Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Bérnard,
I am appealing to drop Professor John Staple¿¿s course, EMPR 220, Conflict Resolution (Fall, 2016) from my transcript. I feel as though I was unjustly marked on the Case Analysis assignment as I had initially received an A on the assignment and was then deducted 20 of my mark due to the late penalty applied by the professor. This fall semester was incredibly challenging for me as I was returning home to Ajax, Ontario for numerous weekends to visit my family, specifically my grandfather, who was not in the best of health. He was hospitalized on November 1st, which is when I took a leave of absence from school and returned home to be with my family. After a week under life support in the ICU, he passed away peacefully on November 8th.
Before I left Kingston, I managed to contact all of my professors and let them know, via email or in person, of my predicament. Within the same week, I had a major assignment (¿Negotiation Exercise Reflective Paper¿¿) due on November 14th in EMPR 220. After reaching out to Nikita, our TA, she was able to give me an extension until November 16th, which was the day we were to have a funeral (as per the customs of his religion) for my grandfather. I let Nikita know of my overlapping commitments, and she was able to extend my extension until November 18th. I had completely underestimated the impact of my grandfather¿¿s passing, and was not able to concentrate or focus on any assignment I had due that week. I chose to not complete the assignment as I was too overwhelmed by my bereaving, and took a 0 on the assignment. I stayed home with my family for another week and returned back to Kingston in the week of November 27th.
While I was home with my family, I stayed in constant communication with my other professors and TAs, who advised me to move at my own pace and hand things in as I found myself capable of. I was slowly catching up with all of the work I missed, and had to prioritize what I could and should submit first, and what deadlines I could be more lenient with. The next assignment due for EMPR 220 was a Case Analysis due December 2nd. As I had a group presentation on the same day in a different class, I chose to hand in my Case Analysis late on December 7th. I emailed our TA Nikita to let her know of my circumstance, and she reached out to Professor Staple who chose to apply a 20 penalty, which took my initial mark on the assignment of a B (73-76) down to a D (53-56). If it were not for this assignment, and the late penalty applied, I feel as though I would have been able to pass the course fully. I had also reached out to our professor before the final exam with a lengthy email explaining my circumstance in hopes that he would be a little more lenient with grading, however, he replied back with a short email wishing me luck on the final exam.
Overall, I am upset with my grade in this class as I was able to get A¿¿s and B¿¿s in my four other classes from Fall semester due to the understanding and graciousness of my professors. After the difficult months I had coping with my grandfather¿¿s passing, I am really hoping to drop EMPR 220 from my transcript as it serves as a reminder of the semester I endured. I also do not believe my grade in the course is representative of my ability as a student as I hold myself to much higher standards, and am not used to failing a course. I really hope I can drop this course from my transcript as my extenuating circumstance of having my grandfather pass made it difficult for me to complete all the course material on time.