Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Sir/Madam:

I received an e-mail from the kinesiology department on June 15, 2018 noting that I have been struggling in my studies and that I may wish to consider appealing my winter term marks if there were extenuating circumstances outside of my control.

First, I would like to thank Queen¿¿s for bringing this process to my attention as I had not considered this option but was well aware how these marks could negatively impact my future and my ability to earn an Honours Degree.

As for my background, I am from Brockville, Ontario and graduated from the French school Académie catholique Ange-Gabriel and was the recipient of the Governor General Academic Medal for my grade 12 year. I have always done well academically and been active in sports as I played Junior B hockey and was also team captain of my school basketball team.

In grade 11, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis and as a result, slept a great deal. I continued to struggle as I required a significant amount of sleep into grade 12. As a result, I was sent to Kingston for more testing and the doctors indicated that I had an enlarged spleen and that they would need to monitor my health but that it was not unexpected and that it could take up to one year to get back to normal.

The problems with sleeping and obtaining adequate rest persevered in my first year at University. On May 3, 2017, I had nasal surgery at the Kingston General Hospital to fix my deviated septum and enlarge my air passageway so that I could potentially get more air and hopefully obtain a better and restful night¿¿s sleep. Unfortunately, that did not help. I actually snore even louder, waking up multiple times a night and waking still feeling exhausted.

As a result of my sleeping difficulties, I have dropped out of all sports as I am so exhausted and also struggle to stay awake to study. I am unable to concentrate and focus very long and quickly fall asleep. This persevered this year but by March of this year, it was debilitating. I had obtained the Student Works contract for my area and had to cancel that employment opportunity as well because I was just too exhausted to do what was required of me to do the job. When it came time to study for exams, I slept 16-18 hours a day and could not focus or retain anything.

On May 11, 2018, I returned to my doctor and he has referred me to the sleep clinic to see if I have sleep apnea but he has also sent me for further testing to explore other possibilities behind my exhaustion. We are now at the end of summer and I am still awaiting an appointment to the sleep clinic.

I have come to terms that at this point, I cannot handle a full course load until I can work out why I am so exhausted. This semester I've taken four courses until my health can improve. Please be aware that I am actively pursuing the cause for my problems and hope that you can consider these difficulties in assessing my request.

Of note, I took two courses by correspondence this summer and did very well in them. I know that I can be successful in my academics but at this current time, I simply cannot take a full course load.

The reasons for me submitting this appeal passed the deadline are, when I went into Dunning Hall for support regarding the appeal process, I was informed that there was no deadline and that before I submit an appeal I should have as much information as possible. Knowing the time of my appointment at the clinic, I made the decision to wait and receive the most information regarding my process to be able to better explain my future plans on improving my health.

I see now that I may have made the wrong decision because I am now submitting this appeal far past the deadline. Although I am submitting this now, my appointment with the sleep clinic still is not until January 17th, 2019 and my follow up with the physician not until the 6th of February, 2019. I realize the importance of my mistake and that waiting for these appointments before submitting this was not the right course of action.

Thank you for considering my request and look forward to hearing from you in the near future. Please let me know if you need anything further.



Connor Wilhelm
Student Number 20013786