Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Studies,

I am requesting that the faculty allows me to drop POLS 385 (2015). Although I know it is passed the deadline to drop courses, I would like to appeal that decision and retake the course in my 4th year at Queen¿¿s. I am requesting this due to health related problems I have recently been facing.

I have been struggling to cope with personal health issues over the past several months, and as a result these health issues have significantly impacted my ability to perform at an adequate level in school. In particular, during the 1st semester I began to experience feelings that resembled anxiety and depression. As the semester progressed these emotions began to intensify and occur more frequently. Eventually, my psychological well-being was reduced to a state of hopelessness. I became overwhelmed to the point that these emotions dictated many of my day-to-day actions. I felt as if I wasn¿¿t in control of these occurrences. These internal struggles made me disengaged from my academics, and I found myself unable to focus for extended amounts of time. While this was occurring, I was overcome with confusion because I felt like I was unable to manage these issues. This had a severe impact on my ability to concentrate. I initially began experiencing these health issues just over a year ago; however, they weren¿¿t as intense and didn¿¿t have the same debilitating effects as they have had in recent months. I reached a point where I accepted the fact that I needed to confront these issues, and work towards a solution. I met with a Queen¿¿s counsellor who provided me with the information to pursue several different avenues that could help me cope more effectively with my anxiety, while maintaining my academics.

As I mentioned my academics suffered last semester, and because of this I would like to retake POLS 385 (2015) in my 4th year at Queen¿¿s. In addition to this, I have constructed a plan of action for myself to follow in order to make progress. This will include scheduling more frequent visits with personal counsellor's at Queen¿¿s throughout the school year, as well as attending workshops and support sessions with the Queen¿¿s Learning Strategies. I feel discussing these problems with a health professional is the best way to make progress because they are able to lend me guidance in dealing with my issues. Queen¿¿s Learning Strategies will assist me in staying organized and on track with my academics. I am confident that working on theses issues will directly improve my academic performance, and my overall well-being.