Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing to drop ECON 240 (Winter, 2019).

The extenuating circumstances are as follows. On Sunday, February 23rd I flew into Canada after reading week and during the landing I experienced acute pain in my ears due to the pressure change. This had to do with swimming too deep the day before the flight. Monday morning, I woke up with a sinus infection. Due to this and my symptoms I did not attend class on Monday, missing my ECON 240 class. Tuesday, I went to LaSalle after my tutorial, but the walk-in clinic was very overcrowded. I asked when the next appointment was available, but they had no openings closer than three weeks from that date. So, I left hoping I would feel better the next day. Wednesday I attempted to go to my ECON 240 class in the morning but felt even worse and had to leave the class to go to the walk-in clinic. After a 2 hour wait, a doctor informed me of my sinus infection and, because I was running a fever, it was viral meaning antibiotics would not help me. She suggested over-the-counter decongestants. The next day because of my sinus issues my ears became blocked. My hearing was very muffled, and I struggled to hear people talk. This continued for a week from the 28th to the next Thursday, the 7th of March when my left ear cleared. During this time, I attempted to go to my ECON 240 class once but even sitting in the front I was unable to hear the professor speak because of my muffled hearing. Because of this, I did not return until my hearing was restored. This was also the case in my POLS 347 class, but not my other two courses because one of the professors used a microphone and the other professor is a woman whose voice I was able to hear due to the higher frequency and sitting right in the front of class. Unfortunately, this hearing loss happened right before a midterm for my ECON 240 class and having completely missed the two weeks prior in a class where the lecture material is so integral, I completely failed the midterm despite doing the only thing I could in reading chapters assigned. This leaves my grade at rock bottom as I was already struggling in the course, the midterms account for 50 of your final grade, and I am likely to fail the course.

This class was especially hard to deal with as I had no classmate I knew to ask for notes. When I asked the professor in office hours, he offered little help. He did mention that he had lecture notes ¿¿somewhere¿ but said they would be disorganized as he mostly lectures from memory, which discouraged me. The readings are not enough to fully grasp the material as the professor does not stick strictly to the book and offers a deeper explanation and analysis than what is written in the chapters. With my POLS 347 class this was not the case as the professor posts the slides on OnQ, sticks strictly to the course text and I also know other people in the class who gave me their notes. When I spoke to my POLS 347 professor about my hearing loss, he also printed out the material from class and gave it to me. I have attached official documentation for my visit to LaSalle on the 27th of February and everyone I came into contact with over that week can also verify my hearing loss as I struggled to communicate with housemates, friends and professors because I had difficulty hearing what they were saying. By this end I have also attached a statement from my housemate confirming this.

My future plan is to retake the course next year in the Fall 2019 semester or Winter 2020 semester. As I am only taking two courses in Fall 2019, I planned to take another course both terms so that I could remain a full-time student at Queen¿¿s with an at least 60 course load allowing me to also apply for a part-time job through the AMS. This makes the most sense to me as I will be able to pass the course, avoid a fail on my transcript that was out of my control and complete my economics minor. I have also met with my academic advisor, Kerri Andrews, who reviewed my application and confirmed that upon reviewing my degree requirements, by taking 12.0 units in POLS at the 400-level (2 courses in Fall, 2 courses in Winter) that I would be eligible for graduation in 2020.

Thank you for your consideration,

Calum Maule