Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am requesting a formal petition to review my tutorial grade in POLS 230 winter semester of 2026. I received a failing grade of 45% for a tutorial mark worth 12% of my final grade. It has brought my grade down to C+ which has also impacted my gpa. I have attended 80% of tutorials and have participated at least once in each tutorial. I understand participation is a large portion of the mark, but speaking at least once every class and participating in important activities such as debates which are required should count. I believe that not speaking as much as other students does not mean I deserved an F. Grades below 50% are considered a fail because of significant absences and disengagement. I would argue that attending regularly and participating regularly should result in at least a passing grade. I know that I have contributed to conversations in tutorial and raised my hand at least once every class. I have worked incredibly hard in this class and have attended 80% of all lectures. This grade severely impacts my academic standing and I believe that if I have attended 80% of my tutorial classes and participated in most of them, that a fail is not justified. I am appealing because I enjoyed this class and put a lot of effort into the course work which included attending lectures and tutorials. My professor has acknowledged my attendance and has said the reasoning was not “typically participating” which is subjective and not entirely true, but still shouldn’t result in a fail.