Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Studies,


I am appealing to drop PSYC 370 after the academic deadline (Summer 2014) and for aegrotat standing in BIOL 321 (Summer 2015).

I am appealing because I have been experiencing psychological challenges that are beyond my control. I was formally diagnosed with depression in 2012, and continue to be affected by it. I began seeing a psychologist in Kingston by the name of Dr. Catherine Leblanc during second term of my first year at Queen¿¿s, and have been seeing her consistently since in an attempt to prevent my illness from impairing my ability to function. My symptoms include a low mood, constant fatigue, disordered sleep, and problems concentrating. My illness has had a negative impact on my studies because it makes it extremely difficult to focus on any readings and assignments that need to be done, and also interferes with my ability to study for tests, midterms and final exams.

Throughout my 5 years as an undergrad student I have tried my best to mitigate the effects of my illness on my studies. However my depression is not something that goes away and it continues to have an adverse impact on my academics. I have been taking a reduced courseload since the Winter term of 2014 in order to try to make my academics more manageable. Although my depression continued to be significant in the Winter of 2014, I felt that in order to fulfill my degree credit requirements within 5 years I would need to take a course in the summer (even though I would be away from Kingston and my psychologist).

I therefore chose to take PSYC 370, however my depression was still significantly affecting my ability to function. I was unable to complete the readings as a result of my concentration issues and inability to focus. Since online courses are heavily based on readings, this made completing the course in a timely manner nearly impossible. I quickly became overwhelmingly behind, which contributed to my worsening depression. Although I tried my best to keep up with the coursework, there were also assignments that I was unable to complete and this caused me to fail the course. Since I was unable to do my readings, I also did poorly on the final exam. This was extremely discouraging for me, as when I am healthy I am an excellent student and it was frustrating to be doing so poorly for reasons out of my control.

In order to try to prevent these issues from reoccurring, I began seeing my psychologist again as soon as I was back in Kingston for the Fall of 2014. Upon her recommendation I registered with disability services and received accommodations (the ability to negotiate extensions on assignments, and to have at least 24 hours between tests). This helped a bit, but I continued to struggle with my mood and ability to concentrate and be productive.

My disability accommodations expired before the Summer of 2015, but in order to graduate on time I needed to take another summer course. I therefore enrolled in BIOL 321 even though I would not receive accommodations during the term.
I suffered similar difficulties as the previous summer regarding my concentration and low mood. I found it almost impossible to complete my readings and assignments on time due to my depression and overall feeling of helplessness. At this time I was also suffering from an extreme amount of pain in my left hip, which required surgery at the end of the summer (in August 2015). Combined with the depression, my pain made it even more difficult to focus on and complete my coursework. Despite this I managed to complete and pass 60 of the work in the course, however I was unable to hand in the final assignment and therefore received an F. Again, his was extremely frustrating for me because I was unable to perform to my potential for reasons that I could not control.

Living with the effects of my depression, being in pain, recovering from surgeries, and trying to keep up with classes has been extremely difficult. Although I have had an extremely harrowing time with my depression throughout my undergraduate studies, I continue to do my best to pursue treatment. I am currently taking medication and continue to go to psychotherapy. I re-registered with disability services this year in order to receive my accommodations again. I have changed to a new antidepressant medication and am feeling much more myself, which luckily was reflected in my marks this year. I continue to be proactive and ask for help when I need it, and I remain optimistic that I will be able to graduate this spring. I am committed to improving my well-being and I hope that this will ensure that I continue to function at a higher level in my future academic pursuits.


Sincerely,

Allison Hammond