Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Petition for Reinstatement - Maddie Angus 20360694

Dear Academic Associate Dean,

I am writing to petition the requirement to withdraw for a year from Queen’s University, which I received on my transcript. I am going into my fourth year and have been on academic probation for a while. I received the same withdrawal requirement last year after going through some personal struggles and petitioned as well. I thought this past year had been going better for me, but my academic performance is still not meeting the standards.

First and foremost, I want to explain why my petition is being submitted so far past the 15-day deadline. I had some technical difficulties when attempting to sign in with the multi-factor authentication process and was unable to get into Solus to check my transcript. I do understand the importance of deadlines in this matter, and I apologize for my delay. I hope this petition will still be reviewed.

I further want to acknowledge that I recognize the severity of my academics and take full accountability for my poor performance. I also want to extend my gratitude for having been afforded the opportunity to return to my studies when I received my first requirement to withdraw. I understand the purpose of these academic policies is to support students in finding a workable path forward, and I want to commit myself to that.

Even with my best attempts, I found myself struggling again this past year due to a number of reasons. After I was formally diagnosed with ADHD as well as anxiety and depression in my second year, I began to access the resources that were given to me by both the university and my doctor (accommodations, medication, etc.). However, the process of learning to adapt and push through these struggles took me longer than expected, carrying into my third year. I continued to struggle with burnout, avoidance of important tasks, and organization. This all contributed to my ability to meet my academic requirements. Furthermore, by the time I had started to get into a better routine with school, the TA strike happened—a lot of assignments and exams were deferred, and it put a hold on my attempts to come back from the place I was in academically.

Another large part of my struggles was that I was still learning to take care of myself and use my resources. I was afraid to ask for help out of shame and fear, which continued my cycle of avoidance and not meeting academic standards. I had hoped that returning to school after identifying what was holding me back would be a fresh start, but I realize now that some of the issues I was facing needed more time and support to navigate. Over the past couple months while not in school, I have been working to push past my internal barriers and figure out ways to actually make sure I am performing to the best of my abilities. My academic plan will be below.

As far as supporting documentation, I don’t have anything new from what I did last year. I believe when I submitted my petition last year, I included my anxiety and depression diagnosis. It is essentially the same thing that I went through this past year. I can include it as well.

I know my full potential, and I know I have not been doing what I need to be to fully reach it. I know I am capable, and my grades have not been reflecting what I know I can do.

I appreciate your time and concern and hope to hear back from you about how I can proceed.

Sincerely,
Maddie Angus
20360694