Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I am writing this letter to ask for special permission to drop CHEM 281, STAT 263, ANAT 215, and PHGY 214A, held in the fall term of 2016, even though the November 2016 deadline has already passed.
Throughout last academic year (2015/2016), some extenuating circumstances developed which have affected my mental health and my academics greatly. When I originally came to Queen's, I had high goals for myself but as the year progressed I never truly felt as if I had adapted to the student body or to Queen's. I never wanted to accept the fact that there might be something wrong with me until I had failed two courses. I decided to do something about the situation and redo my courses over the summer, and I improved my grades significantly. I thought I was okay, and I thought I had worked out what was going on. When I came back to Queens this September (2016), I thought I was doing well. Then my grades once again started to decrease and decreasing grades coupled with having an undeclared major started to affect my mentally. I didn't understand why my grades were dropping; I had been studying so hard but when it came to writing the actual exam, I would have an anxiety attack. I struggled with paralyzing feelings of hopelessness. That day I went home and could not focus. I was constantly getting headaches, I could no longer get a full night's rest, or focus on my work the way I use to, and it started to become hard for me to get out of bed in the morning. Once I realized what was happening, I decided to seek help. I thought taking a lighter course load might help, so I talked to an academic advisor. I asked which course I should drop to lessen my anxiety and allow me to focus more on achieving my academic goals. She helped me decide what to do, but after a few weeks, it became clear to me that a lighter course load was not having its intended benefit. I thought I had resolved my problem, but I nonetheless continued to struggle with severe anxiety and felt constantly worried. This had continuously negative repercussions on my grades.
I thought maybe if I went to more office hours, I would be able to get some help. I attended the office hours that my professors held to get academic help. I thought this would help me feel better, but my professor made me feel the complete opposite. He made me feel as if he was angry that I was there and audibly groaned when he had to flip through the lecture notes to explain the concept to me. He made me feel stupid. I felt completely unsupported and alienated, and my feeling of hopelessness intensified. I felt so degraded and worthless. At this point, I had no idea what to do because I felt like a burden for asking for help. Eventually, I went to see a counsellor and we have discussed what I should do and what would be best for my mental health. We've concluded that taking a step back during the winter term would be best to help me cope with my mental health. We also concluded that it would be best for me at this time to not write my exams and try to let go of all the stress I have been going through. I am sad not to have been able to achieve the academic goals I set when I first came to Queen's. I want to try to give it my all and be successful, but to do this, I need to be mentally and physically healthy so I can take on this coming year with my head held high.
I truly appreciate your help and all this school has done for me to help me work through this rough patch in my life. I would just like to thank you for taking the time to review my proposal and I am willing to answer any question you may have.

Sincerely,

Allison Robertson