Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am writing this letter in order to be able to drop three courses after the drop deadline (RELS 239, RELS 312 and RELS 393). Due to extenuating circumstances, my grades have been suffering and I, along with my family, have decided that university is not what¿¿s right for me at this time in my life. This conversation has been ongoing throughout the winter term; but with so many options being considered as alternatives, a solution had not been decided upon until just this week which is unfortunately past the drop deadline.

During my first year of university, my mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I struggled with being so far from home and living in residence, and I ended up going home every weekend to be close to family and help them out. I spoke with Health, Counselling and Disability Services during my first year, and found that they were helpful for me to cope and get through the academic term.

There wasn¿¿t talk of me putting my university studies on hold until I entered my second year. In first term, I failed a course- which had never happened to me before. But I persevered, and figured I could get through the winter term as well. As second term progressed, however, I realized how much I was struggling. I am living in Bancroft in order to be close to family, and I am commuting to my classes. This, instead of helping the situation, has increased stress levels. There is a higher monetary cost, and I have ended up missing many classes due to unhappiness as well as unfortunate weather. Because of these circumstances, I am not being successful this term. My parents and I, along with help from Student Services and Academic Counselling, have just reached the decision that due to the stressful things happening in my life right now I am not setting myself up for success and complete investment in university life. I haven¿¿t made friends at Queen¿¿s, I haven¿¿t attended all lectures, and I haven¿¿t become involved in extracurriculars or student life. I have spoke with my professors of the classes which I am hoping to drop and explained my situation; they have all advised, if Arts and Science will allow it, to drop the classes.

The thing which held me back and took me so long to make my decision, and therefore made me miss the drop deadline, is that I am on full scholarship. The Wasmund Family Memorial Scholarship was such a blessing, and I was hesitant to give that up. At this point, I have come to terms with my choice and realized that Dr. Wasmund¿¿s generous gift should be going towards a student who will be fulfilling their full potential and doing justice to Dr. Wasmund and his scholarship.

I hope that my extenuating circumstances are deemed admissible as grounds for granting me permission to drop 3 of my 4 classes. I feel I can be successful in one of my classes, and would like to receive at least one credit from this term so it wasn¿¿t a complete failure. Thank you for taking the time to review my appeal and I look forward to receiving your decision.

Thank you.