Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

I am requesting an appeal for the Fall 2015 and Winter 2016 terms of my third year in the Faculty of English. I am requesting that I be able to drop all the courses from both semesters past the academic deadlines. I have been suffering from severe depression for three years and this year my diagnosis worsened to extreme depression and anxiety and as a result my academic situation has extremely fallen.

I was diagnosed in June 2014 with depression and after failing to complete the 2014/15 school year, I appealed my courses and again was allowed to retake the year. I would be able to manage my mental health on my own, without medication with the help of my therapist in Kingston. I was very mistaken. After my education began to suffer, due to my inability to leave the house and participate in classes consistently, as well as a lack of motivation in course work. Having retaken the year, I was more aware of the consequences of my actions and the expectations my family had on me as they thought I was doing much better. These worries and fears crippled me, causing me to suffer from panic attack and extreme insomnia, and kept me from doing much of anything other than hiding away. Though I completed some assignments and attended some classes in the first semester, by second semester, I was not able to attend class or complete assignments. I did contact all my professors, made them aware of my situation and they all advised me to appeal the school year, therefore I did not complete exams for Winter 2016.

I am very ashamed that I am appealing to you again, after receiving a second chance last year. Once again, I am completely aware of the severity of the situation and am extremely apologetic. Currently I am seeing a psychiatrist and a counsellor and taking part in a three week program at Centenary Hospitals Mental Health Day Hospital. My psychiatrist has provided a letter detailing the logistics of my mental health issues and its effects on my education. I am not sure what the future will hold for me in regards to Queens, I may be coming back in September, or I may look to take some time off. But first I need to fully commit to dealing with my depression. I hope that you allow me to drop these classes from my transcript as I hope for a fresh start if and when I do return to Queens to complete my degree.

I hope that you will take my appeal into consideration, and help me once again overcome this obstacle in my life.

Thank you,
Amanda Mathew