Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hi, I am respectfully requesting a late drop from BCHM 316. Throughout my fourth year, I experienced significant mental health challenges that really affected my ability to function academically. As reflected in the supporting documentation attached to this petition, my circumstances persisted throughout the academic year and affected my attendance, concentration, motivation, and ability to keep up with coursework. I had a very hard time attending classes, so I fell behind in multiple courses and required extensions on almost all of my assignments and exams/midterms. At the time of the course drop deadline, I did not withdraw because I genuinely believed I could recover academically and complete the remainder of the course. I was actively working to continue my academics and did not want to give up, as I had a goal of graduating this year, in my fourth year. I hoped that with accommodations, extensions, and by consistently pushing myself, I would be able to catch up or improve. So, because of this, withdrawing from the course did not seem necessary at the time. I realize now I was wrong. My professor even encouraged me to drop the course, but I was eager to graduate and thought it would be too great a financial burden to return for a final semester. I should have followed his advice, as I wasn't in the right place to complete this course. Unfortunately, my mental health struggles persisted throughout the semester and had a larger impact on my academic performance than I anticipated. Despite my efforts, I fell behind, and it stayed that way. In an attempt to complete the course, I petitioned for a deferred examination. My decision to try to write a deferred exam rather than withdraw from the course shows that I was genuinely attempting to complete the course. Despite my efforts, circumstances throughout the academic year prevented me from completing the course requirements. While my mental health challenges affected all of my courses, this course was impacted the most. I struggled in every one of my classes. I requested multiple extensions, fell behind several times, and did not complete some quizzes. However, the structure and grading scheme of this course made it particularly difficult to recover once I had already fallen behind. The cumulative impact of missed attendance and my ongoing mental health challenges ultimately made completion of this course unrealistic, which I now know, even though I was able to complete the requirements of my other courses. I am sincerely requesting consideration in light of documented extenuating circumstances that significantly impaired my academic functioning throughout the semester and affected my ability to make the right decision to withdraw before the deadline. At the time, I sincerely believed I would be able to complete the course successfully and continued pursuing accommodations and options in an effort to do so. I want to note that over the course of the second semester, I was actively seeing a counsellor at Student Wellness for support. It was helpful in fulfilling my responsibilities as best as I could, but did not completely change the circumstances. I had a difficult time attending these meetings in person and began going strictly online. These sessions kept me in line and helped me stay on track as best as I could in school, without them, I'm sure I would have been in a much worse place. Given the documented circumstances and their impact on my academic performance, I respectfully request approval of a late drop from BCHM 316. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read my petition and understand the decision you make!