Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,

I am writing to you to make a request to drop MATH 311, taught by Shuntaro Yamagishi, after the academic deadline. I need to drop this course because the amount of time it is taking is not producing the desired results. I do not think I will be able to pass the course and I do not want that mark to affect my overall GPA. There is also the stress of not having enough time to spend on my other courses. My level of anxiety has increased, my sleep is being affected and my overall mental health is fragile.

My original plan was to medial in Math and English with my desire being to teach Math in high school. However, I believe that this course is geared to Math majors and more advanced than I realised. I failed the midterm and was told by the professor that the final exam would be more difficult because of the need to lower the class average. I received that mark a few days before the drop deadline but felt that I needed to talk to my academic advisor before I made the decision to drop the course. By the time I had the appointment the date had passed.

I spoke with Vicky Andrews, the academic advisor for Concurrent Education, and we concluded that the best thing for me would be to change my plan from a Math/English medial to an English major with a Math teachable. Therefore MATH 311 is currently an elective because I have completed all the requirements for a Math teachable. She told me to speak with an advisor in Arts and Science to talk about an appeal to drop the course. I was told by the Arts and Science advisor to make an appointment with counselling in Student Wellness Services. In my counselling session with Pam Reines I was told that it was clear this class was putting me under a lot of stress and that in best interest of my mental health it would be best to drop the course.

I had an extremely successful placement in a high school Math department last spring and my associates told me that I was a natural Math teacher and that I was where I was supposed to be. My passion is to teach high school Math and this course is seriously affecting that goal, my personal sense of success, and my overall mental health.

Thank you for your consideration,

Christa Ohlman