Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean Dr. Stephenson,


I began my studies at Queen¿¿s after completing a BSc (Hons) in computer science at Wilfrid Laurier University. I realized that my pursuit of Artificial Intelligence graduate studies missed the biological context of intelligence - psychology. I was incredibly excited by the opportunity to study psychology by distance at Queen¿¿s.

I started my studies in the summer of 2018, and I excelled in my courses. Come fall, I finally had the opportunity to take PSYC100 - and I was excited My enthusiasm, however, waned when my performance was not meeting my standards. For the first time in 6 years of higher education, I could not understand why I was getting poor grades.

In elementary school, I was diagnosed with a fine motor impairment that makes it difficult for me to write for an extended period. This previously was never an issue due to the concise nature of computer science and math notation used in exams.

Being new to Queen¿¿s, and not being present on campus I found it difficult to find help. My academic advisor would get back to me weeks later due to there being only one advisor for 2,000 students and I didn¿¿t want to bother him. I felt alone and without options - dropping the course was impossible because it was paid for by OSAP, and I could not afford the financial penalty. It was also not an option because it meant that I would not have the prerequisite for my PSYC option courses, and it would significantly delay my studies - and subsequently my income to repay my debts.

I performed very well in the multiple-choice components of my exams, getting above 80, but the writing component suffered as the anxiety of not knowing if I would be able to put all of my thoughts to paper crippled my performance.

Come exams in the winter semester, I discovered that two were scheduled back-to-back on the same day. This was distressing because the strain from one exam was already causing me anxiety. The result was that my PSYC100 final performance was lacklustre, and my statistics exam that followed it suffered greatly due to my hand¿¿s fatigue - a course that I was consistently excelling in. I received a B+ in statistics, where I had anticipated getting an A+.

I immediately enrolled in the summer PSYC100 course as a D on my transcript hurt my chances of being accepted to graduate school, receiving tri-council grants, and internships. Fortunately, Dr. Tyson who was my PSYC271 professor shared information on his course about how QSAS can help students without an expensive psychological reassessment. I scheduled an appointment and was given the accommodations I needed to offset my fine motor impairment. The results are clear, I went from a D to an A in PSYC100, and received the second-highest mark in PSYC271 out of 101 students.

I am very proud of my work at Queen¿¿s, and I am hoping that I will be able to continue them here with an MSc in neuroscience. A field and program that I would not have discovered without taking the psychology BA.









In summary:

1. My poor performance was a product of:
-Finding it difficult to perform well on writing-intensive tasks, assignments, and exams due to a physical disability
-Not having the support of QSAS because:
-I was unaware of how much they would be able to help me
-I thought I would not be able to afford a new assessment to document my needs¿¿

2. I did not drop the course because:
-I could not afford the financial penalty, as I am on OSAP
-In fear of being significantly held back in my studies as it was a prerequisite for all courses¿¿

3. Steps I have taken since:
-I immediately re-enrolled as a low grade significantly hurt my graduate program applications
-After discovering QSAS, and that they could use older documentation, I got the support I needed
-My performance has significantly improved - from receiving a D to an A in PSYC100, which is due to appropriate accommodations¿¿

4. My motivations to appeal the course are:
-To have a transcript that best reflects my abilities and hard work
-Having a transcript that will help not hinder my application to graduate programs, grants, and internships



Thank you in advance for your time


Kind regards,

Emils Matiss