Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: July 30th, 2017


Dr. Jill Atkinson,
Associate Dean,
Arts & Science,
Queens University

Dear Dr. Dean,
Request to Appeal BCHM218, Summer 2017

I wish to appeal the published course drop deadline for the May-July 2017 summer term, to drop BCHM218, Molecular Biology, with hopes to replace my final grade in BCHM218 with a ¿DR¿¿ designation on my transcript.

Due to unexpected work demands this summer, I was unable to excel in my coursework in BCHM218. The time required from me far exceeded the agreed-upon hours with my employer and interfered with my ability to study for the three courses I was enrolled in.
I needed to maintain this job, as I am without support from my surviving parent and have and am financing my education entirely by myself.
I believe I am capable of far better results than I have achieved so far in this course. My current grade is an anomaly compared to my third and fourth year grades. This appeal is important to me because I am determined to pursue graduate studies, and the final grade I will receive for BCHM218 will jeopardize my GPA, and may disqualify my applications, given GPA cut-offs.

Because of complex familial circumstances I have been solely responsible for paying for my degree and associated expenses including living, since the beginning of my undergraduate studies in 2013. My father is unable to contribute to my tuition, related academic fees, or the cost of living. My mother died six years ago, when I was 16. I have worked throughout the summers and over the last two academic years to cover basic costs of living, while maintaining good academic standing in a full-time course load. This summer I have been employed full-time to continue to pay for my education and accumulating student debt.
My employers and I initially agreed that I could work not more than 25 hours per week, but this did not happen, as I have often worked more than 35 hours per week, and at times more than 40 hours. Out of fear of losing job and income, I worked excessive hours not initially agreed upon.
I was at the same time enrolled in Advanced Research Methodologies, BMED383, to fulfill the unit requirements of my program. My performance in BMED383 was less affected by these circumstances, due to lower demand for memorization compared to BCHM218 and my grade for BMED383 is on track with my usual grades.
During this summer period, I have also been coping with news of my terminally ill aunt, who is currently experiencing a medical crisis. Given this, I scheduled an emergency trip to my birthplace in the U.S. to visit her. This has been emotionally and financially challenging for me, resulting in exhausting stress, triggering past trauma from previous familial crises involving the loss of my mother, manifesting in sleep loss, anxiety, and bouts of panic, which further diminished my ability to focus on and concretely memorize basic course material, despite committing hours to the course each week.

My plan to achieve academic success next term involves devoting my time to academics only without the commitment of a job, and seeking further support for emotional challenges. In addition to this, I will enroll in a reduced course load including BCHM218 during the fall of 2017 to ensure that I have time and the capacity to succeed in this course.

Please accept this appeal ¿¿ it is vitally important to me. Please feel free to phone (647-648-4918) or email if you wish further information.


Thank you for your consideration of this appeal.



Morgan Koo
10095459