Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dr. Johanne Bénard
Associate Dean (Studies)

Dear Dr. Bénard,

I am writing to you to request an extension to the 21-day appeal deadline. I would like the deadline to be waived due extenuating circumstances, beyond my control. If granted an extension, I plan to appeal two courses (ANAT 315, BIOL 205) that I completed in the fall semester ending December 31st, 2016.

I have experienced challenges that have affected my academic performance since shortly after starting my undergraduate education at the University of St Andrews (Scotland) in September 2013. I have had a very hard time engaging in lectures, sustaining attention on course work, and managing my time for academic, and other activities. My academic underachievement has led to significant personal frustration and ultimately led to intense anxiety.

The challenges I experienced abroad led me to transfer to Queen¿¿s in September 2015. My rationale for this was that it might be easier studying closer to home. During the fall semester, I was disappointed to find that the learning challenges and anxiety that I experienced at St Andrews remained. In September and October 2015, I sought treatment for anxiety at Queen¿¿s Student Wellness Services. After finishing the semester with disappointing grades in two courses, I spent time at Christmas reflecting on my difficulties. I brought my concerns to my family physician in January 2016. My doctor recommended that I get assessed for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and I was referred to a clinic specializing in ADHD. On February 16th, 2016 (first available appointment) I had an assessment. I did not get the results of my assessment until a follow-up appointment on March 14th (first available appointment). The results of the assessment indicated I met the criteria for ADHD. I have enclosed part of the report of this assessment as supporting documentation. This documentation confirms the diagnosis and the dates of my assessment and when I was given feedback. (The most relevant section is page 4 to page 6). I will explain the ways my poorly managed ADHD affected my academic performance in the fall semester if I am granted an extension to the 21-day appeal deadline. I also have specific rationale for appealing just the two courses in question.

Before the end of fall semester, I was aware that my performance in the two courses in question was sub-optimal but this was not until after the course drop deadline. In ANAT 315, I had no real basis for dropping the course because at the time of the deadline I had not received any formal feedback or marks. In the UK grading is very different so I had no way to judge my performance. In BIOL 205, I was doing quite well on most of the coursework at the time of the drop deadline. Being new to Queen¿¿s, I was not sure who to turn to for assistance with the challenges I was experiencing. Because I did not know the root cause of the problem it was difficult to know what assistance to seek. In February, I sought academic advising for an unrelated question. It was only through this appointment that I learned about the appeals process and the options open to me for fall semester courses. At this point the 21-day deadline would have already passed but the advisor still recommended I appeal for credit standing. She did not mention that the deadline had already passed. I was provided advice on writing an appeal letter. My notes from that advising appointment indicate that I was told that the appeal needed to be initiated before the end of this semester, not within 21-days of the end of the fall semester. I assumed that the advisor was correct and I did not question the advice.

I knew I had been experiencing psychological challenges outside of my control last semester. I also knew these challenges were impacting my ability to study, pay attention to and understand lectures, and complete assignments on time, but I had no specific thing to point to. Until I was diagnosed with ADHD and learned about the condition, I thought the problem was me. I thought I was just being lazy despite the hard work I was putting in. I would spend hours at the library but not get anything accomplished. Or I would go through an entire day of lectures and not feel like I understood anything. With this immense frustration I was experiencing I felt like I was a failure and that no one understood what I was going through.

Overall, the combination of: (1) anxiety & self doubt, (2) lack of definitive diagnosis, (3) limited knowledge of the appeals process (I did not know it was available to me), and (4) incorrect information regarding the deadlines for the appeals process (provided by an academic advisor) prevented me from seeking an academic appeal sooner than I did.

Going forward I will be working with a team of professionals and will register with accessibility services for academic accommodations. I am happy to say that much of the anxiety I had has dissipated knowing that there is a treatable cause for the challenges I experience on a daily basis. I will be meeting with my psychiatrist regularly to determine the best pharmaceutical therapy for my ADHD. I will also be working with an ADHD coach to develop coping strategies.

Thanks for your consideration. Please let me know if I can clarify any information pertaining to my appeal.

Best Regards,
Carter Smith