Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing to drop BIOL206 past the drop date due to extenuating circumstances. This is due to the physical and psychological challenges that I have been dealing with throughout my time in this course. In February, I was seen by a neuropsychologist due to ongoing cognitive issues from a head injury I obtained in a motor vehicle accident. I thought this would be a routine assessment in order to get a formal report, but I was told that my results indicated that I have been regressing in many cognitive domains including my memory and retention, verbal fluency, and retrieval, in many instances to impaired levels.
I took steps in approaching the course coordinator for advice on how to succeed, met with the professor, my disability services advisor, multiple tutors, and spoke with my TAs before submitting my assignments. I tried to see a psychologist and counselor on campus to discuss what I was dealing with, but didn¿¿t feel that the 4-5 week wait list was going to be an appropriate wait time for my needs.
These circumstances are well beyond my control. When I received these results I was not only struggling psychologically with intense anxiety as to why this was happening, but also dealing with the physical burden of not retaining any information. I kept trying to reassure myself that I was still just as capable as I was before I had received these medical results, but as time went it became clear to me that this was not the case. Throughout February and March I have had an increasingly difficult time concentrating and remembering basic information. I was waiting to receive my final report from my neuropsychologist until I could make a concrete decision regarding my standing in this course because it would include specific data and more details on my condition, which I was not provided with until March 21, 2016.
Additionally, mid March I was diagnosed with pneumonia. This hindered my ability to go to class consistently, caused additional exhaustion and stress, and impacted my performance on the second midterm and labs submitted in the class. I am currently still trying to get over my pneumonia symptoms now and have been on two rounds of medications unsuccessfully.
BIOL206 was a class that I particularly struggled with because as a student who relies on my accommodations provided by disabilities services. I was not being provided with notes as consistently as I was in my other courses. Additionally, the night before the second midterm I was told that over half of my memory aid material had been taken off, which caused me tremendous anxiety and impacted my ability to concentrate and study. I was able to meet with the instructor to resolve most of the issues surrounding this, but it was still a major stressor for me.
After dropping this course, I plan to focus more of my time and energy on my remaining four courses, which I think I will be more successful in. I plan to focus on PSYC100 and apply to switch to a psychology major with a minor in biology for the 2016/2017 year, in addition to taking a summer course in statistics to balance my workload.
Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration into my case.
Sincerely,
Ella van Beers