Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing for a credit standing to be put into place for
PSYC 332 (Winter, 2017). I am subsequently requesting to appeal the removal of a failing mark for ANAT 101 (Winter, 2016 and a credit standing for ANAT 101 (Winter, 2017).

The reasoning behind these appeals stems from some mental health issues that have been present for all of university, but that got significantly worse in the past year. In late October I came to terms with my disordered eating behaviors, and started receiving treatment in the beginning of December. I worked weekly with a psychiatrist, therapist and nutritionist to help me make it through my last semester at Queen¿¿s and graduate.

With regards to PSYC 332, the matter of the course very directly related to my situation. With a section on eating disorders, the discussion of the attributes of patients and doctors, and the isolating feeling created in the hospital setting, the material hit too close to home. Additionally, the evaluation stemmed solely from exams. In a mind that was starved, having to focus at one single point in time, rather than being able to come back to the assessment overtime (such as with an essay or paper) was too much. Having such a limited means of assessment was insufficient to prove my knowledge.

With regards to ANAT 101, I took the course two years in a row to fulfill the requirement for the Health Studies Medial. After not passing the course in 2016, inquired about taking the online version to meet the mark. ANAT 100 was not an eligible option in 2016, but became one in 2017 in the SKHS department. However, I still had to take ANAT 101 to clear the failing mark as passing ANAT 100 would not replace the 101 mark. When looking at my grades for ANAT 101, the written assessment marks are significantly higher than my marks for the lab assessments. ANAT 100 is a rendition of ANAT 101, however it does not include the lab component. That being said, it could be assumed that I would pass 100, when I clearly couldn't do so with 101 as both years consistently showed this pattern. The lab component could be viewed as so difficult as it really is a means of learning a completely new language (all of the anatomical terms). My malnourished brain, as a result of my eating disorder, made the memorization of such new terms nearly impossible.

In terms of the future, I am hoping to make these adjustments to my marks as a means to graduate. The development of my eating disorder is the direct result of a traumatic event that went unreported that occurred at Queen¿¿s University in my first year. While Queen¿¿s was a great experience academically, it left me in a state of unease and distress for almost all four of my years, making the academics more difficult than they would have naturally been for me. Since returning home post-exams, many of my eating disorder behaviors have lessened and I am finally in a place where I am getting the full support that I need. I am not looking to attend graduate school and feel as though returning to Queen¿¿s for another year to make the marks would not be good for my health. I spent four years fighting tooth and nail to make the marks, and unfortunately my mind just couldn¿¿t quite make that happen. I am looking to the future to get myself healthy and move in the direction of a career in helping those who have are going through what I am currently going through find their way out of it.

Thank you,
Courtney Lailey