Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am writing to have the Winter 2014 failed courses, Econ 111 and Psyc 251, removed from my official transcript. I believe that these courses are not of value to my degree and are a misrepresentation of my academic abilities. It has been clarified that Psyc 251, although there was a grade deferral, is still eligible to be removed from my transcript, as the departure from academic integrity was not the cause of the failed grade. I feel that the circumstances surrounding myself during the semester led to my unintentional oversight in citations. In the beginning of the semester my family was undergoing stress as my cousin was separating from her husband. I was living at home at the time, but due to family circumstances we housed my cousin quite frequently during the separation. I chose it would be best to move out to allow for more space in my parents small three bedroom home. This choice was difficult as my financial standings were not great at the time. I have paid for my university education solely on my own. I had chose to take my time with my degree, doing a maximum of only two courses at a time. This led me to be ineligible for OSAP assistance. During the semester I worked 4 jobs, personal training at Goodlife Fitness, Front desk at Kingston Military Sports Centre, Head coach and administration for Kingston Elite Cheerleading, and serving at Jack Astor¿¿s. This caused me little time for schoolwork, especially with the courses I chose. I was unaware at the beginning, with everything going on, that Econ was going to require a large time commitment that I was unattainable to me at the time. I tried very hard, had a Queen¿¿s MBA student tutor me, and I also reached out to the TA, which I feel was too late but was I preoccupied during the semester. I had missed the deadline to drop the course and didn¿¿t give much thought to the consequence in the long run of attempting the course. During the semester I frequently made trips to Ottawa to help out with my cousins children during the separation. Their father, Rob, who had been part of our family for over 20 years and was a big part of my childhood, was having a very hard time with the break up and our family was reaching out to him. My mother was diagnosed with depression in 2006, and recognized the signs and knew that Rob needed help. We tried to visit and accommodate him as much as possible along with getting him the professional help he needed. Sadly, in May 2014, the depression became too much for Rob and he took his own life. This situation occurring over the course of the semester left little time for schoolwork. I tried to learn Econ as best I could and the time left I dedicated to Psyc. I don¿¿t believe I had the time or the resources available to me at the time to be successful in the courses. The oversight in citation in Psyc was due to a rush in completing an assignment and not intentional plagiarism.