Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Bérnard,

My name is Grace Bolton and my purpose of writing you today is to appeal to drop MATH 110 (F/W 16-17) and receive credit standing in BIOL 102 (F 2016) and GEOL 107 (F 2016).

This past year I struggled with my mental health and had difficulty reaching out for help from Queen¿¿s services. I started the academic year off strong, but began having difficulty in October. My mental health decline impacted my ability to attend classes and complete assignments, resulting in a significant loss of understanding in linear algebra, introductory biology of cells and history of life. This loss of knowledge negatively affected my grades in the fall semester and while I recognized my grades were lower than normal I was still not comfortable reaching out for assistance from health services. As the semester went on I continued to struggle with class and tutorial attendance, which had a negative impact on my grades and understanding of course material. Upon prompting from friends, I began seeing a LaSalle counsellor at a fairly regular interval near the start of 2017 and together we have worked on a variety of strategies to address my mental health. The positive impacts from these sessions can be seen in my winter semester grades, however are not reflected in my fall term grades or the full year MATH 110 course, because I failed to grasp early concepts. After contacting a counsellor at LaSalle I was able to complete extra reading in my winter semester courses to make up for lost class time and was able to attend classes fairly regularly. This resulted in a dramatic shift in my winter term grades, which are a more accurate reflection of my academic abilities. However I was unable to attain the same level of understanding from extra readings for MATH 110. Despite my efforts later in the year to hire a tutor and attend extra tutorials I did not manage to grasp concepts. At the end of the semester I reached out to academic advising to discuss possible remedies for my poor grades and the appeal process was discussed. They mentioned that I have until the following academic year to complete an appeal; however extensions may be granted in cases where health issues cause problems.

In the future I will continue to see a counsellor to work on maintaining my mental health. I will also be using strategies discussed in our sessions to cope with any issues that arise. These strategies include keeping a journal, maintaining a physically active lifestyle and taking self-care time. Finally I will be retaking MATH 110 or a similar math course to fulfill my program requirements. Academic advising has recommended that I look into online Math courses offered through other universities and this is something I will be considering over the summer. This plan and the continued support of family and friends will help me maintain a healthy lifestyle while moving forward with my Environmental Science degree.
I¿¿d like to thank you for taking the time to read my appeal and look forward to hearing your decision.

Sincerely,

Grace Bolton
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