Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies):

RE: Appeal to add a course past the academic deadline

I am appealing to add PSYC 370, Brain and Behaviour II, to my winter 2017 semester. The class number is 5292. There is open space available in this class, and the class lecture times fit into my course schedule. Additionally, I have spoken with and received permission to enroll in this course from both the course instructor, Dr. Janet Menard, and the undergraduate chair, Dr. Jill Atkinson. Additionally, we have agreed upon a plan to make up for the missed material and assessments.

The reason for this appeal falls under the category of 'unusual academic event'. I was enrolled in MATH 339, Evolutionary Game Theory, but have recently dropped the course. This is because the structure and content of this course had changed drastically this year. The professor acknowledged that the course content no longer falls under the field of evolutionary game theory. Additionally, he admitted that since he is leaving Queen's University next year the course content has been altered to reflect his interests. I believe that the prerequisite of MATH 121, Differential and Integral Calculus, no longer provides sufficient background material to be successful in this course. Unfortunately, I did not realize this until late in the semester as very little substance was covered up until this point.

Dropping MATH 339 is not the only reason for my appeal to add PSYC 370 to my semester. I have taken summer courses, and I do not require the extra credits to graduate with my Life Sciences degree. I plan on applying to medical school this year, and most schools have a policy that applicants need to maintain a full course load throughout their undergraduate degree. Additionally, some medical schools require that students take at least three 300 or 400 level courses per semester during their third and fourth years. My worry is that if I cannot add an additional 300 level course to my semester it will negatively impact my chances of being accepted into medical school, a goal that I have been working hard towards for a large portion of my life.

Thank you for your consideration,

Dylan Patterson 10135026