Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associates Dean,
I am appealing to drop ENGL 100 (Fall 2016/Winter 2017). During the first semester of this course, I failed to submit two assignments, resulting in my current grade suffering and nowhere near the passing minimum. The reasoning behind my neglect towards this course, was due to first semester being one of the hardest times in my personal life. Family problems began to occur back home, concerning my parents¿¿ marital status and the financial aspect of our family. My parents were constantly fighting and on the verge of divorce, this affected me first hand as I would communicate back home with my 3 younger sisters every day in tears. This became a psychological challenge as I was unable to focus in school and eventually became overwhelmingly consumed with sadness and anxiety. I went back home many times halfway throughout the week and weekends to be home with my younger sisters, I stopped going to classes, handing in assignments, studying and neglected my academic responsibilities by staying at home for days on end, which became routine for months as I sought comfort in being alone, away from people. Additionally, my parents put our home in Burlington up for sale, as I was told that money was becoming a problem, and essentially my parents were struggling to afford to make ends meet. I have never experienced such emotional toil before, and cannot put into words, the self-neglect that I was faced with. It was during the Christmas break, that I went home and spoke with an older family friend, that I could confide in for the first time about the struggles I was going through and my neglect towards school. Soon thereafter, I finally spoke to my parents in regards to the emotional distress I was put under due to the family problems that were occurring and how that affected my mental and physical well-being. I came to my senses and returned to second semester with a new mindset and desire to pick up from where I had left off and work towards repairing the academic shortcoming that I had put myself in. In fact, I consulted with my ENGL 100 professor in regards to any possible extra credit assignments I could complete to make up for lost marks, however due to policy he was unable to provide me with additional work but instead, suggested and supported and academic course drop appeal. Additionally, I met with an academic advisor to guide me in the right direction and come up with a plan. I am currently enrolled to take ENGL 100 online for the summer term and have learned greatly about the importance of differentiating personal life with academic performance, and for future reference will prioritize completing academic responsibilities first hand and seeking proper resources and personal support much sooner.