Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: June 22, 2015

Dr. Johanne Bénard
Associate Dean (Studies)
Faculty of Arts and Science
Queen's University

Dear Dr. Bénard,

I am writing to appeal the 21-day deadline of appeals, so that I am able to subsequently submit a late appeal to drop a number of courses that were failed in large part by previous extenuating circumstances that also made following the proper appeals process unrealistic at that time.

Significant struggles with my mental health, compounded by family and interpersonal issues, greatly affected my ability to engage with my studies. These problems started becoming especially prominent in the 2011 Fall term, and lasted for a roughly three year period, until past the end of the 2014 Winter term. During this time, it became increasingly difficult to meet my academic obligations - coursework, readings, and ultimately attendance. I eventually found myself only able to concentrate on a single course at a time, until even that became overwhelming. These same circumstances prevented me from taking the necessary steps to properly pursue the appeals process. This is in addition to the fact that as these issues had been ongoing and intensifying, I feel now that appealing would not have been an appropriate course of action at that point.

I was, however, pursuing counselling throughout most of this period, ultimately progressing into psychiatric assessment and treatment. After three consecutive terms without passing a single course, I also made the decision to take a year off of classes and focus on my mental health, including pursuing full time employment during that period. This time and experience has helped me greatly in developing responsible coping mechanisms, and my therapy has also been incredibly beneficial to my mental well-being over time. I am confident, with the development I've undergone and the psychiatric support that I will continue to pursue, in my ability to successfully engage with my classes come September. As a further precaution, I will be taking no more than an 80 course load upon my return to studies.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my appeal of the 21-day deadline; it is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Christopher McIntyre