Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: January 10, 2018

Attention: Associate Dean (Studies)
Academic Appeals, Arts and Science
Queen¿¿s University
RE: Nathan Narang, Student ID: 20005105

To whom it may concern:

Thank-you for considering my academic appeal application. I am grateful for an opportunity to provide an explanation as to my academic performance during the Fall of 2017. I am requesting to drop CHEM 211, CHEM 212 and for credit standing for STATS 263 (I have already dropped MATH 121A). If more appropriate to do so, I would like to appeal dropping the entire term of Fall 2017 courses. I hope you will consider my appeal due to medical extenuating circumstances that I experienced during much of Fall of 2017.
In 2014, I was diagnosed with Graves¿¿ Disease, and it was managed by medication and was in remission during my final year of high school, and into first year at Queens.
Graves¿¿ Disease is otherwise known as hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). Symptoms include fatigue, insomnia or sleeplessness, inability to focus, and weight loss. In late spring of 2017, my symptoms and thyroid levels began to re-appear after many months of remission. As a result, and given continued medication was not an option, at the end of August of 2017, my endocrinologist treated me with a dose of radioactive iodine (RAI) which was intended to destroy my thyroid. The RAI treatment takes varying durations of time to start to stabilize the thyroid, but if effective, would result in a full cure. In my situation, the treatment did not take immediate effect, and my doctor was considering a second dose. My thyroid levels remained unstable for the first two months following treatment, or into October 2017. By end of October 2017, my thyroid levels were still higher than expected. Between September 2017 and end of October, I had lost a great deal of weight (almost 15 pounds) and had difficulty focusing for long periods of time, did not sleep well, and was constantly feeling anxious. The symptoms impacted my studies significantly, as this term was a very challenging and required significant focus. As a result, I quickly fell behind with assignments, labs and with material review. My poor academic performance was consistent across most of my courses last term. My doctor and I were checking my thyroid levels every two weeks during this time. Finally, by the end of November of 2017, my doctor finally contacted me letting me know my levels were approaching normal. By then, despite my efforts, and so close to final exams, I had lost a significant amount of my academic term and could not catch up the amount of work required to successfully complete any courses.
My endocrinologist Dr. Robyn Houlden has written a letter explaining my condition and also requesting accommodation for expected poor academic performance this term. Her letter is attached, and she is available to speak to you should you require more information about my medical circumstances.
The good news, I hope, is that my thyroid levels have come within the normal range, and I hope the Graves¿¿ has been stabilized if not cured. Although I may continue to experience some symptoms, these have greatly lessoned in the last 30 days and I feel significantly better. I continue to work with my doctor to ensure my thyroid levels have stabilized.
I would like to assure the university that I had not expected the impact of Graves¿¿ to significantly impact my studies this term. My performance last term was not characteristic of my academic abilities. If I am granted an academic appeal, I have a definitive plan to overcome this obstacle. I have already been working closely with the biochemistry department to plan and map out my remaining subjects, although I will have to add a year to my studies to graduate. I am grateful for the department¿¿s assistance to me. I have significantly lessened my work load this term by dropping some courses, and adding them in Summer 2018. I furthermore have taken an online course to provide myself more flexibility to my in-class schedule.
I have been a high performing student for many years, and as such, I was disappointed in what happened last term. However, I humbly acknowledge the situation was not in my control. I hope you will grant allow me an opportunity to drop these courses and move towards continuing my academic pursuits with confidence.

Thank-you for your consideration.

Sincerely,


Nathan Narang