Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: July 6, 2016

Dr. Johanne Bénard
Associate Dean (Studies)
Student Services

Dear Dr. Bénard,

I am appealing to drop the following courses: CISC 352 (Fall, 2011), COGS 400 (Fall, 2011), PSYC 370 (Winter, 2012), CISC 352 (Fall, 2012), MATH 111 (Fall/Winter, 2012), CISC 223 (Winter, 2013), CISC 453 (Winter, 2013), PHIL 153 (Fall, 2013), MATH 111 (Fall/Winter, 2013), MATH 121 (Fall/Winter, 2013), CISC 223 (Winter, 2014), CISC 223 (Winter, 2016) (absent from form due to lack of space), PSYC 215 (Winter, 2016).

Beginning in the Fall 2011 term, serious mental health issues prevented me from competently pursuing my studies. Though varying in extremity, this condition persisted through to the Winter 2016 term. For the first three terms in this range, I was only able to keep up with a handful of courses, and the rest were dropped or failed, depending on how quickly my performance in that course began to devolve. In the subsequent three terms, I was completely overwhelmed by my condition, and was unable to pass even a single course, or to take the steps required to properly drop or appeal the courses. In the final two terms within this range, my mental state was improving, and I was able to engage with most of my courses, though with some setbacks.

In all of the cases being appealed, my mental health struggles prevented me from attending classes, completing assignments, engaging with course material, and pursuing academic resources. The result was a state of general paralysis with regards to my studies, particularly between 2013 Winter and 2014 Winter, but also stretching before and after this to a more limited degree.

Throughout the entirety of the time period being appealed, I have been pursuing help at Student Wellness Services; initially personal counselling, and later advancing to psychiatric evaluation, medication, and ongoing therapy. While this has been an extended process, it has been extremely fruitful, and has successfully turned my performance back in a positive direction over the last year. With additional breakthroughs in treatment early this summer, I am confident in the state of my mental health now and going forward.

While I would normally hesitate to pursue special accommodations, my academic prospects have been seriously hurt by my mental health issues. I came to Queen's to pursue a uniquely interesting honours specialization which I am now no longer eligible for, even as my passion in my studies has been rekindled. I would like the opportunity to repair the damage that I have caused, and the appeals process seems the appropriate road to that goal.

I did begin the process of this appeal in June of last summer, as things were just beginning to turn up. My appeal to waive the 21-day deadline was granted at that time, but I did not follow through and pursue the actual appeal. The reason for this was a combination of misunderstanding of the consequences of honours ineligibility (which I believed I could overcome on my own), and the fact that while I was on the mend, my condition still did not feel stable enough to me to justify an appeal. Recent conversations with Irene Lafleche of the School of Computing and with Haley Everson at Student Services have educated and emboldened me regarding the process, and my current understanding is that due to the prior granting of the deadline appeal, I may be allowed to proceed directly to this full appeal. This appeal covers the same time period as before, with the exception of courses in the Winter 2016 term, which I believe would not require a deadline-waive at this stage in any case (and will be addressed in the supporting documentation as well).

My time at Queen's thus far, while tumultuous at times due to my struggles with mental health, has informed who I am and inspired what I wish to be. My therapy, treatment, and personal development in that time, and the last year in particular, have provided me with the necessary and sufficient tools to succeed at my academic pursuits. I will be continuing to take advantage of therapy and other supporting academic and mental health resources over the course of the upcoming terms, to ensure a stable foundation. Furthermore, I will for the time being be holding off on advancing to the honours specialization, and will focus on the easier BCmp-General, so as not to put immediate undue strain on my studies now that I have recovered. Having the chance to pursue a specialization in the future, however, is a great source of inspiration for me going forward.

I would like to thank you for your time, your consideration, and your patience with regards to this somewhat protracted appeal; it all means a great deal to me. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to potentially re-open the window to my academic passions here at Queen's.

Sincerely,

Christopher McIntyre