Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr.Benard,

I am appealing to have the University¿¿s decision requiring that I withdraw for one year waived due to extenuating circumstances.

I was put on academic probation this year due to an incredibly low gpa in my first year at Queens last year. In the fall of 2013, I became incredibly sick to a point where I was unable to attend the majority of my classes due to the fact that I couldn¿¿t get out of bed or function effectively. I was diagnosed with mono in November 2013 and was only finally healthy again by the middle of the summer. Being so sick for almost the entire school year had a tremendously negative effect on my productivity, and subsequently, my grades in all of my courses. I could not keep up with going to classes, taking notes, or completing assignments and online quizzes on time. I spent a large amount of time back home in Ottawa attempting to get better, and failed the majority of my courses that year. I came back for second year, and vowed to bring my gpa up and do 100 times better than I had the year before.

Unfortunately, almost as soon as I was back in Kingston, I was once again incredibly unwell. I was diagnosed and treated for strep throat three times within 3 months, and by December 2014, I was diagnosed with mono for a second time. This year was incredibly hard not only academically, but in almost every other way, just as my first year at Queens had been. My courses suffered once again, and I failed at passing some of my classes. By the end of January 2015, my health had improved significantly, and I returned to Queens to try my very hardest during the winter semester.

In the beginning of February 2015, I had a devastating personal health matter occur, and had to take all of February and March away from school to deal with a number of things, including having surgery, and recovering at home, and therefore, I once again was not able to pay even close to enough attention to school. My grades suffered terribly, my gpa was not high enough to take me off of academic probation, and I was asked to withdraw for a year.

I am appealing this decision because I know I could have done so much better, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to succeed as I should have. I am an incredibly capable student, and it would be very disappointing if I was unable to study at Queens this upcoming year.

If my appeal were to be granted, I would take all the courses necessary to qualify me for a major, and I would make up my lost courses while working towards completing my degree successfully. I am currently appealing to have my failed courses dropped from my transcript so that my gpa reflects my true grades, and is not brought down so significantly by failed courses. I have only the best intentions for the future, and Queens is truly where I see myself succeeding academically.

Sincerely,

Sarah Rack

Petition Letter: Dear Dr.Benard,

I am requesting to drop courses past the academic deadline due to extenuating health circumstances that were beyond my control. I am appealing to drop COGS 100 (Fall, 2013), ITLN P10 (Fall, 2013), BIOL 110 (Winter, 2014), and PSYC 241 (Fall, 2014).

I became severely unwell in the Fall semester of 2013, and after many doctors visits, was diagnosed with mono at the hospital in November 2013. Being this sick had a huge effect on my academic success, and the outcome of my entire year. I spent most of the year sick to a point where I was unable to attend the majority of my classes due to the fact that I couldn¿¿t get out of bed or function effectively. I had a very hard time keeping up with coursework, and felt unprepared for a lot of my test and exams. I continued to be sick for the entire school year, as well as into the summer, and spent the majority of my time focusing on taking care of myself and recovering as best I could. I had a clear bill of health as of September 2014, and returned to Queen¿¿s to do my best, and make up for the unfortunate outcome of my first year.

I began feeling unwell once again in the Fall semester of 2014, and after being diagnosed and treated for strep throat three times within the first three months of the school year, I was diagnosed with mono for a second time in December 2014. This had a detrimental effect on my courses in the same way it had in first year, and I failed at passing one of my classes due to not being able to spread my attention and effort across each class as I would have been able to if my health were not such a distraction. By the end of January 2015, my health had improved significantly, and I returned to Queens for the winter semester.

If my appeal is granted, I will create a thorough academic plan with an academic advisor at Queens. I would make up my lost courses as well as taking new higher level credits, and spend my next years at Queens working towards completing my degree. By removing failed credits from my transcript, my gpa would no longer be dragged down by those fails, and I would be able to successfully work towards being removed from academic probation, completing my remaining credits, and subsequently, my degree.

Sincerely,

Sarah Rack