Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Bénard,

I am appealing to replace the grade I received in PHGY 214 with a Credit standing or Aegrotat standing. I have completed and passed all coursework, except for the final exam, where I earned 43.

My mother was diagnosed with terminal metastatic breast cancer in 2014, which has negatively impacted my mental health and academic success. In first year, I suffered from depression and received counselling from the Queen¿¿s Health, Counselling, and Disability Services (HCDS). The results of my treatment were positive and I was feeling significantly better in the second semester of the 2014/2015 year and decided to see my psychologist on an emergency basis.

Unfortunately, my mother¿¿s condition worsened over the course of the summer and into the fall. Within the first few days of school, I booked an appointment with a psychologist at the HCDS and developed strategies to prepare myself for the upcoming year. However, PHGY 214 is a full-year course with only four evaluations and many of them occurred at unexpected stressful times in my personal life. For example, my mother was hospitalized in December very close to the final exam. This course is extremely heavy in content and requires a great deal of time to memorize and understand the material in order to prosper. Moreover, it was worth a substantial portion of my final grade. My mother¿¿s illness and the accompanying family issues were exhausting, distracting, and took away from study time. As a result, my performance was poor and I did not achieve my full potential on the exam. In the winter semester, I felt my mental health declining. I was overwhelmed with work from a full course load and did not seek professional help. Additionally, I was sick for about two weeks at a time in the semester where I had many important midterms and assignments due, which caused me to fall behind. Since PHGY 214 depends on heavy memorization and time commitment, I performed poorly on the midterm exam. Around the final exam, my mother was again hospitalized and my brother experienced a severe manic episode. Hence, my personal life was chaotic and I did not have the time or energy to devote to PHGY 214 as well as my other courses.

There are many lessons to take out of my experience and many ways I can improve my academic success in the future. I intend on retaking PHGY 214 and changing my study habits to accommodate unexpected events if they were to happen. Because this course only had four evaluations and no assignments, it was unique to me and often felt like a ¿¿back-burner¿ course. I realize now that is should have been more of a priority to study the lecture material after each lecture or weekly at least. Also, consulting with my professors and academic advisors and reaching out to them when I came across material I did not understand is something I intend to do when I retake the course. Finally, I should have been consistently seeking support for my mental health. Although I felt as though I was too busy or strong enough to handle it at the time, ensuring that I am receiving treatment and counselling is key to my academic success.

Thank you for reviewing my appeal.

Best regards,
Ashley Concessio