Sample Letter of Appeal

4682 Farrow Parkway
Chicago, IL 60621

June 20, 2007

Jack Copeland
Dean, Academic Division
Chicago College University
1323 E. 84th St., 5th floor
Chicago, IL 60621

Dear Mr. Copeland:

I am a senior Philosophy major who took PH401 Advanced Metaphysics class under Prof. Vanleer, and I am writing to you to appeal a retake for the final comprehensive oral exam that was given on June 18, 2007.

I feel that Mr. Vanleer did not give my situation the proper respect and understanding that it truly deserved. On June 8, 2007 at 10:37 A.M., I was struck by a sedan going 65 mph on my way to the university. I survived the accident but fractured the bones in my legs and hips. I have enclosed the medical documents detailing my stay at St. Francis Hospital along with this letter.

Because of this setback, I had to reschedule all my exams for the following week (June 18-22, 2007) to the week after that (June 25-29) to allow for me to recover. I had my classmate Tom Saunders send the necessary letters to all of my professors requesting to postpone the date of my final exams by a week. All of them agreed except for Prof. Vanleer, who did not send any reply at all. The doctors said that it would take me at least two weeks to properly recover, and even if I did prepare for my exams for Prof. Vanleer, I would not be able to produce the expected output considering my debilitated condition.

I feel that the situation is not warranted because I never got a grade lower than a B or (80-85) on his exams. Therefore, the risk of me failing the course and being prevented from graduating because of not being able to take his final exams due to an unavoidable circumstance is unacceptable. The handbook states in Article III, Section II that “Students who have medical emergencies prior to a particular exam will be given the option to reschedule that exam.”

The medical situation which prevented me from taking the final at the scheduled time was beyond my control. I would ask you to grant me another opportunity to take the final exam. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss this matter. Feel free to call me with any questions at 555-555-5555. I appreciate the time that you have taken to read my appeal.

Sincerely,

Signature

Jordan Summer

Enclosure