Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing to remove ENSC 320, GPHY 318, and GEOL 107 (Fall, 2017) from my transcript as a late course drop due to extenuating circumstances that presented late in the Fall 2017 semester.
The extenuating circumstances I have been facing began the morning of October 26, 2017, when I was involved in a motor vehicle accident on my way home from class. I was riding my bike on Alfred Street when the driver of a parked car had opened his door on me. I fell onto the road and saw I had sustained a couple scrapes. The day of the incident, I did not seek medical attention as I was unsure of the severity of my injuries until they presented in the following week. I sought medical attention at the Hotel Dieu Hospital on November 3rd at the encouragement of my peers when I had issues concerning: a lack of sleep; difficulty with concentration, memory and doing light physical activity; persistent headaches; and extreme sensitivity to visual and auditory stimuli. It was determined that evening in the hospital that I had sustained a concussion from the accident. This was my second concussion within a 10-month period. My previous concussion healed within about a week; this time, however, I have been experiencing post-concussive symptoms each month following the accident. Physiotherapy examinations in December confirmed that I also had strained muscles in my neck, back and hips, which was impeding on my ability to sit upright without muscle pain. I was following concussion protocol for nearly two months after the accident, so I was unable to participate in school for the entirety of November in terms of attending class and completing group work and personal assignments. I did notify my professors in all three classes about my injury. I registered with Queen's Student Accessibility Services early November. I had contacted the Adaptive Technology Center in Stauffer which gave me access to resources to facilitate studying, as I consistently felt I wanted to finish these classes. I was doing weekly checkups with a doctor on campus at Student Wellness to monitor symptoms and fill out Verification of Illness forms, and I made appointments to talk to a counsellor monthly. However, I was not able to attend my Fall exams due largely to headaches and memory impairment. There are multiple unfinished assignments that were due in November for ENSC 320 and GPHY 318 which the professor and I had agreed I could submit over the Winter term. I had also arranged with the professors to write final exams for ENSC 320, GPHY 318 and GEOL 107 by the end of April. Due to the post-concussive symptoms, I did not enroll in any Winter 2018 courses: I had difficulty walking to and being in class, and struggled to listen to the professor in the class I attended in the first week. I thought that the remaining work from the previous semester would be manageable at my own pace, but I continue to experience post-concussive symptoms including headaches, difficulty sleeping, and noise sensitivity. I also struggled with reading comprehension of academic articles. From the beginning, I expected myself to recover sooner. I kept trying to pursue school because I held onto that hope, but I have accepted that it will take more than a few months to recalibrate after a second brain injury.
I am currently majoring in Environmental Studies and have enjoyed all the classes I have taken. As I do wish to still be successful at Queen's in the future, my current plan is to take at least one full year off from school to heal properly. I would like to come back for September 2019 or January 2020, but I will be maintaining appointments with a concussion specialist to ensure a return to normalcy before certainly enrolling. I will be keeping track of my healing during this time so that I can register with Queen's Student Accessibility Services and/or the Adaptive Technology Center early in the semester if necessary. When I return I aim to come back as a part-time student, as I acknowledge that reducing my course load will create a manageable transition back to university life. The 2017/2018 term was supposed to be my fourth year at Queen's, but I believe it is important to recover fully before attempting to return. The two professors of my classes in the Fall term both expressed that they supported any decision I made about my studies, but primarily hoped to see me get better.
I appreciate your consideration, and please contact me if you require more information regarding my situation.

Kind Regards,

Alexandra Beveridge