Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Arts and Science,

My name is Allison Jacobi-Dorbeck and I am currently a fourth-year student in the faculty of Arts and Science. I am a Psychology (BscH) major, with a minor in Life Sciences. At the current time, I am appealing to request credit (CR) standing in two of the courses that I have completed in the Fall 2016 semester. The courses that I request to do so are CHEM281 (General Organic Chemistry) and PHGY350 (Pathophysiology); for both of which I received a letter grade of D. I believe that the very low grades obtained in these courses are directly attributable to an illness that I had during the December exam period, which placed me at a disadvantage in terms of academic performance abilities.
On December 8, 2016, I originally visited with a physician at Queen's Health Services regarding an array of adverse physical symptoms that were greatly concerning me. During this visit, the physician was unable to make a conclusive diagnosis given a collection of nonspecific symptoms. She was able to, however, provide me with medication that would be able to treat two separate conditions that she believed could be linked to the symptoms that I was experiencing. I was informed that it could take a few days of consistently taking the medication before I would feel a significant reduction in any symptoms. On December 12, 2016, I had my second visit with a physician at Queen's Health Services explaining the circumstances and was deemed completely incapacitated as regards to functioning at an academic level from December 7/16, to December 12/16, as stated on a Verification of Illness form. The physician also recorded that the expected date of recovery was to be reassessed, given the unpredictable nature of my symptoms combined with an inconclusive diagnosis. Given a lack of improvement in my physical condition before the date of my first scheduled exam, I was able to defer my exam from December 10, 2016 to December 15, 2016. This meant that the dates of my four final exams ended up being scheduled within four days of each other, where I would write on the dates of December 14, 15, 16, and 17.
During the time that I was ill, my physical state most definitely had a direct impact on my ability to efficiently study and prepare for my final exams, which in turn had a negative impact on my overall exam performance. The physical symptoms that I was experiencing during this time left me unable to maintain the healthy sleep cycle and appetite that is required to fuel the brain during a demanding time such as the final exam period. I was diligent in taking the steps needed in order to recover from illness, including being consistent with medication regimens as directed by my physician. Unfortunately, I believe that I may have pushed my body beyond its limits as I was determined to complete my exams to the best of my ability and then rest afterwards. The described extenuating circumstances have resulted in uncharacteristically low exam scores despite any study efforts that I had made; not to mention, the effort and dedication placed toward coursework throughout the duration of the semester.
Moving forward, I have plans to apply for graduate studies upon completion my undergraduate degree in April of 2017. I am optimistic about these opportunities, and plan to continue dedicating my utmost effort toward the remainder of my coursework in my final undergraduate semester. It is my sincerest hope that these two low grades during the December 2016 exam period do not impede on the opportunity for me to progress further toward my academic goals. During my final undergraduate semester, I intend to remain an active member of the Queen's community both academically and socially, while also placing my physical health and well-being as a top priority.

I thank you kindly for your time and consideration.