Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Academic) of the Faculty of Arts and Science:

My name is Aderanti Laja. I am a student in the Faculty of Arts and Science, majoring in Applied Economics. I am writing this letter to petition for all of my courses in the Fall term of the 2025/26 Academic Year to be dropped. Specifically, these courses are: STAT 263, ECON 256, ECON 222, and ECON 212. Please note that for ECON 212, I received a grade of C-, which I believe to be in error, because I did not complete the final exam for that course. I am petitioning to have the course dropped (DR), instead of receiving credit standing (CR) on my transcript, because certain upper-year courses in my Plan require a minimum grade in ECON 212, so I intend to retake the course and achieve an evaluative grade.

I’m requesting this action because of unforeseen medical concerns which devastated my ability to complete those courses. Beginning in December of 2025, I started to suffer from recurring episodes of extreme pain throughout my body, which affected my breathing and my ability to walk. During the height of each pain crisis, I was unable to even get myself to a clinic or hospital, and receive proper medication. As a result, I was unable to study effectively, or to attend my final exams in December. This situation continued with varying degrees of severity, until February 2026, at which point I decided to leave school early for the rest of the year, so that I could be properly examined and treated by a doctor. I have had multiple appointments with my doctors, and my health concerns are being addressed presently. I have a chronic health condition which my doctors believe is largely responsible for the sudden pain crises this past winter. I have received a letter from my doctor to support this academic petition, which I have included in this submission.

I have recently discussed my situation with an academic advisor, and begun to formulate a plan for my future studies. I have learned that if a situation like this arises again, it is possible to defer my exams until such a time as I am healthy and ready to continue my studies. As my chronic health condition has never caused me significant issues before, I had not set up any accommodations with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services. I am now working with my healthcare team to register for appropriate academic accommodations for my future at Queen’s University.

It is my hope that my failed courses and low grades, caused by this unpredictable extenuating circumstance, would not be counted against my overall academic performance at this university. I plan to be ready to return to in-person classes this fall, and I have made preparations to mitigate this illness, and ensure that if it arises again, I will be better equipped to manage it while maintaining good academic progress.

Thank you for considering my petition,
Aderanti Laja