Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,

I am appealing to drop CHEM 281 (Fall, 2017) because I failed the midterm shortly after two of my grandparents died and due to these extenuating circumstances, I am now failing the course.

Two of my grandparents passed within three weeks prior to my second CHEM 281 midterm. My Grandfather on my Father's side, Maurice Taylor, passed away on Thursday, October 19th, 2017, and my Grandmother on my Mother's side, Mary Dyment, passed away nine days later, on Saturday, October 28th, 2017. The CHEM 281 midterm 2 took place on Friday, November 10, and was worth 25 percent of my overall grade. Due to the passing of two of my grandparents so close together, I did not have the focus I needed to properly prepare for this midterm and this evaluation alone has now left me with a failing grade in the course. In the three weeks leading up to my CHEM 281 midterm 2, from October 19th to November 9th, I travelled to Toronto on three occasions and spent a cumulative seven days in Toronto to support, and be supported by, my family in this difficult time of losing two very important members of our family. Two of these trips to Toronto were to attend and speak at each of my grandparent's funerals. The timing of their passing's was entangled with my midterms. After my Grandfather's passing, I spent four days in Toronto to be with my family, returned to Kingston to write a midterm (BIOL 205) and a lab exam (BIOL 201) on Tuesday October 24th, returned home to attend and speak at my Grandfathers funeral on Wednesday, October 25th, and then returned to Kingston to write my BIOL 201 midterm on Friday, October 27th. The next day, Saturday, October 28th, my Grandmother on the other side of my family passed away. My grandmother's funeral took place the day before the CHEM 281 midterm 2 (Thursday, November 9th, 2017), in Toronto. This was the first time I saw my family after her passing and it brought back an overwhelming amount of sadness to be at her funeral, listening to heartfelt stories of those who spoke, and to be with so many people that loved her too. Many people there were expressing their condolences about my grandmother, and those who knew my grandfather, did so about my grandfather as well. When I went to write my CHEM 281 midterm the next day, I still hadn't reached a stable point of clarity and I had an incredibly difficult time focussing on the questions at hand. CHEM 281 has been a challenging course for me to begin with, and the three weeks prior to this exam was crucial time for me to study if I was going to succeed on midterm 2. As a result of losing two grandparents so close together, I received a grade of 24 percent. On the first midterm, however, which took place before the passing of either of my grandparents, I received a 78 percent, which makes evident these extenuating circumstances, beyond my control caused a drastic impact on my performance. All five midterms/lab exams I wrote were negatively affected by these events. I wasn't in a clear state of mind, I wasn't focused, and I missed classes, tutorials, and valuable study time to be with my family at my grandparent's funerals in Toronto. I am very much hoping to drop CHEM 281 now because, although all my courses have taken a significant drop due to the circumstances, this is the only course that I am failing. Furthermore, I'm feeling increasingly more anxious about going into my CHEM 281 final exam, that's worth 49 percent, with an already failing grade.

In the future, I will take greater efforts in reflecting on my circumstances and standing in my courses before the date to drop a course ends. I spoke with an academic advisor and I understand the last day to drop a course has been implemented for a good reason and I will be more realistic with my abilities to overcome personal challenges moving forward. For my Biology degree, I need 6.00 more Chemistry credits, so I inquired about options with my CHEM 281 Professor, Dr. John Carran, who advised me that CHEM 281 may be taken online in the summer. I am very much hoping to have a fresh start by retaking CHEM 281 this summer, or learning about other Chemistry courses offered at Queen's for next fall (2018).

Thank you very much for your time,
Summer Taylor