Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Studies,

My name is Hannah McClean and I am currently in my third year in undergraduate studies at Queen¿¿s University. I am presently majoring in Sociology, and I am appealing to drop the courses SOCY 210 as well as SOCY 275, both of which I was enrolled in during the Fall semester of 2016 at Queen¿¿s.
I am appealing to drop these courses because during my first and my second year of studies at Queen¿¿s I was diagnosed with several mental health issues which had a severe impact on my academic performance. After greatly struggling through first year, but still managing to attain acceptable grades, I was diagnosed with both Major Depressive Disorder as well as Generalized Anxiety Disorder at the end of the Winter semester of 2016. As I had never experienced any form of mental health issues before, I was extremely overwhelmed and unprepared to deal with both of the illnesses that I was facing. I was also unaware of the implications and severe effect that my illnesses were having on me at the time. During the Fall semester of 2016, both of the disorders that I was dealing with became increasingly serious and my mental health deteriorated significantly, which in turn negatively impacted my academic ability and performance in all of my courses. The combination of the effects of these illnesses made it very hard for me to leave my room on most days as well as to focus for extended periods of time, which made completing my course requirements exceedingly difficult.
As the mental illnesses that I was battling had an extremely negative impact on my grades and academic ability, I realized that I needed to take further steps to help myself cope and heal in my process of recovery. I dropped two of my courses before the academic drop deadline in order to lighten my course load from a full-time to part-time student, so that I could focus all of my efforts on recovery and the grades of the remaining classes that I was in. I did not want to drop my classes entirely because I feared that my health would become worse if I had nothing to focus my time and energy on, but I incorrectly assumed that I was well enough for school as I was still in denial about the extent and severity of my mental illness. Although I was trying my hardest to succeed academically, I came to the conclusion that I needed to focus on recovery before I could properly fulfill my academic obligations at Queen¿¿s.
Therefore, I started to see a doctor regularly and began therapy as well as medication towards the end of the fall semester. Although I was trying my best to get better while still managing my academic commitments, I was unable to do this for several reasons. First, I was still adjusting to the medication that I was prescribed and was dealing with the various adverse side effects that were associated with it. This, along with the ongoing effects of my illnesses, greatly impacted my ability to attend class, complete work on time, as well as complete and attend exams. The work I did manage to complete and hand in was far below the standards of my academic ability as it was severely impacted by the state of my mental health.
Although I was presented with great psychological difficulties in the past, specifically in my last year of school, I am now on track to recovery both mentally as well as academically. I currently taking a different medication and regularly attend therapy meetings with a counsellor in Kingston so as not to relapse again. I am also presently enrolled in both SOCY 210 and SOCY 275 this semester as I have a strong interest in both courses, and am deeply saddened that my mental health prevented me from completing both courses in the previous year. Additionally, I have met with several academic advisors this semester to discuss my future at Queen¿¿s as well as strategies for how I can succeed despite my setbacks. My education at Queen¿¿s is very important to me, I and am strongly considering pursing a degree in graduate school once I have completed my undergraduate degree. I am currently working to the best of my ability to ensure that I am striving to succeed academically while still maintaining good health, and I thank you in advance for your consideration in regard to my appeal.

Sincerely,

Hannah McClean