Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am currently in my second year of an HBA and majoring in Languages, Literature, and Culture. I am interested in switching my plan to major in Computing, as I am switching my career aspirations and intend to work in the technology sector after graduation. The technology fields I am interested in all require a degree in computer science or a related field in order to apply for jobs in that sector. I enrolled in CISC 121 on Friday, January 21st, 2022. I only gained access to the CISC 121 OnQ page on Saturday, January 22nd, 2022. Given that previous programming experience is recommended and not required, I assumed that with hard work I would be able to keep up with course material. I spent all day on Saturday attempting to catch up on lectures and worked very diligently. Despite this, I felt as though I was lacking the necessary background knowledge to truly understand what was going on, and found myself to be very lost and confused.

I completed some research and realized that if I take CISC 101 now, which is a beginning computer science course, then I can take CISC 121 in the summer. This will allow me to complete CISC 124 concurrently alongside my 200 level CISC classes. I regret not researching this earlier.

I have permission from Professor Powley, who is the Professor of CISC 101, and Dr. Chen who is the Undergraduate Chair of the Computing Department to enroll in CISC 101 after the course-add deadline. I will attach a screenshot of the email in which I received their permission.

I am very passionate and interested in learning about computers, programming, and technology, and I would appreciate the opportunity to switch to CISC 101 to continue this. I feel as though this course better matches my skills and abilities, and will allow me to create a solid foundation of knowledge that I can build and expand upon in future courses, rather than stumbling my way through an advanced course that I am not prepared for.

I understand that the Course Addition deadline was Friday, however, if there is any way that you would be able to help me switch to CISC 101 then I would be incredibly grateful. I am extremely hard working and will ensure that I catch up on all the material I have missed during the past two weeks.

I genuinely would appreciate the opportunity to switch to CISC 101, as it would allow me to pursue my passions and interests in programming.

Thank you,

Zaynab