth, and I found out that I can petition for the deadline to be waived.
So, I ask that you please take all this into consideration. I am planning to take the LSAT this September and apply to Law School for next fall and having this course on my transcript could make all the difference in me getting accepted and I would hate to have a course I took in first year when I was new to university that isn’t a part of my program weigh me down.

Respectfully,




Sorcha Del Corpo-Salmon
Student Number: 20387737
Email: 22BJRS@queensu.ca

Coral Burke’s Contact information:
Phone: (613) 200-2155
Email: coraburke21@gmail.com