Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: ​​Student Name: Archie Clarke
Student Number: 20452660
Program: Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Request:
I am writing to request permission to drop the following courses:
MATH 121
PHIL 111
ASTR 101
These courses were taken during the previous academic year (2024-2025) and resulted in failing grades.

Academic Context:
During my first year at Queen’s University, I had consistent difficulty keeping up with my courses. I struggled to stay on top of assignments, understand the material, and prepare effectively for evaluations. As a result, I was unsuccessful in the courses listed above. While I take responsibility for these outcomes, I now understand that they were strongly influenced by challenges I did not recognise at the time.

Explanation of Circumstances:
At the time, I was unaware that I was dealing with ADHD, which affected my ability to focus, manage my time, and stay organised. Since I was not aware of the circumstances, I was unable to use effective mitigation strategies or seek the right kind of support.

In high school, I had not been assessed for ADHD because I did not experience the same level of academic difficulty. However, the increased independence and workload at the university level made these challenges much more noticeable.

I only began to understand and address this in October of this academic year, and because of that, my performance at the start of this year was also affected before I was able to begin making changes.

Why Dropping These Courses Is Appropriate:
These courses are not required for my intended academic path, as I am currently in the process of changing my major. Keeping these grades on my record does not contribute to my degree advancement and does not reflect my academic ability under conditions where I now have a better understanding of how to manage my learning.

Steps Taken / Moving Forward:
Since gaining this understanding, I have taken greater initiative to improve how I manage my academic success. I have been working with an occupational therapist to develop better strategies for time management, organisation, and focus. I have also been more proactive in seeking help and making more informed decisions about my course load.

I am confident that these changes will allow me to perform to my full academic potential moving forward.

I respectfully request consideration of this petition. Thank you for your time and understanding.
Sincerely,
Archie Clarke