Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: January 2nd, 2019


Dear Dr. Stephenson,

I am requesting permission to drop three fall 2018 courses after the drop deadline, due to extenuating circumstances involving a drastic decline in my mental health during the latter portion of the 2018 Fall Term. The three courses that I would like permission to drop are:

HIST 246
HIST 225
CLST 200

My illness became active during late October, and is continuing to this day. In an attempt to reverse the course of my situation, I met with my psychiatrist on Thursday, October the 25th, in order to discuss coping strategies and revising my medication. On October 16th, I also applied for and was granted Short-term academic consideration. Because my condition had not improved by October, 30th, I applied for an extension. Despite altering my medication and seeking support through psychotherapy sessions, my condition continued to worsen, and I was unable to finish my fall term courses. I have attached the letter from my psychiatrist, Dr. McCulloch, attesting to my illness.

The impact of my mental health upon my academic potential and performance during the fall 2018 term has been profound and long lasting. For the duration of the periods during which I was unwell, I was operating with a severe cognitive deficit, which negatively impacted my performance in all areas. Specifically, my illness rendered me unable to process and absorb written or spoken language at a level that would permitted me to function in an academic environment. Similarly, my ability to write coherently was vastly diminished, to the extent that I was forced to rely heavily on my parents to even compose the necessary emails to alert my instructors regarding my predicament. In all of my courses there was a great deal of reading and memorization required. Due to my worsening cognitive deficits, completion of the course material was made impossible.

Should my request be granted, there are a variety of measures of which I intend to implement in order to ensure that my academic performance isn¿¿t jeopardized during the winter term. I intend to make use of readily available support structures within Queen¿¿s, such as the writing center, so as to improve my grades and diminish unhealthy levels of stress. I will be taking a lighter course load in the winter term to reduce workload and stress. I will be continuing neurofeedback sessions at the KIPN Clinic. Finally, I will remain in close contact with my psychiatrist throughout the year so that should any episodes of mental illness come to pass, they will be addressed and managed more quickly, thereby minimizing the disruption to my coursework. Currently, I am taking medication which has been yielding positive results and is allowing me to function at a higher level than what was previously possible. This development gives me the confidence that I will be able to succeed academically in the winter term, and should I experience any future episodes of mental illness, they will be less severe than what transpired this past term.

I thank you for your consideration of this appeal. I am confident that should this appeal be granted, the measures that I have described above will allow me to succeed academically in the coming year.

Sincerely,

Ethan Dignam