Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,

I would like to submit my request to appeal Rels 255 with assistance of Aegrotat Standing. During my meeting with an academic advisor to discuss my standing to graduate, she then referenced me to meet with an appeal advisor. I was then instructed that my best course of action would be to apply for Aegrotat standing. Rels 255 took place in winter semester of last year, however Dr. Michaelson had granted me an extension. The reason behind my incompletion of the course was an unforeseen circumstance resulting of my mother falling ill. Last February my mother got diagnosed with late stage kidney failure as a result of an rare autoimmune disease called Wagner¿¿s. At the time I was working a part time job at Cacao 70 in downtown Kingston, trying to maintain good academic standing and as well every weekend I would drive home to be with my mother due to an uncertain prognosis. There was a period in time where I contemplated school being too much, but I had persevered despite the temptation. I not only love my time here at Queen's and would be devastated to leave but as well I did not wish to disappoint my family. In turn, trying to keep up with all my classes proved to be rather difficult, however my instructors were a magnificent help and I was so fortunate for that. As well previous documentation of my mother¿¿s condition has been submitted to the university and is on file. Unfortunately, with research methods it required more attention than I was able to deliver over the course of last semester and the summer. Research methods is a very attentive course and I feel as though you need full awareness to complete it properly, which at the time I was unable to provide. During the summer I was working a full time job and driving my mother to her hemodialysis appointments when needed and worked as a farm hand during most nights. My parents are outstanding people and I am very fortunate that they actively help me financially with school, however since my mother in unable to work I had to work a lot more in order to keep up with the financial requirements for school as I did not know if I was able to apply for OSAP. This resulted in a great strain on my mental health and I feel as though the work I would have submitted for Rels 255 would not have been up to the academic standard I usually preform at. I never have been in a position where I thought I would not be unable to complete a course; I was unaware of this option or I would have applied for this at an earlier stage of my circumstances. With the new semester underway I feel as though the course would further create a void in my academics as trying to balance this would be rather difficult. However, that being said, going forward my mothers condition has improved as she just recently started peritoneal dialysis and is able to accomplish more than we had hoped for. Thus my need to go home is not as severe as it once was in the previous semester. I am still continuing to work at a restaurant in Kingston which gives a nice balance to my time management skills. After this experience I feel as though it has made me more resilient as a student and I am very determined to graduate with the class I had started with. I have come so far and this appeal would mean a great deal to myself. Last spring I had an interview with the University of West Scotland and had passed the interview process for the admission into the teacher college in August of 2019. It has been a dream of mine to go study abroad, for this I will push myself to be the best academic student I can be in my graduating year. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my letter.

Sincerely,

Madison McLeod