Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I am appealing to drop PHIL 151 (Winter, 2015) due to the fact that I was given no feedback or grades before the official drop date. The fact that I had no idea how I was doing in the class made it impossible for me to know whether or not I would need to drop the class before the last day of being able to remove a class from my schedule. The first mark/feedback we received was given to us over a week past the drop date of February. 27th. After receiving the mark, which made up a good percentage of my final grade, I realized that I have a very low chance of being able to pass the class and because this class is my elective I feel that dropping it is what would be best to ensure my success in my other core course and overall grades.
Philosophy is a course much different from my other courses, as I am a second year biology major. This made it difficult to know what the teacher was expecting and how the material would be graded. If I had gotten feedback earlier in the semester I would have been able to gear my learning style to better benefit myself in the course. However, the course is based off of a midterm and a final and since the midterm marks were given back after the drop date I was unable to make the necessary adjustments in time. After talking to Professor Leighton about it, he agreed that it is fair I drop the class due to the lack of feedback before the deadline (he has written a letter of support that has been given to Art/Sci student services).
In the future I hope to take a course to make up for the 3 credits I will be lacking from my second year of studies. If I choose to take PHIL 151 again I will take it during a summer semester where I can focus more of my energy into the course opposed to having to focus on my core courses. Because it is so different from the other courses I am taking for my degree, my success in this class relies on being able to dedicate a majority of my time and focus on it alone. I feel that is what will bring me the greatest chance of success.
Thank you,
Diane Mitchell
I am appealing to drop PHIL 151 (Winter, 2015) due to the fact that I was given no feedback or grades before the official drop date. The fact that I had no idea how I was doing in the class made it impossible for me to know whether or not I would need to drop the class before the last day of being able to remove a class from my schedule. The first mark/feedback we received was given to us over a week past the drop date of February. 27th. After receiving the mark, which made up a good percentage of my final grade, I realized that I have a very low chance of being able to pass the class and because this class is my elective I feel that dropping it is what would be best to ensure my success in my other core course and overall grades.
Philosophy is a course much different from my other courses, as I am a second year biology major. This made it difficult to know what the teacher was expecting and how the material would be graded. If I had gotten feedback earlier in the semester I would have been able to gear my learning style to better benefit myself in the course. However, the course is based off of a midterm and a final and since the midterm marks were given back after the drop date I was unable to make the necessary adjustments in time. After talking to Professor Leighton about it, he agreed that it is fair I drop the class due to the lack of feedback before the deadline (he has written a letter of support that has been given to Art/Sci student services).
In the future I hope to take a course to make up for the 3 credits I will be lacking from my second year of studies. If I choose to take PHIL 151 again I will take it during a summer semester where I can focus more of my energy into the course opposed to having to focus on my core courses. Because it is so different from the other courses I am taking for my degree, my success in this class relies on being able to dedicate a majority of my time and focus on it alone. I feel that is what will bring me the greatest chance of success.
Thank you,
Diane Mitchell