Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: May 8, 2019

To the Associate Dean,

I am writing to you to appeal my failed grade for PSYC 241 (Social Psychology) from Fall of 2018. Due to unforeseen changes to my mental health in the fall semester, I had previously been granted a deferral for the final assignment and final exam until this April of 2019. However, my difficulties with mental health had not begun to resolve until about a month ago, so I have been unable to complete the deferred work by end of April as planned.

After the start of PSYC 241 in September of 2018, my mental health began to decline and thus my mental and physical functioning began to decline as well. In October of 2018, I began seeing a psychiatrist for my issues and began a difficult trial of various medications over the following months to try to resolve some of my problems. While I am now feeling better than I did in October, the months in between took me down a worse path of frequent sickness than I had ever felt and I was unable to focus or complete any school work. Taking care of myself began to become a real challenge. I have seen my psychiatrist about 13 times since October and we feel it is only now that I may be ready to attempt and finish schoolwork.

Should my request for a longer deferral be granted, I am planning to finish the final assignment and final exam by July 13, 2019, with tentative exam dates for July 10th and July 12th (my exams are split due to documented accommodations). I am working with my rehabilitation therapist on successfully following my schoolwork schedule and maintaining my health in order to complete my schoolwork by the proposed time.

I am attaching a letter from my psychiatrist to this appeal. Please let me know if you would like any further details regarding my health or my appeal.

Thank you for your consideration,
Olivia Kozak
10008675