Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Charlotte Reeves
20126430
June 4, 2022

To whom it may concern,

I am writing today to appeal my failing grade on my winter 2022 official grade transcript and to have it permanently removed. I unfortunately was not surprised with this grade, yet am quite concerned about how this grade will affect my GPA going forward, as well as my transcripts for future Masters degree applications. I am writing in hopes that this grade can be removed from my transcripts, and that I can move forward in my final year at Queens with the goal of making up for this academic setback. Since transferring to Queens University in the spring of 2020, I have been able to deepen my post-secondary education and experience though practical and theoretical learning, as well as extracurricular on campus work and volunteerism. I have found this university one that both challenges me and invites me into a community of like-minded induvial who also widen my horizons.

That being said, I cannot say truthfully that virtual learning has supported my learning style. Unfortunately, I have found asynchronous learning to be quite challenging and I have struggled greatly to successfully complete classes to the best of my abilities. This past winter semester I successfully complete 4 of my 5 classes with grades I am comfortable with, yet I struggled greatly in complete my asynchronous ENIN 240 class. By completing 4 of the 5 classes, I believe that it can be seen how I am capable of achieving successful results within the semester, yet I struggled to make time for the final class, which I believe is due to its online format. As both a full-time student, and a part time employee of the AMS, I have found time management regarding online classes to be my biggest weakness, and a large contributor to my anxiety and mental health throughout multiple times this year. I am someone who experiences diagnosed anxiety disorders, as well as depressive episodes and therefore have had to take short-periods of time away from school throughout the year to focus on my mental health and anxiety medication use, which has been, of course, supported by most of my professors and teaching assistants. While I am very appreciative of the support I received, I fear that in taking time to prioritize my mental health has resulted in shortcomings elsewhere in my academic career. Not only this, but I have also had to take time away from school due to illness on two occasions, one of which was COVID-19 during Easter time, right before finals started, making the time preparing for exams a challenge and physically draining and did not allow me to start my finals on a good foot.

I believe that I have demonstrated by academic determination within the classes I successfully completed, as you can see on my winter transcript, yet struggled to make the time and motivation to complete my fifth course of the semester. I do not doubt that the grade given to me was anything less than fair, yet I do hope that it can be dismissed from my transcript so I can successfully replace it with another class more fitting with my academic needs and abilities. Throughout the semester, I did not think I would receive such a low grade at the end of the term, therefore I did not feel it necessary to drop the class when I had the chance. I do feel as though this grade does not accurately reflect upon the student I am and the success I am capable of, which I hope to demonstrate going forward. Within this upcoming year, I believe that going back to in person lectures and tutorials will greatly aid in my time management abilities, as well as engaging me to spend more time on campus and working with my professors and teaching assistants to ensure I get the most of my final year. Not only this, but I also plan on working part-time less to allow me to prioritize my studies.

I hope to move past this setback and return to campus in the fall with the support of the school. Regardless of this setback, I continue to appreciate the academic opportunities made available to me at Queens, and I remain proud to be a part of this great community. Thank you very much for taking the time to review my request and I hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you,

Charlotte Reeves