Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

I would like to request to drop HLTH 332 and ANAT 309. During the fall 2024 semester I was struggling with a variety of things. After breaking up with my significant other of over six years, I struggled to cope and was very depressed and withdrawn. I failed to reach out for help or seek resources, and thus, continued a downward spiral. I experienced a loss of appetite and found it particularly difficult to get out of bed and attend classes/complete my online course work. With my mental health status at the time, it became very difficult to focus and complete my schoolwork. I fell far behind in all of my courses, especially ANAT 309 with its online nature, to the point where at the end of the semester I could not catch up. I experienced an influx of anxiety when attempting to complete schoolwork because of my difficulties focusing and the predicament I had gotten myself into by falling so far behind in my classes, which only compounded the issue. Another thing I was coping with at the time was a family member struggling with addiction. This deeply saddened and worried me, distracting me from my academic work and contributing to my difficulty focusing. I also have accommodations for a learning disability because I have a very slow processing speed. This means that it takes me much longer than others to grasp concepts, study, and complete course work/assignments. At the end of the semester, I had many final assignments in different classes and had to prioritize which classes I thought I could achieve the best marks in. This caused me to neglect HLTH 332, as it had a large take-home exam and final assignment, which would have taken up most of my time, leaving not enough time to catch up on and succeed in my other classes. I still struggled throughout the winter 2025 term, however, I have since managed to get my situation under control by opening up to my family and friends for support, and by taking the time to heal. I have also booked appointments with a psychologist to work on my issues and improve my mental health.

Also, I wanted to retake HLTH 332 and ANAT 309 this semester to achieve a better, passing grade, however, in order to fulfill my remaining degree requirements, they would be excessive courses. I currently need two remaining electives and two 400-level KNPE/HLTH courses in order to graduate. I have had an exceptionally challenging time enrolling in two 400-level KNPE/HLTH courses. In order to do so, I had to register in a prerequisite course (KNPE 327) and a co-requisite course (HLTH 315) in the fall 2025 term, so that I can take KNPE 447 and HLTH 416 as my two 400-level courses. KNPE 327 and HLTH 315 fulfill my elective requirements, making HLTH 332 and ANAT 309 redundant.

I am currently taking a fifth year to finish up these four new courses and retake other courses that I already passed to improve my GPA for graduate school applications. I aspire to take a master’s degree in physiotherapy, which has very stringent GPA requirements. These two failed courses will have an extremely detrimental impact on my GPA, ruining my chances of getting into the program I desire. Therefore, I implore you to please let me drop HLTH 332 and ANAT 309.

Thanks,
Scott Whitters