Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Friday, June 6th, 2014.
Dear Dr. Benard,

I am writing to appeal for a ¿¿NG¿ status of my grades from 2007 to 2012 at Queen¿¿s University. I had been seeing counselors at health counseling and disability services since first year, but it was never addressed that my mental health issues stemmed further, and as such my grades continued to remain inadequate. In 2012, I sought out the RARC to find out why my grades were still poor, and was told that I had a high level of intellectual capacity, and that I should be performing well in any discipline I was studying. The RARC had relayed to me that the issue with my academic progress was a psychological one. After this information was given to me, I sought referral to see psychiatrist Dr. Kenny in 2012. By viewing the grades on my transcript from 2012 onwards, there is a clear difference in academic progress from this point onwards. I have spent the last five years taking courses just to improve my G.P.A. When taking a look at my transcript, you will see that my earlier years at Queen¿¿s include many 0¿¿s and 30 grades due to the psychological family circumstances I had experienced in those years, and my inability to understand how to cope and get pass them. I had excellent grades in high school and was accepted into the Honours Science program at Queen¿¿s. In September of my first year, my father had a heart attack right before I began school. This is outlined in the appeal I had written in 2007 concerning my grades. My marks were not low due to lack of intelligence, but due to my mental states at the time. I had not submitted work, and was going through depression, which was all outlined in my first appeal letter in 2007. What I had not known these past five years was that those grades could be appealed to an ¿¿NG¿ status. Instead I have spent all these years, trying to get high grades, to even out those years where my GPA was far less than even 1.0 due to the lack of work submission and circumstances I was enduring at the time. By reviewing my transcript over the years, you will see large and significant differences in my G.P.A. each semester, yet my cumulative G.P.A. does not accurately show my progress and academic level due to those earlier years of grades. I had been taking courses to boost my G.P.A. due to our G.P.A.¿¿s being cumulative including those grades from first year. Had I known that an appeal was a measure I could have taken, I likely wouldn¿¿t have gone on the route I have in simply taking courses that would increase my G.P.A (which include several electives). This has been an added stressor among other aspects in my life over the years. I am now twenty-five, and am going into my eighth year at Queen¿¿s. My family situation is still in a very detrimental state. Despite this, I have taken measures, accountability, and responsibility into my own hands over the years. I went to the RARC to see why my grades were poor in earlier years, thinking that perhaps it was a matter of intellectual capacity. My result showed the highest brackets in percentiles for most of the activities, and those who had assessed me relayed that based on my intelligence results, I should be getting A¿¿s in any academic discipline, which led me to addressing them at a psychological as aforementioned. I sought aid through a psychiatrist at Queen¿¿s University, and have consistently been taking measures to cope with many of the psychological difficulties I have been going through. I have become assertive, diligent, and disciplined. I have not missed any appointments, and am doing everything in my power to perform at the best of my abilities. My G.P.A. in recent years demonstrates this progress. If you need any further information, kindly let me know. Thank you for your time, and consideration.

Warm Regards,
Trina Skanthavarathan
Student No.: 0574 8248
(613) 583 - 8049