Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am writing to formally petition for a review of my academic performance during the Winter term of 2024 due to extenuating circumstances that significantly impacted my ability to perform to the best of my abilities. I respectfully request consideration for the issues I faced, which were beyond my control and had a profound effect on my mental health and academic work.

During the Winter term, I encountered several significant personal challenges that severely impacted my mental health. The first of these was the official divorce of my parents, an event that brought about considerable emotional distress. Shortly thereafter, in early March, our beloved childhood family dog passed away. These events were incredibly hard to process, especially so close together.

Additionally, I sustained an injury in November during the USport Rugby Nationals, which required extensive rehabilitation, surgery consultations, and numerous doctor appointments during the Winter. This injury also prevented me from participating in 7’s Rugby during the term, a significant part of my life and a key outlet for managing my stress and mental well-being.

Recognizing the decline in my mental health, I sought professional help and attended my first appointment with Dr. Shallow at the QSports Medicine Facilities in late February. Dr. Shallow diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and immediately prescribed medication. He also referred me to the Psychiatrist working with Queen’s University, whom I still see biweekly. I continue to take the prescribed antidepressant medication to manage my symptoms and work through the associated trauma.

In addition to GAD, I have ADHD, for which I am also medicated. However, during this period, my ADHD medication was ineffective, likely due to the overlap of GAD symptoms and the side effects of my new medication. This significantly disrupted my study habits, as I found it extremely difficult to concentrate and sit still, exacerbating my challenges.

These combined factors severely impacted my ability to manage my six-course load, leading to difficulties in submitting assignments on time and preparing for tests. The two courses I failed were heavily test-based, which is a format I have always struggled with due to my ADHD. My anxiety around tests, compounded by my depression, made it nearly impossible to perform well during exams.

Despite my efforts to seek help early on and manage my symptoms, my mental health struggles during this period were overwhelming. I believe that these extenuating circumstances directly contributed to my poor performance in the two test-based courses.

I am requesting that my situation be taken into consideration and that I be given the opportunity to retake these courses without the stress of a previous fail on my transcript and/or receive any other form of academic relief that the university deems appropriate. I am committed to improving my academic performance and believe that, with the right support and understanding of my situation, I will successfully complete my studies and I do not see this issue further affecting my academic abilities come fall.

Thank you for considering my petition. I am available to discuss this further and provide any additional documentation if required.

Sincerely,

Kylie Mosgrove
20294712