Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Letter: Dear Board of Studies,
I am appealing the Associate Dean??s decision to deny my appeal to drop CISC 223 and CISC 235 (2023 Winter) after the academic deadline on the grounds that the Associate Dean??s decision did not follow the rules of procedural fairness since it was not a ??reasonable? decision that is based on evidence. I believe my extenuating circumstances were inadequately recognized during the first level of appeal. The reason the associate dean denied my request was that since I previously went through similar challenges and was advised last semester to drop the courses before the deadline, I should have assessed myself before the deadline and dropped the two courses knowing I am not in good standing within them during week 7/8 of the semester. The reason I did not drop the courses before the deadline was a combination of a few things. Firstly, I had hoped to meet a physician at SWS by mid to early March and be on track academically a month ahead of exams giving me enough time to prepare for them. I also met an academic advisor that recommended that I drop my three other courses before the deadline to lower my workload and focus on the two main courses at hand because the way the grading scheme was structured, more than 50% of my grade will be from the exam. Due to the fact, I was doing well enough that doing well on my exams since I would have aid via SWS by then, plus my course work so far, I would be able to meet the minimum requirement for taking future courses. I used my academic consideration during this time as well. I chose to stay in 223/235 because of these reasons and the recommendation from the advisor at the time. Now to explain the extenuating circumstances that took place after the deadline and to address the associate dean's concerns that ??it is not clear as to whether the challenges connecting with SWS were due to cancellation of appointments at your end? ??(SWS) is not the only option available to assist students? which are simply inferences and not based on evidence. First, the cancellations were at SWS??s end. My first appointment was scheduled for early January and was cancelled by the clinic. After following up for a new appointment, the closest day available was in mid-March due to high demand and wait times. See attached the proof of cancellation. Second, I understand that SWS is not the only resource available to me, but it was at the time since seeking help outside of Queen??s was not an option. My family does not accept the idea of mental illnesses and would not support meds or therapy. This is the root cause of my mental health decline. Lastly, I will explain the extenuating circumstances that happened after the deadline in more in-depth and add to the part of my first appeal where I said I had ??unfortunate negative experiences with student wellness?. When I did get my physician appointment with SWS in mid-March, it did not go well. I met Dr Suzanne Billings; she was very rude and had poor bedside manners. She misdiagnosed me and told me my problems aren??t real and I need to just go out every day and my depression should go away. I am not alone with this experience; this physician has had many similar experiences in the past and she has been left with very negative reviews all over the internet. You can find a link at the end of this letter that shows the doctor's reviews and how she has mistreated patients in the past as well. Since I found out this information about her roughly a week after my appointment with her and roughly in mid to late March, since none of her solutions was working, I ended up getting help outside of SWS and ended up going through several weeks of turmoil with my family due to them finding out about my psychiatrist referral since my mom is the contact on my file. This not only led to my depression worsening to the point of suicidal thoughts, but my academics were a completely lost cause. Please see attached the letter from my psychiatrist directed to my family doctor showing my actual diagnosis. Even he mentioned that the diagnosis of the SWS physician was completely wrong and rude. Also, as the associate dean said ??(SWS) is not the only option available to assist students?, I tried talking to Dr. Suzanne Billings about getting a letter to submit to QSAS so I can have support in the future, and she said I have no need for it. QSAS was something my counsellor heavily recommended I sign up with, but I was unable to since I needed a physician??s note to do so. Dr Suzanne Billings said the same thing about therapy, how I do not need it. Whereas my psychiatrist heavily recommended it. However, these things are behind me, and I am on the path to recovery with proper medication, therapy, and counselling. I would request that the courses get late dropped so I can return to school this fall.

Sincerely,
Vansh Panwar
20206467

https://www.ratemds.com/doctor-ratings/42178/Dr-Suzanne-Billings-Kingston-ON.html/