Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom it may concern,

Due to the extenuating circumstances that occurred at the end of the Winter 2014 semester, I am asking that both the 21-day appeal deadline be waived and that HIST 218 and HIST 240 be dropped from my transcript.

Over the course of the Winter 2014 semester my girlfriend (who also attends Queen's University) experienced a worsening health condition leading to frequent trips to the Kingston General Hospital Emergency room towards the end of the term. Though it was determined that surgery was necessary, she was put on a waiting list for a time in the summer and decided to remain in Kingston and attempt to finish the school semester. As her condition worsened it became clear that she could no longer remain in Kingston and she and I returned to Toronto before the end of the semester.

The nature of the situation was complicated in that we were taking each day with caution, not knowing whether her condition would get to the point that she would have to be admitted for an emergency procedure (which did end up being the case).

Shortly after returning to Toronto (during the exam period) she was again hospitalized from the 11th of April to the 14th of April and had emergency surgery. I was in the hospital with her for the majority of this period (only going home to shower/change clothes twice). The final evaluations for HIST 218 and HIST 240 occurred in the days before and after this period of time and I found myself unable to give all my examinations equal attention. I was able to write the exams for my philosophy courses (I gave them priority with what little time I had to study) but not my history courses.

At the time I was not aware of any 21-day appeal deadline and further I was not focusing on my academic standing in general due to the above circumstances. It is for these reasons that I would ask the 21-day appeal deadline be waived.

Over the 2013-2014 academic year I made the decision that I wanted to convert my 4 year Philosophy Degree to a 3 year General BA. As a result of the situation at the end of last year I am now completing the remaining courses for that degree. HIST 218 and HIST 240 will not be used to fill the requirements of my 3-year degree and they will negatively impact my GPA should I decide to use my three year degree towards future academic or professional endeavours. It is for this reason, and the extenuating circumstances detailed above that I would like to have HIST 218 and HIST 240 dropped.

If you require any additional documentation regarding my girlfriend's medical condition beyond what has been attached please let me know.