Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear the Office of the Associate Dean for Life Sciences

I am appealing to waive the course drop deadline for MICR 451 on the academic grounds of realizing that I lacked the sufficient pre-requisite molecular concepts needed for MICR 451 only on March 7th, 4 days after the course drop deadline March 3rd. This appeal is for a review of the academic decision to prohibit dropping the course after March 3rd due to a delay in concluding that dropping the course would be the best course of action for me. I am asking for forgiveness for my own stubbornness and underestimating my ability for being able to keep with course material without gauging my own knowledge level 4 days after the drop deadline.
Addressed below are the 2 academic and 2 family circumstances, which caused my delay in deciding that MICR 451 would not provide the academic learning that I hoped to get out of my time at Queen's University.

The main reason the decision to drop the course was late is the first feedback on overall course content was only given in class on March 7th. I could not get accurate predictions of course understanding until after receiving test marks back. The 30 MICR 451 midterm was on Thursday March 2nd from 6:30-8:30 pm. MICR 451 has only 4 assessments in total; 2 assignments, 1 midterm, and 1 final. The 2 assignments are essay answers which are only 2 pages maximum. Until I got the midterm mark back I did not believe that I was lacking compared to the other students. On the first assignment due on January 20th I had gotten a low 70 and the second assignment due on January 31st a 55. Professor Leptis told me that the reason she marked me lower was because my answer was unclear. Although, verbally I could give the right answer. At the start of February I believed that I still had potential to stay in the course.

Furthermore, I willingly chose to stay in Kingston over reading week to study for MICR 451. Her uploaded supplementary exam description lacked clarity and is attached. For the test I had written in an answer for all questions and had believed that my answers were legitimate. After the test, I followed up with my classmate, Monica Morson, for both of us to conclude that my answers were worth some part marks. We were only given a rough time estimate to when she would complete marking the midterm test. Unlike other courses, Professor Leptis does not upload the marks online. Assignments and tests are only assessed by going to her directly to look at the physical paper since she keeps the assignments or tests after we look at them. Receiving my midterm marks in class was the very first reality check to my lack of competence that I was unable to get sooner.
Professor Leptis endorses my appeal as is shown in the emails attached. Her teaching style made it uncomfortable for me to seek help from her. Professor Leptis is an intimidating professor. From the first day she bluntly told us I won't even try to remember your names. The Academic Advisor I met on March 9th to discuss my appeal told me that I am the third person to seek a consultation on dropping MICR 451 which shows that I am not alone in feeling discomfort in class. Indeed, the final exam scheduling leaves mark recovery very unlikely. The NSCI 444 final is 2 days before the MICR 451 final. There is no MICR 451 tutors available on the Arts and Science page. Individual 1:1 tutoring basic concepts will not likely be found in time.

The second academic reason is that I underestimated how greatly my scientific background knowledge lacked in comparison to the rest of the students. I am a Life Sciences major student with a minor in Religious Studies. The pre-requisites BIOL 205 and BIOL 334 did not adequately prepare me in comparison to Life Science Specialization students who had the other Biochemistry pre-requisites. In 3rd year the science courses I took were ANAT 312 functional neuroanatomy, which composed to labelling specimens and BIOL 334 Comparative Biochemistry, which looked at mainly plant adaptations on metabolism of energy. BIOL 334 did not provide information on topics covered in intro biochemistry which is mandatory for Life Science Specialization students and necessary for recognizing amino sequences as is one of the focuses for MICR 451. Select excerpts from the BIOL 334 and MICR 451 notes are attached to demonstrate the difference in what previous studies the student is expected to be able to build on to. Thus, I have not taken any of the other pre-requisites for MICR 451; MBIO 218 or BCHM 310 or BCHM 315 of which BCHEM 218 is a pre-requisite. Recently by a senior staff I was told that Professor Leptis will bring up changing the course pre-requisites on Friday March 10th at the department meeting because she realized that the MICR 451 content requires more biochemical 300 level foundations. Why is she changing the pre-requisites now after the drop deadline of March 3rd Hence, Dr. Kawaja, Associate Dean Life Sciences endorses my appeal. This appeal is submitted on the morning of March 10th, after his letter of endorsement was sent to me at 7 am March 10th, attached.

My ethical worldview on the proper respect demanded of me towards an academic course and its instructor is based off of my Japanese family's Confucian understanding. My value system prohibits me from making rash decisions like dropping a course without sufficient reasons. This upbringing teaches that it is rude to both the instructor and me to give up on a course before getting feedback. A professor has a greater social status than I do as a student and it is only socially right for me to wait on her response after handing something in. For me, continuing on in MICR 451 is punishment for my professor and fellow students. I would be wasting their time unfairly. Different from western values, there is more of a stigma associated with dropping a course too soon. My cultural value system has ingrained that lacking physical feedback to how academically prepared I was to take a course is equal with giving up on my own potential too early and is thus shameful. This appeal includes a claim for religious/ cultural accommodation as Professor Ascough for RELS 368 could potentially attest to.

Fourth, my father was diagnosed with cancer and had prostate surgery on January 24th 2017. Attached are his medical notes. The reason why my competency in MICR 451 was compromised in comparison to my other courses is because this course specifically deals with cancer. Hearing words such as human cancer, tumour, and malignant would trigger thoughts about my father's condition impairing my ability to concentrate and effectively study in the course. Although I volunteered with KGH at the Burr Cancer wing, my father's diagnosis has caused me not show up to of the scheduled shifts in February and my shift for this week. My family is very close and since first year I have called them every 2 days for upwards to an hour at a time. I would find that I worried about my father the most when being reminded of cancer in the MICR 451 course.
My future plans include delaying my graduation. I am prepared to graduate in Fall 2017 instead of this winter by my decision to drop MICR 451. I have already made plans to meet with the Life Sciences Office to look at different 300 level courses that fit with my academic requirements and are more suited to my academic background. I propose to devote my attention and energy to succeeding in NSCI 444 Controversies in Neuroscience rather than sit though the final exam of MICR 451 and jeopardize my marks in my other classes.

My fault lies in taking 4 days longer than my fellow students to decide whether I was adequately prepared to complete a course. Hopefully you understand my circumstances and approve of my appeal.
Sincerely

Ellie Wakabayashi