Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

Recently, I enrolled in the Comm 200/6 Business Fundamentals course in pursuit of obtaining the Certificate of Business. When the final marks were released, I noticed that my grade was significantly lower than it was previously. Immediately, I went onto the Smith portal to see why my grade was so low and noticed that all the marks had been changed to almost failing marks along with the removal of my grade bump. This was extremely devastating to see, considering how hard I worked and always attended this class. I immediately contacted my professor, Mr. Reid and he advised that I spoke to my department head and there was nothing he could do on his end.

I was placed into a group with four other individuals and was the only female along with not being in an alike program to my members. I didn¿¿t think this would create an obstacle, but unfortunately, it did. In addition to this, two members were housemates and often tried to control the decisions of the group. Many times, I would give ideas to them and they would immediately shut it down. For example, when we were in our later rounds of Capsim, I had examined the game along with reaching out to a friend of mine in the commerce program for help. I proposed that we used the long-term debt to our advantage and provided them with the exact value to input. Immediately the two housemates said no. The following week our professor reached out to us and said if we needed help, he would provide us with a skype tutorial. During this session, Mr. Reid said the Long-Term Debt was one of the key areas we should have been paying more attention to. This specific encounter displays that their stubborn and lack of respect for my opinions impacted my grade as well.

Moreover, one or more of my group members were always away. There were days that Mr. Reid would provide sessions after class to help us improve in the Capsim simulation. Every one of my members would get up and leave or not be present prior. This was extremely frustrating since every other team had a full table and the professor even made a comment more than once about the absence of my group. My group had also mentioned that this class did not mean much to them since they were not pursuing the certificate when I asked why they didn¿¿t attend often. Although it did not mean much to them, it did to me since I want to achieve the certificate. This can also provide insight into why our grades and Capsim marks were not on the stronger side. Additionally, I always pushed my group member to meet in person so we could develop more of a professional relationship, in turn providing better work but they always shut this idea down this and said they were too busy and would prefer doing it over Skype calls.

Another incident occurred during the final assignment of the year which was a presentation on the Capsim simulation. In the practice sessions, I had written down what I wanted to say because often times I get nervous presenting and felt more comfortable having cue cards with me. One of the members made a comment and advised me not to bring the cards and to memorize it by that night. I told my group that we were in fact allowed to bring cards up and nowhere in the rubric did it say we were not allowed to. Subsequently, a member was late for the meeting and arrived with a paper as well that he had written to bring up. At this time no one made a comment towards him and only felt the need to say this comment towards me.

Overall, the main purpose of this appeal is to hopefully have the grade on my transcript evaluated and changed for a credit standing. I can confidently say I always did my work on time and made sure I met all the expectations on the rubrics and the expectations desired by our professor. Each assignment was given to my group and I was divided up equally amongst us members meaning I did equal if not more work than my fellow group members. This can elucidate why I am so frustrated considering that they are receiving marks for my work and I am not. I had contributed an equal amount to the group and only peer-reviewed everyone generously because I have never been the type of person to want others to suffer, especially academically since the grades we obtain can shape our futures. However, If I had the chance to evaluate everyone again, I would completely change each review. I have worked in numerous group projects before and especially at the University of Guelph since I was pursuing a commerce degree there and always received very positive evaluations. Although I transferred to an arts degree, I still value having knowledge business and receiving this low of a grade limits my opportunity at taking more courses for the Certificate program. Additionally, this grade will not only affect my academic record but can also limit my chances of getting the schools I am applying for through an ILOP. My GPA and my future academic opportunities should not be limited by peer reviews from students that did not pay attention or hold respect for the commitment and work put in by another member.


Thank you,

Katryna Smyte