Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean, I am writing to provide some context on my request for a late course drop for HLTH 270. I missed the deadline because the last few weeks have been really overwhelming and I was not in a clear enough headspace to keep track of dates. I have been struggling with my mental health and it got to a point where the days were slipping by without me realizing it. I could not make academic decisions the way I normally would. Earlier this semester my younger brother was the victim of a violent racial attack here in kingston involving a queen’s and slc student. Since then he has been dealing with the injuries, appointments, and the emotional aftermath of everything that happened. It has been really heavy on my entire family, and I have been trying to support him while also keeping up with school. Instead of things easing as the semester went on, the stress around his recovery kept increasing, especially during the exam period. Last week around the time of the final exam for this course, my brother experienced a medical emergency connected to the health issues he was already dealing with due to the attack. He was hospitalized at kgh and then transferred to mount sinai hospital in toronto. I had to be present right away, and from that point my focus shifted completely to my family. I want to reassure you that I was not neglecting my responsibilities, I was just dealing with something sudden, emotional, and really difficult to process. My brother has had cancer before and seeing him in the hospital again was extremely overwhelming. I was the one who encouraged him to move to kingston for post secondary, and I believed he would be safe and supported here. Watching him go through something like this has been heartbreaking and I kept feeling responsible for supporting him because I brought him into this space. On top of this, the stress triggered a series of lupus flare ups for me throughout the semester. I was able to book an appointment with my specialist at the rheumatology department of mount sinai and I was recently scheduled for an appointment on December 9. These appointments usually take months to secure, being in that I was moved up shows how much my symptoms were impacting me. Because of everything happening at once, I was struggling a lot with my mental health. I could not keep track of the days properly and everything started to blend together. I did not even realize the drop deadline had passed until I slowed down enough to understand how much I had fallen behind. I really did try to stay on top of my classes but HLTH 270 became overwhelming in a way I did not expect. I fell behind without fully realizing it because everything in my life was happening so quickly. By the time I realized i needed to drop the course things were already escalating beyond my control. when i went to drop the course I saw the deadline had passed by one day. I understand it is my responsibility to track deadlines, and for that I take full accountability. Missing it by one day feels so irresponsible. I've truly been doing everything I can to keep myself stable, manage school, and work, but I fell behind despite my efforts. I wish I had been in a better state to act before the deadline passed. I joined an academic advising session immediately and was guided to complete this petition, the delays were in waiting to receive the letter of support. I really care about finishing the semester strong and I am humbly requesting a late drop because the circumstances I was facing were completely outside of my control and directly affected my ability to complete this course. I also now have access to mental health support through my employer who knows what I have been going through and has been encouraging me to take the steps I need. Getting this approval for the late drop would take a significant amount of stress off my plate so i can move forward in a healthier way. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience I am causing. If there is any further information or documentation I should provide, please let me know. I will provide my specialist appointment confirmation & receipt of my academic advising session. I will also include a letter of support from my brother. He has seen firsthand how much I have been trying to stay on top of things during this difficult time and how it affected my ability to keep up with my responsibilities. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.