Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am requesting to appeal for the late drop of GEOL 107 and PHGY 170 in the fall semester.

I have suffered with mental health issues for several years now, which has had a significant impact on my academics. More recently, my symptoms have increased during times when I have become physically ill. When a sickness would cause me to get behind in schoolwork, I would begin to feel overwhelmed and fall into a depression. This resulted in me completely shutting down, losing all motivation, avoiding any interaction, and sleeping excessively.

During the times where I was motivated, I reached out to student wellness services and QSAS. I attended biweekly appointments with a therapist and received accommodations which helped in the short term. However, I would often fall back into depression between visits and lose my motivation. I chose not to drop the courses earlier in the year as I still believed the courses were salvageable if I was able to focus and be productive. Finally, I suffered a major depressive episode near the end of classes which caused me to leave Kingston and move home with my parents.

I have made several appeals for late drops in the past, but this time I plan on making more drastic changes. I plan on speaking with an academic advisor about the possibility of transferring to another university that I can attend while living at home. I have found that I feel better equipped to deal with my mental health issues at home and my mood is generally better overall. I have also scheduled an appointment with my family doctor to look into whether or not changes in medication or seeing a therapist on a more regular basis are needed.

I have appointments with both my family doctor and SWS therapist next week, so I will include medical documentation from them as soon as I receive it.