Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am requesting a backdated drop for my Spanish course because of a serious personal circumstance that was completely beyond my control. My brother passed away in October, and this loss had a direct and ongoing impact on my ability to continue my academic work.

The events began during Reading Week, and I was away from campus for about two weeks handling the situation with my family. During this period, I could not study, attend to course content, or maintain a regular academic routine. The emotional and cognitive effects continued after I returned to campus. I struggled with concentration, short-term memory, and the ability to absorb new material, which is essential in a language course.

These difficulties affected specific tasks in Spanish, including weekly assignments, vocabulary work, grammar practice, and preparation for quizzes. I was not able to keep up with new content or retain earlier lessons, which made ongoing participation in the course unrealistic.

I sought support by meeting with the Associate Director of Student Care. I also completed the extenuating circumstances form to extend my academic consideration until the end of the term. I followed up with all of my other instructors as well, but I could not recover in this course because language learning requires continuous focus and consistent practice—something I was not able to maintain after October.

Because the circumstances were unexpected, prolonged, and directly affected my performance in Spanish, I am requesting that the course be dropped as of the original deadline.

Thank you for considering this request.