Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,

I am writing to appeal for an extension of an incomplete grade in BHCM 310. In the Winter 2019 semester, I submitted a self-declaration of brief absence for the BCHM 310b final exam. Dr. Jones, the professor of BCHM 310b, kindly accepted my request to defer my final exam date. He set up a make-up exam that took place on May 8th. However, on May 3rd, I received surgery on my left elbow (see documentation) and as a result, I could not write the make-up exam on May 8th. I requested another deferral, which Dr. Jones again kindly accepted. He explained that since he would be travelling throughout the summer, the next make-up would not take place until the fall semester.

In September, I received an email from Candice Phillips, a program assistant for the DBMS, that the exam would take place on September 24th. A few days before the 24th, I unfortunately fell ill with a high fever (see documentation). Since I was still sick with a fever on the 24th, I wrote an email to Dr. Jones and Candice to explain my situation and to request another deferral (only by a few days, until I had recovered). I received an email from Candice that she had a time slot available for me to write the exam on September 27th, which I eagerly accepted. However, after Candice consulted Dr. Jones, I received an e-mail informing that there were no alternate dates available, and I will be contacted in the near future regarding the exam. From this e-mail, I interpreted that they would contact me sometime within this semester.

However, I must have misinterpreted, as I did not receive an email from Dr. Jones or Candice for the rest of the semester. As a result, I decided to e-mail Dr. Jones and Candice on December 12th, right after I was done with my exams and evaluations for my courses of this semester, to ask if I could complete the exam within the remainder of December, or in early January. On the same day, I received an e-mail from Candice, who informed me that I must complete the exam before the end of this semester, as exams cannot be deferred more than one semester. Not previously aware of this limitation, I immediately requested to write before the end of the semester. Later that day, Dr. Jones e-mailed me that he could not comply with my latest request for another deferred exam before the end of this semester, as he was busy with other activities, including the next iteration of BCHM-310/316. He informed me that any make-up exam will have to come in early 2020, and that I must therefore appeal to the Faculty of Arts & Science for a change in my grade on my transcript. He further noted that my appeal ¿¿should provide the medical reasons for (my) deferral of the make-up exam in May and September and why (I) left it until so late December to inform (them) of (my) willingness to retake the exam.¿ To conclude his message, he instructed me to contact either him or Candice to set a date for the exam after I had made the appeal.

Although, since my first request, I had apologized many times to Dr. Jones for any inconveniences I may have caused him, I understand if he might have lost his patience with my numerous medical issues. However, my unfortunate medical issues, supported by the medical documentation provided, are legitimate. Despite facing many medical issues throughout the 2018-2019 academic year in addition to the ones cited herein, including chronic injuries from a motor vehicle accident and a strep throat, my continuous effort allowed me to obtain outstanding grades in BCHM 310, thus far. This course is a heavily weighted course of 9.0 credits and is required for me to graduate. Moreover, I wish to apply to graduate school next semester. As such, I would be very grateful if my appeal could be accepted so that I can write my exam and receive my course mark within a reasonable time before I submit my application to graduate school. Hopefully I can write it in early January to minimize interference with my courses next semester.

Your understanding is much appreciated and thank you for your time. Please contact me if you require any additional information about my case.

Sincerely,

Oliver Ng