Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,

My name is Kendra Baker and I am an Arts & Science student about to enter second year. I am appealing to have my failing grade in MATH 121 dropped from my transcript.
I have been struggling with my mental health for the majority of the year. I suffered from extreme and debilitating anxiety that made it very difficult for me to get up, start my day, go to class and complete assignments. There were periods where it was so bad and I was so tense that I could no longer eat or sleep. In one specific case, this resulted in me fainting during a chemistry lab missing not only the lab, but the math test I was supposed to write afterward. Often, I would attempt coursework and once I was faced with a difficult problem, be unable to proceed due to my own fear of failure. I have struggled in math courses in the past, and while they are usually my lowest marks, I have never received a mark lower than a 70. However, I believe this pre-existing challenge with the coursework to have amplified my anxiety about it. I found particular challenge in completing math assignments and tests because I would come to a problem that I didn¿¿t know how to solve and immediately begin to panic, often being unable to bring myself down enough to work through the problem. I attempted to seek help through the Health, Counselling and Disability Services twice ¿¿ once in September about a specific event that set off my anxiety, and again in January about the problem in general, and was unsuccessful in finding solutions that worked for me. I would have attempted to broaden my search and seek help from professionals outside of the Queen¿¿s community, but my financial situation at the time (my father had lost his job, and his benefits ran out in January) made this impossible. The addition of the hospitalization of two family members during the end of the second term and throughout exams made it very difficult for me to work through my anxiety, and I believe this anxiety to be a primary factor in my failure of MATH 121.
I am currently retaking MATH 121 as a distance studies course, and have made an appointment to speak to my family doctor here in my hometown. I have health benefits again, so seeking help from a healthcare professional is now a feasible option for me. I believe that the reduced stress from schoolwork and the addition of my family as a support system will make my attempts to get my anxiety under control much more successful this time around, and I plan to work with the resources I am given so as to find solutions that will continue to work for me when I return to Queen¿¿s in the fall.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for considering my appeal.

Sincerely,
Kendra Baker