Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I am appealing the Faculty¿¿s decision that I must withdraw from Queen¿¿s for a minimum of three years. My first year at Queen¿¿s, 2011-2012, was a tough academic year for me where I ended up failing all of my courses and therefore I was required to withdraw for one year. There were several factors that lead to this but not a single one did I feel was extenuating enough for me to appeal that decision. I knew I was also at fault and so I decided that a year off would help me reflect about my academic career and give me time to regain the motivation I have for my education.
Motivated and grateful to be back at Queen¿¿s this past year, 2013-2014, I came in with a fresh mind, a new perspective, and most importantly, an academic plan. During my year off I realized my mistakes and where I needed to improve. I found out my interests and set my priorities straight. During my first year, I didn¿¿t know my interests or had the slightest idea of what I wanted to major in. During my year off, I did my research and delved into the areas of study I would consider once I returned. Now during this year, I took the courses I was interested in and positive I wanted to continue with ¿¿ these were Sociology and Psychology. I worked hard in them and I was determined to major in one of them. On one hand, I knew the smartest thing to do would have been to take the same courses I did my first year and that would ensure my GPA ends up above 1.60 since I already went through the material once and because those fails on my transcript would be changed to the new grade I would receive. But on the other hand, I also knew this wouldn¿¿t completely benefit my academic plan since I knew I didn¿¿t want to major in any of those courses so instead I would take the new courses that I am interested in and know I want to major in; except this meant it would be much more difficult to reach that 1.60 since the courses I failed would remain there at the time my GPA would be assessed. I felt it was more important to take new courses so that I could finally choose a major and progress into second year. This was also especially the right decision after I spoke to an academic counsellor this past fall, Spring Forsberg, who helped me decide that since I have my failed grades that I will at some point during the years retake so that they can be replaced with passing grades, then I should start with new courses this year in order to choose a major. Unfortunately with the new courses I took, I fell short of that 1.60 cumulative GPA but this is only because I have those failed grades weighing me down tremendously. I have already started retaking a couple of my failed courses during this summer term; I am enrolled in two 6.0 courses, DEVS 100 and RELS 131. So I am positive that by the end of this term having passed these courses and getting two of my failed courses changed, my cumulative GPA will definitely be above 1.60. I didn¿¿t want to waste any time in correcting my mistakes and setting myself on the right track. I am working very hard to succeed and continue my education into this fall.