Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern;

I am wanting to appeal for a credit standing in the course physics 117. I have passed the one-term appeal deadline.

After receiving a low grade in physic 117 in my first year of university due to extenuating circumstances, I did not know what to do. I contacted my professor, in which I explained my illness that acted up during my exam, resulting in me writing down random answers and leaving, to which I was unable to even make it back to my dorm room. I have exam accommodations and I was not made aware that I had to tell the proctor in an event of sickness, as all they said was that we were not allowed to speak and that they could not answer questions about our exams. I am a very shy student, who feels embarrassed when I have to explain my sickness. After contacting my professor whom transferred my conversation to the course coordinator, who was only able to re-mark my exam, giving me a passing grade. I did not know what to do so I was attempting to book an appointment with an academic counsellor. It took me a while in the summer to get an appointment with an academic advisor as I had to come back from my home in Toronto area. The appointments must be booked same day and often they would all be booked by the time I tried to call in or go to campus. The summer heat made it very challenging with my disability to try and travel to campus. After finally seeing an academic advisor, I questioned about a credit standing, to which she stated that there was no rush to complete one as the I already completed the course, so I could do it when my sickness gets under control, she also stated that appeals are a lot of work.

Summer made my sickness worst, and with my low grade from my first year, I felt as though there was no hope to even try. I did not know there was a deadline, as I trusted the word of mouth from the academic advisor, that there was no rush and I should just work harder next year to even out my grades. However, I do not want physics 117 to hold me back in presuming future studies by overall lowering my GPA. It is not a requirement for my program and is a constant reminder of how my disability caused me to almost fail. It made me feel like I did fail and was a failure. Starting the fall 2018 year still struggling with my disability and knowing how low my grades were, I kept pushing back everything, telling myself that my health and well-being is more important than to keep stressing over my grades.

This academic year I currently take all biology courses and currently I have only started to have hope that there is a possibility in myself succeeding in university with a disability. I have just started to realize how to cope with my disability and how not be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help. I do not want my disability to hold me back anymore. This is why now, I feel as though I am capable of asking for help through this appeal letter.