Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom this may concern,

I appeal to be allowed to drop my entire course load for this semester (Winter-2018). As you are no doubt aware, last semester I appealed to drop ENGL 238 due to extenuating circumstances: that appeal was granted. The circumstances in question were relating to my partner, who had become pregnant, her disability, the time commitments required to provide support, the related lifestyle overhauls relating to expecting, sudden financial requirements imposed upon me, and the overall fundamental conflict between university and my changing life style. While last semester I was able to balance life and school (barring ENGL 238), further developments during this semester impaired my ability to succeed in my all of my courses.

It must be noted, that between semesters I took steps to mitigate the impact of my circumstances upon my performance. Firstly, my partner and I attended some counselling to help manage conflict and stress (see attached EAP form), however due to a combination of miscommunication and general dissatisfaction with the results we discontinued attendance. Secondly, I radically reduced the number of hours I was working, from 57 bi-weekly to 47 bi-weekly (see attached letter from Walmart Canada), as I recognised that my work was contributing to my difficulty with a full course load. I feel that these steps show that I was actively attempting to mitigate the circumstances that affected my previous success.

While I had taken measures to ensure that the existing circumstances were more controlled, new developments proved unconducive to effective progress. As per my previous appeal, Katrina Chapman, my partner, suffers from Narcolepsy, a neurological disorder affecting her circadian rhythm; unfortunately, her medications are not safe to be taken in conjunction with a pregnancy. As with last semester, her disability required me to act in a care giving role: a demand that I had attempted to counter by cutting back on my work hours, however in early February Katrina was also diagnosed with oppressive sleep apnea; this made a profound impact on her overall alertness and functional ability. The combination of narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and general fatigue felt during the third trimester of pregnancy produced prolonged periods of extreme exhaustion on her part (see attached letter from Dr. John Carlile). This drew much of my attention away from my courses and strongly inhibited ability to succeed: As per Dr. Carlile's note, Katrina requires me to be her sole provider of transportation to any and all appointments, maintain her overall well-being, and ensure both her and our unborn son's safety. This turn of events effectively limits the available time I can devote to course-work, while adding onto the level of stress I was already experiencing.

Beyond the existing time commitments and stress of a normal pregnancy, Katrina developed a complication in the form of Gestational Diabetes. Due to the increased risk of further complication, my partner and I are required to visit Kingston General Hospital regularly to ensure that our son's fetal development is normal. This increase in the number of appointments further syphoned valuable time away from course material, while adding onto a growing mountain of stress. In addition to more frequent medical visits, the presence of Gestational Diabetes means that my partner must be induced rather than carrying our baby to term (See attached letter from Dr. Gregory Davies). While Katrina's due date was predicted to be May 7th (well outside of the exam timeframe), the development of GD precipitates her being induced around April 23rd (within a three day span of all of my exams), which I strongly feel affects my ability to succeed in said exams; the stress and familial commitments would impact my focus and ability to prepare for or even potentially attend.

For these reasons, I feel that it would be unreasonable to expect me to continue any of my courses for this semester. While I had attempted to mitigate the existing circumstances that had affected my performance last semester, newly arisen circumstances have made it nearly impossible for me to succeed in any of my courses this year.

I appreciate your understanding,
Aubrey McLeod