Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hi there,
My name is Rylie Tishler, and I am writing as I need to drop PHIL 260 from my Fall 2023 course load due to extenuating circumstances beyond my control. To explain, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in my first year of university, and have since been taking medication (Sertraline) for it. I thought I had a grip on it, but this semester I have been really struggling with my mental health, much more than usual. In October, I started to experience the effects of my anxiety and depression that I only experienced in my first year without medication, like normal mundane tasks feeling like the most daunting challenges - getting out of bed, going to class, opening my computer, taking care of myself, etc. Lacking motivation to even shower, academics felt out of reach, specifically the courses that I knew I would struggle in and that would require all of my mental capacity. For me, this course was Logic 260. I have fallen so singificantly behind in this course, specifically missing all assignments, homework and shockingly, the midterm, and given the extremely complex nature of information being taught, I know that I am unable to catch up, and that I will ultimately end up failing the course if it is not removed. With that, I know that it is best both for my academic record and for my mental health that this course is removed from my fall course load. Not only will the removal of this course prevent me from having an F on my transcript, it will allow me to better prioritize catching up on the rest of my assignments in other courses, which will give me a chance of finishing this semester strong, in a way that properly reflects my work ethic. It is important to me that I emphasize that these circumstances are genuinely unlike me as a student, and that they reflect an unlikely struggle with my mental health which is out of my control. It is also important to me that I acknowledge the steps I have taken to combat my struggle with my mental health this semester - I have booked an appointment through Student Wellness Services (SWS) to speak with a doctor regarding my mental health and mental illnesses, to hopefully obtain some academic accommodations -SWS will be obtaining documents from my practitioner regarding my diagnosis, if that is needed. As well, I have arranged to begin therapy in 3 weeks in an effort to better understand the steps I can take to better myself and my mental health, along with coping mechanisms to ensure that a situation like this doesn’t occur again. With that, I sincerely apologize for this situation, and once again want to emphasize that this is unlike me as a student, which you will see is evident from my transcript from 3rd year. I truly believe the removal of Logic 260 from my course load will allow me to get back on track with the rest of my courses, and will thus give me a chance to succeed academically this year. I sincerely apologize if this request causes any inconvenience at all, but I truly hope you can understand my situation and remove the course.