Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To: The office of The Associate Dean of Studies

I am appealing to the Faculty in order to drop Econ 426 (Winter,2014) after the deadline.

The academic year 2014 coincided with a vast array of personal issues that directly affected my mental state, and my ability to perform well academically. Since first year I have been dealing with a severe anxiety and stress disorder which at times leads to a complete state of mental collapse. This disorder sometime manifests itself in the form of depression. When in this state of mind I shut down completely and I am not able to discuss matters with my friends and loved ones. I am currently under academic probation and I have worked extremely hard this year in order to raise my GPA despite my circumstances. During the time leading up to the exams, I had trouble sleeping due to the stress which I discussed with my counsellor, Ms.Sebok, extensively. The Midterm Schedule I experienced also proved to be challenging, having three midterms in three consecutive days made it very difficult for me to study all the material for this course and prepare sufficiently in the given time.

Prior to the midterm I contacted Professor Smith and made him aware of my situation but he was unable to help me. Leading to the exam period the exam schedule I was given was not helpful in any way. By again having three exams in three consecutive days placed substantial pressure on me mentally. During this time I had multiple sessions with my counsellor discussing the stress and anxiety I had been experiencing which as mentioned above led to a sleeping disorder, and severely diminished my ability to concentrate academically. Having three exams in three consecutive days of exams made it very difficult for me to study for this course in particular.The ECON 426 exam took place on the 16th of April. Having an exam the previous day and also an exam the next day made it extremely difficult to study primarily due to my conditions. During this time other factors also affected my studying such as my parents being away and my brother having a severe case of Mononucleosis, thereby adding to my already large list of worries and adding to my stress and anxiety. I am sure the faculty is already aware of my condition given my prior appeals and the letters which are already on file. I wish to drop this course in order boost my GPA above the 1.6 required to meet the requirements of my academic probation. Since my performance in this course is not an accurate indication of my abilities academically, and all that I have achieved in the past academic year with regards to my other courses, and it is severely damaging my overall GPA.

I plan to retake Econ 426 in the upcoming academic year. Due to my lighter course load next year I will be able to perform better in this course. I am currently enrolled in 9 credits for the spring semester. This will allow me to manage stress and perform better academically in further raising my overall GPA to a 1.9 necessary for my degree plan. In the upcoming academic year I plan on continuing my hard work in order to raise my overall cumulative GPA in the hopes of graduating in the spring of 2015. I plan on continuing my sessions with Ms.Sebok in order to address my personal problems, in the hopes of improving my academic performance. I will also continue to seek help from Jennine Ball in order to find tutors for my economics courses as necessary. In addition, I plan on meeting with an academic advisor in order to plan my academic year in order to balance my course load, in the hopes of further boosting my GPA leading up to my graduation. Finally, I will take advantage of the Peer Mentor program offered by HCDS in order to help me with organizing and managing my course load better.

Sincerely,

Arya Mobasher