Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies),

I am writing this letter to appeal for a late drop of CISC 220(Winter, 2019), CISC 124(Winter, 2019) and BIOL 331(Winter, 2019) and to appeal for credit standing for MATH 110(Fall 2018-Winter 2019). I am requesting to appeal these courses due to extenuating circumstances beyond my control regarding my mental health which have directly affected my academic performance in these courses this semester. Within the last few weeks, I was diagnosed with a general anxiety disorder. This is something I have been struggling to control my last few years at university, however I was under the impression that I was just dealing with stress and I was not fully aware of my condition. I believed to have it under control, but the severity began to drastically increase near the middle of the semester. I reached out to an occupation therapist at LaSalle around mid March when I believed that the severity had become quite high. The occupational therapist helped to set me up with a physician at LaSalle and continued to help me work through my issues. Although the occupational therapist was very accommodating, given the situation that I was in, they could only provide band-aid fixes. Because of this, throughout the duration of the semester, the severity of my condition continued to remain quite high. I believe that my academic performances in these courses was affected because my anxiety lead me into insomnia. This affected my ability to sleep and the severity increased leading up to tests and quizzes as well as other large academic assessments. Because of this, I believe my ability to complete assignments to the best of my ability was compromised, as well as my ability to recall information during periods of study and my ability to focus in class, on assignments and during tests and exams.
I am not appealing to drop all the courses I was enrolled in during the Winter 2019 semester for a few reasons. Firstly, I have already completed all the course work for MATH 110(Fall 2018-Winter 2019) and written the final exam and passed the course, so I am appeal for credit standing insted. I am not appealing to drop PHGY 216(Winter, 2019) and BIOL 334 (Winter, 2019) because these courses had fewer academic evaluations (assignments, quizzes, exams) throughout the semester. I am certain that my academic performance was affected in these courses, but I don't believe there was a high enough percentage of courses evaluated throughout the semester to significantly impact my overall grade in these courses. I believe that by writing a deferred final exam for these courses once my condition has improved will be sufficient in reflecting my academic ability. I have made arrangements to write my BIOL 334 exam in early September and I will write my PHGY 216 final exam during the May-July spring/summer examination period with summer semester class.
Although the severity of my condition did not peak before the drop deadline, I am aware that my academic performance was still affected during this period. I did not drop the courses in question prior to this deadline because I was not aware how severe my condition was nor that I was dealing with anything more severe than school stress. I was not aware that I needed help from medical professionals, and I believed that I was managing everything on my own. I now realize that this was not the case and I should have reached out for help sooner.
To ensure academic success in the future, I have come up with an academic plan which I have run by both the occupation therapist, an academic advisor and the physician I have met with. Firstly, I intend on retaking the courses I am appealing to drop in upcoming semesters. Secondly, I am beginning medication to treat my anxiety disorder. I will be following up regularly with a physician as well as participating in cognitive behavioral therapy for both anxiety and insomnia. I will be retaking some courses over the summer semester to help bring up my GPA and to make sure that I am capable of working through my disorder while in school as my anxiety is at its worst while I am enrolled in courses and its severity increases as the semester progresses. I am currently enrolled in three courses for the summer semester, but I do not intend to exceed the recommended amount. I am aware of the drop deadlines and I am prepared to drop all summer courses if I am unable to successfully complete the course material without compromising my health and my academic performance. My personal wellbeing is my top priority, but I am also very passionate about my studies here at Queens and my academic success is also very important to me. I believe that working through my anxiety with the help of medical professionals while being home and continuing my studies is the best way to ensure my academic success in the future. I intended to continue to follow up with medical professionals in the fall regardless of how successful I am with managing my disorder during the summer months. I will also be registering with accessibility services for the fall semester as advised by the occupational therapist I have been seeing. Should I be unable to successfully complete my summer courses and still feel like my academic performance is affected when I return in the fall, I intend to take a reduced course load until I my academic performance is no longer affected to ensure my academic success.
Thank you for taking the time to read over my letter of appeal and should you require any more information, please feel free to reach out.

Sincerely,
Jae Makitalo (20024723)