Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Sue Blake, Associate Dean (Studies) of the Arts and Science faculty,

My name is Husam Al-Rammahy (Student ID: 10189807) and I am appealing for a credit standing for the course PHGY 214 taken in the academic year of 2016 -2017. I am appealing under the category of extenuating circumstances, which are complex and familial in nature. Put simply, two days prior to the PHGY 214 final examination (20 April 2017) I was informed through phone call of a sensitive and upsetting news that pertains to various members of my immediate family. Without getting into too much detail, this piece of information has caused much distress and occupied much of my time before the PHGY 214 exam. I had spent much of that time trying to communicate with my family members to attempt to resolve and understand the situation, since a possible consequence of it would have been to abandon my studies at Queen¿¿s University. As such I truly believe my performance on the final examination is not representative of the work I have been trying to put in to this course, but a reflection of how the event had affected me. I also believe that this unfortunate turn of events has negatively impacted one of the most heavily weighted evaluations in the course, leading to my lowest mark earned since my enrollment at Queen¿¿s University. One day after the exam (23 April 2017), I got into contact with various members of my family and a plan to resolve this issue was put into place, however it was too late as it unfortunately coincided with a very sensitive time in my studies. Considering the issue was more of a family emergency and less of a chronic psychological issue, a personal counselor was not contacted at the time and thus no documentation was recorded. However considering the circumstances a letter from my parents discussing the incident and it¿¿s sensitive nature will be submitted alongside this letter and if needed (and/or requested) a counselor may be seen for further verification in the future. Going forward, should my appeal be approved, a course of action has been put in place by my family members to resolve this domestic issue. This plan does not and should not further affect any of my academic ventures in the future. Academically speaking, despite only the final exam being affected, I would take further physiology courses such as PHGY 350 to help further solidify any gaps in my knowledge of the subject due to this event. To conclude, I ask you to please consider the weight this issue put on my shoulders at a very delicate and very unfortunate time, which is reflective in my performance on my final examination. While not fully resolved, there is a course of action to prevent this issue from affecting my course work in the future. I would like to thank you for your time and consideration.

Kindest Regards,

Husam Al-Rammahy