Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Appeal Letter

To: Queen¿¿s University Associate Dean

Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,

I am appealing to drop PHIL 271 (Winter 2019).

Throughout the term I have encountered a series of unexpected circumstances which negatively affected my academic performance. Firstly, I had a very severe mental health condition which spanned from January 15th until February 26th. The following condition significantly impaired my ability to attend classes, submit assignments on time, and participate in group work. Secondly, my grandmother, whom I was very close to, died on February 5th. This greatly worsened my mental health in addition. Both the illness and death of my grandmother came very suddenly. Throughout this difficult time, I attempted to make appointments with my doctor, Dr. Borins, who I have a medical history with at Student Wellness Services, but every time I called I was told that she was booked up for many weeks and that I would not be able to receive an appointment. In the meantime, my condition worsened.

On February 28th, I managed to arrange a meeting with my PHIL 271 Professor, Deborah Knight. I explained to her my difficult circumstances and asked if I could still complete the two assignments that were missed. She said that unless I had medical documentation, which I did not at the time, we could not move forward with the possibility of completing the assignments. She went on to say that she would consult with the Faculty of Arts and Science about the matter.

On March 1st, Professor Knight emailed me and advised me to withdraw from the course since a large portion of it had passed, in addition to my lack of medical documentation at the time. I called Queen¿¿s Student Health Services that same day to see if there were any openings for appointments to see Dr. Borins. I was told there was a cancellation in the afternoon and went to see her. She was able to provide me with medical documentation to verify my condition. I sent an email to my professor that afternoon, explaining that I was able to meet with my doctor attaching the documentation. Since she had said that I could potentially complete the assignments with medical documentation, I assumed the best and waited for her response. She responded to me on March 2nd, which was past the deadline to drop the course, saying that she evaluated my circumstances and recommended that I should appeal to drop the course, since such a large portion was missed due to my unfortunate circumstances, saying I would have her support to do so.

I chose to only appeal to drop PHIL 271 because it required heavy assignments during the period that I was mentally ill and struggling with the unfortunate passing of my grandmother. The two assignments combined were worth a significant portion of my course grade, while the rest of my courses did not have such demanding tasks during that time.

You will notice on my transcript that I dropped another course, ENGL 200 before the deadline. On February 27th, I started to attend classes again and was able to speak to Professor Elizabeth Hanson from ENGL 200 about my performance in the course. I missed several quizzes due to lack of attendance and she advised me that very day to drop the course because there was no possibility of me to make up for the many lost marks or retake the quizzes. Furthermore, I was not able to get an appointment with my doctor at that time, despite calling Student Wellness Services constantly. Whereas for PHIL 271, I was told I could potentially do my assignments with medical documentation present the day I met with Professor Knight and sent her the documentation the day I received it (March 1st), but did not get a response from her until the next day (March 2nd). Therefore, that was why I was able to drop ENGL 200 before the deadline and not PHIL 271.

I have created a strategy in order to make sure I can continue successfully with my school work when my mental health is in poor condition, since my academic performance and future is extremely important to me. I have dealt with mental health struggles in the past, but none have ever been this severe and overwhelming. I have decided to register with Queen¿¿s Student Accessibility Services and to start taking counselling sessions regularly. I believe this will significantly minimize my stress level to maintain good mental health, support my academic goals and make me a much stronger student for the rest of my years at Queen¿¿s University.

Thank you very much for taking the time to consider my appeal. It would be greatly appreciated if I were granted permission to drop the course.

Sincerely,

Una Lajic