Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

My name is Ruoling Gao and I am writing to you today to appeal for CR standing in PSYC 351 (Winter 2016), PSYC 205 (Fall 2015), PSYC 333 (Fall 2015) and PSYC 398 (Fall 2015). In addition I would also like to request the drop of the course PSYC 370 (Fall 2015) and AG standing in ENGL 100 (Fall 2015 - Winter 2016). I understand that appeals should be made within 21 days of the final mark being released, however I had a number of examinations deferred in the fall 2015 term resulting in the late upload of many final marks. Following this, I was unable to meet with my counsellor for a significant period of time due to my counsellor being away for vacation and work scheduling conflicts, and to be honest I was not in a correct state of mind, as you will read below. It was not until I had finally sat down with my counsellor and spoke of the situation that she suggested I should write a letter of appeal. I therefore humbly ask that my requests for the Fall 2015 term please also be considered.
The central reasons behind my significantly poor performance can be attributed to my mental health condition. I have faced depression and anxiety episodes throughout the year and due to this, have found it extremely difficult to keep up with the demands of university. In fact, it is often difficult for me to even keep up with the demands of simply functioning through regular life tasks of each day.

I initially adjusted very poorly to life at university and became extremely isolated, and in this social isolation, my depression grew. I originally believed that I would be able to overcome this on my own and therefore did not seek help until well into my second year, when one day I woke up to realize that I could not remember the last time I had a peaceful day free from anxiety.
My depression and anxiety lead to significantly altered sleep patterns in which I would be unable to sleep the night before and then being unable to wake up the following morning. In addition, my stress and anxiety of the past two years actually triggered an autoimmune disorder called Alopecia Areata. This condition causes hair to fall out without warning in significant chunks, leaving noticeable bald areas around the head. The negative effects of this condition beyond the physically missing hair, are purely psychological, which further added to my anxiety. Every year around this time I become extra anxious as this condition has returned consecutively for the past two years. Due to its irregular nature, it is impossible to predict whether the hair loss is gone for good, would happen again, or return with even greater effects, leaving me with further anxious thoughts over the uncertainty. Some mornings I find myself almost afraid to brush my hair for fear of seeing strands come out. The combination of these factors all contributed to my poor academic performance and my depression continues to be a struggle for me today. To help combat this, I saw a counsellor through the year, however was unable to keep regular enough meetings with her to create consistent change or improvement in my condition.

Moving forward, I will utilize my time this summer to consistently see my counsellor in the hopes that it will lead to an improvement in my condition when term starts in September I will be able to begin with a fresh slate. In addition, I am missing, I am taking a summer course online in order to help offset some of the credits I am missing as a result of course failures. Then, when the school year begins, I will make use of visits to the Learning Strategies center in order to help me stay on track and steer my academic life in the right direction.
Thank you for reading through my letter and I hope that I have provided a sufficient picture of my circumstances. I tried to be as concise as possible while still preserving important details. Thank you again for your time.

Sincerely,
Ruoling Gao