Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am looking to appeal the financial penalty of dropping a summer course past the academic deadline due to the unforeseen and extenuating personal and employment circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The presence of COVID-19 has created many uncertainties for all of us and as a result has changed the outcome of my summer drastically. Initially, I was set to work downtown in Toronto (where I live) at an investment fund, however due to COVID-19 my contract was terminated. Upon the termination of my contract I enrolled in two summer courses as it appeared I would be unemployed this summer and saw it as an opportunity to get a few credits ahead. However, since the termination of my contract I have since found a new job that has been highly time consuming. My new job working as a courier has required a large sum of hours worked per week as well as much time on the road in cities all across southern Ontario. Simply put, with my new employment I have not had the time to adequately devote myself to MUSC171 as well as FREN106 which I am also currently enrolled in. I hope that a large portion, if not all, of the course cost can be refunded to me and I will be permitted to drop the course as due to the extenuating circumstances of COVID-19 I did not have a clear picture of what my summer employment and availability would look like. To either drop the course and be burdened with the full cost or be forced to continue taking the course (as I can not afford to outright pay the penalty) and finish with a very poor grade as a result of my lack of time appears to be blatantly unjust in such an unparalleled time.

Upon review of this appeal I hope it can be understood how difficult these times have been for a student looking to gain employment so as to avoid a lapse on my resume, and that the dropping and refund of MUSC171 can be accommodated.

Thank you very much,

Liam Wolfe.