Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to appeal three of my courses from the winter 2015 term (BCHM 218, CHEM 282, and PHGY 214).
In the second half of this year, I suffered from vertigo, anxiety, and depression. The combination of all three greatly affected my personal and academic life. The vertigo started in January and took several weeks to diagnose. The constant dizziness, which caused nausea, prevented me from concentrating on my work, using a computer for more than ten minutes, and playing squash with my team. Once diagnosed, I visited a physiotherapist but, feeling overwhelmed with school, I did not pursue physiotherapy until April. The stress and frustration caused by my vertigo built up all winter and undoubtedly contributed to my developing anxiety and depression. The anxiety affected my sleep by keeping me up at night, which ultimately affected my studies as well. Depression also affected my sleep by altering my sleeping patterns and causing extreme fatigue every day. The biggest issue, however, was my total lack of motivation due to depression: I lost the will to work, play squash, and see friends. I saw Dr. Billing, as well as a counselor, in February at Lasalle but did not receive much help. In May, I found a psychologist, Jodie Waisberg, and have been working with her ever since to learn how to cope, relieve stress, and refocus my mind. In addition, I started on anti-depressants in July, which help support my work with Jodie. All in all, my vertigo, anxiety, and depression all worked as one to keep my mood extremely low, my ambition absent, and my stress levels high.
In the coming year, however, I will continue to see Jodie on a biweekly basis and will practice the exercises she gave me to manage stress and anxiety. In addition, my physiotherapist taught me how to position myself while studying in order to work most efficiently without straining my body so as to prevent a vertigo relapse. Controlling my stress levels, taking medication along with the support from Jodie, and having treated my vertigo will undoubtedly help me this coming term.
The marks I received this winter clearly highlight my struggles this past term as they are utterly abnormal compared to my previous grades. I would greatly appreciate the chance to get credit for the courses instead of a letter grade so as to protect any future studies I may pursue.
Thank you for your time.
Marcia Filgiano