Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing to drop CHEM 281 (Fall, 2018) due to the following extenuating circumstances outlined in this letter.

I have been agonizing over this course for a while now and have suffered physically, and emotionally as a result, which is why it is imperative to my wellbeing that I drop this course. This course has emotionally drained me and increased my levels of anxiety, beyond my comfort zone. I feel my experience with this course has surpassed what is normal for me, even with the given accommodations for anxiety provided through QSAS. I have developed difficulties sleeping as I am constantly obsessing over this course and I have found going to the dining hall for a meal is a chore since I fear I am wasting time that should be allotted to working through chemistry concepts rather than eating. The red flags first went up during my interaction with the professor, whom I¿¿ve always felt has not been very supportive of me or my accommodations. Throughout this course, whenever I sought help or asked for clarification, he was short with me and I felt rushed. He made me feel like I was bothersome- which diminished my confidence and thus increased my levels of anxiety. I am not blaming my professor, however I am a type of learner that needs constant clarification to reinforce my learning; I need to feel that I have the professor¿¿s support and that he is there to assist special learners like myself. My first inclination was to drop the course, but I felt that I could overcome my panic attacks if I tried to remain positive and consistently work at it. I soon became obsessed with the course material was struggling emotionally. I knew my performance on the midterms would not be good because in my mind I was already defeated. Additionally, I hired a tutor to receive the extra help/clarification that I needed, and worked well under his tutelage. I knew the course material, which is obviously not reflected in my midterm mark. Consequently, the course was made up of two midterms; I only had an understanding of my mark in the course when it was posted the evening of Thursday, November 22nd, (it was worth 30 of our grade). Prior to that night, I anxiously awaited the grade for this midterm - written more than two weeks ago on November 9th, which was already past the final course drop date. Had I known where my mark was going to be earlier on in the semester, I would have dropped the course during the original drop date period. I failed the midterm, and I am nowhere near passing, even though the first midterm mark was an average grade.
This is extremely difficult for me emotionally because I have never failed anything before, nor have I felt like this about any of my university courses. I am a strong student who is constantly working on doing well; I take pride in my school work and have always obsessed about getting good grades. My education is, and has always been very important to me, which is indicated by the marks I am presently receiving in my courses, as well as the grades received in previous courses taken at Queens, where I am enrolled in a very difficult and demanding program (Life Sciences). I am doing well in my other courses and have found my experience with this Chemistry course, very unsettling and emotionally exhausting. Coping with all the emotions that have since surfaced with this course, has been taxing on me physically and mentally. Unfortunately, I knew from my first few interactions with the professor that things would not bode well for me and it just got worst-he even questioned me on my accommodations. The manner in which this course was organized, the timing of the assessments and posting of marks, in addition to the professor¿¿s lack of empathy, was not a good fit for me and I should have listened to my early instincts. However, I am blindsided to the reality and become trapped in an unfortunate circumstance.
My future plan is to retake the course in isolation over a summer session, to ensure that I can regain my confidence and be successful with the material as well as my emotional being.
I plan to resume my appointments with my therapist; as well as meet more regularly with my academic advisor. I know that when I become obsessed with an idea, i.e. the idea of possibly failing this chemistry course, as was the case in my circumstance, I have difficulties processing and focusing in on what the question is asking of me. When that happens, my mind becomes convoluted and I cannot sort through what important material is needed to answer the question. When the assessment is over and I review the same questions in a more relaxed state of mind, I can more easily process what is needed to answer the questions.

I know what my weaknesses are but unfortunately I sometimes I fool myself into believing I am more in control than I really am. Such was the case with the Chemistry course where I should have trusted my initial instincts, and had the timelines been different, I would have dropped the course well within the drop date.

Thanking you in advance for giving this matter your time and immediate attention.

Respectfully,
Madeline Mintsoulis