Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Appeal Letter

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Oliver Lanz and I am in Fourth year majoring in History after switching out of Economics last year. When I made the switch I discussed the plan I would take with the previous History Undergraduate Chair where we both agreed that I would need to take a Fifth year. Currently I am still on the same plan, however due to health problems that have arisen and become more severe to my Father I would like to move in with him in Vancouver to take care of him while also finishing my degree. Although it's not necessary to go into details about extenuating circumstances in these letters, I would like to share it so you can better understand why I'm asking for a letter of permission for my Fifth year. My father will be turning 80 years old in my Fifth year and has many health problems that are getting a lot worse. He owns his own company and still works 10 hours every day (weekends included) to keep it alive and pay for mine and my sibling's tuition, at the expense of his health. This stress has resulted in dangerous increases in blood pressure and weight gain, along with other serious problems. Honestly staying here until May already scares me a lot because I don't want anything to happen to him. It is for these reasons that I hope that you will be able to grant me a Letter of Permission for both semesters in my Fifth and final year to attend UBC.
I have already spoken with the History Undergraduate Chair, Professor D'Elia, along with Jeff McNairn who deals with Letters of Permission in the History Department, and they have both assured me that from their point of view I should be able to take all the necessary requirements at UBC. The only courses I will need to take at UBC in order to meet my requirements to graduate are 2 Full Year Upper Year Seminars. I have talked with the History Office at UBC numerous times and they have also assured me that they offer Seminars that meet the definition/criteria outlined by the Queens History Department.
I really enjoy my time at Queen's and wish that I could spend my Fifth Year here taking the course I need to graduate. However as I mentioned before, with these circumstances I would feel more comfortable being at home taking care of my Dad during this time. Thank you for your consideration and I sincerely hope that you grant me my request to complete my Fifth Year at UBC starting in September 2016.

Thank you for your understanding,

Oliver Lanz