Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom it May Concern:

During the Fall 2016 term I enrolled in ENGL 259 Global Shakespeare as part of my studies at Queen's University as an interest student in English literature. I was interested in completing courses as they relate to my field of work in book publishing and for personal interest. I could not complete the assignments in the course and did not drop the course in time. I am appealing to request that the course be retroactively dropped without academic penalty as I did not contribute past the November 4 deadline due to extenuating circumstances.

The extenuating circumstances I faced were insomnia and a very busy schedule (I work 40 hours each week and commute approximately 10) as well as clinical mood problems and family illness. In November, I made an emergency trip out of the country to be with my paternal grandfather in Iran when he was very ill. This absence, which consumed all of the vacation time I had been allotted, further aggravated my personal circumstances and stresses. As a result, I was unable to complete the course, missing the final assignments and exam.

During this time, I emailed my professor to explain the situation and to ask whether it was best to drop the course. Based on a calculation and and a week-long deadline extension and mostly to avoid the hefty financial penalty of dropping the course, I made the decision to stay in the course. However, this was not a fruitful choice as I did not recover in time to submit the assignments I had missed

I would like to be given the opportunity to retake this course with a clear slate. The resulting grade really doesn't represent my ability to either synthesize or analyze information and it doesn't represent my ability to read. I have gathered some supporting documentation though I would be happy to provide anything else that I can upon request.

Thanks so much for your time.

Regards,
Zhina Jalali