Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

I am appealing to have an extension for the assignments and papers that I have not submitted for ECON 310, ECON 351, and ECON 231. I am also appealing to re-write the exams for these courses.

To put it bluntly, this past fall term was catastrophic for my academic and mental well-being. I didn't go to class, hand in assignments, or adequately prepare myself for tests and exams. I even missed my final paper for one course. I spent most of my semester agonizing alone over the mess that I had gotten myself into. Slowly, over the course of the term, smaller hiccups and setbacks built up to paralyze me from completing the tasks I needed to take care of my health and my academics.

To offer a background, I have been struggling chronically with depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse for approximately 5 years. I have sought help, taken medication, seen counselling, and made many efforts to cope throughout this period. While I am often able to get back on track, I have on several instances relapsed into bad habits and experienced darker days, weeks, and months. This past fall was as bad as I can remember in years.

I was in a good place academically, mentally, and emotionally when I entered the fall term, having just ended a summer job that I got both excited by and excelled at. Unfortunately, things started to slowly spiral out of control in the months that followed. Shortly into the semester, I began to notice that my medication had stopped working. I felt consistently drained of energy and had little motivation to leave my bed on most days. At this point, I stopped going to class and fell behind on my work. I started missing assignments, which compounded with my depression to further decrease my drive and increase my anguish. By the time that midterms came around, I was so far behind in my classes that no amount of cramming was going to get my head above water. Despite my best efforts, I had done too much damage in the first half of the term to recover from.

I had taken a pause from counselling in the summer because it conflicted with the hours of my summer job. I had intended to resume, but initially put it off because I felt confident entering the year. As my problems built up, I felt less comfortable reaching out, and less confident that reaching out would help my situation. In my depressed and anxious state, I refused to have anyone catch me vulnerable. This had the inadvertent effect of not being able to seek help when I needed it most.

I have tried valiantly to get my life back on track since. I have since resumed counselling, booked a doctor¿¿s appointment to find a medication that will work for me going forward, and kept up with my schoolwork. I¿¿ve been keeping better tabs on my physical well-being by exercising more, drinking less, and eating healthier. More than anything, I just want to be healthy, happy, and motivated again. In January, I met with my academic counsellor to advise my steps going forward, and will meet with them again to discuss my potential courses of action regardless of the outcome of this appeal. That being said, I thoroughly believe that the fall term did not offer an accurate portrayal of me as a student. When I¿¿m at my best, I¿¿m not missing assignments or falling incomprehensibly behind on my schoolwork. I believe that if given an opportunity to clear the slate and show my best work, I will show that my competencies are more than adequate. I am confident in my ability to do well in the courses that I failed last term. So long as I continue to look after my health as I am now, I just need the opportunity.

I would like to request an opportunity to complete the missed work (assignments and final papers) and re-write the exams. I plan on dedicating this upcoming summer to preparing myself academically and ensuring that the positive changes I have seen in the last 3 months can become permanent. I have no hesitations regarding the timeline at which I would need to complete these tasks. I wish to resume studies in the fall and would like to have moved past this setback beforehand.

At the end of the day, I will do whatever it takes to pass these courses. If it is necessary for me to retake them in full, then I will. That being said, as I only have 2 courses aside from these left in my academic career, I believe that the proposition that I have presented above is the best move going forward.