Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
April 30, 2019
To the Associate Dean of Studies, Faculty of Arts and Science, Queens University,

The following letter is my formal appeal to drop a course without academic penalty.

I have been dealing with mental health issues for a number of years and have always been able to persevere and make it through the term and complete all my exams and course work. In this regard this year was no different from previous years. In January and February of this year I was feeling poorly but at the time there was no reason to expect I would not be able to complete my studies just as I had done every other year. However, by March 8th of this year I felt it was necessary for my health and safety to return home and seek the help and support of my family. At the time I felt that with the support of my family I would be able to complete the term. Shortly thereafter however my health prevented me from completing an important assignment in POLS 385 and it was only at this time that I realized that in order to complete the term I would need to drop a course. I also immediately engaged the support of Queen's Student Wellness Services. I had worked with a psycho-therapist in my hometown the previous year but my studies in Kingston had prevented me from continuing these sessions. ¿Given my state of health at the time I was also able to have my final evaluation in Pols 385.

Since arriving home for the summer, I have been working with The Family Navigation Project at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre who have referred me to a psychologist and have suggested I also start working with the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry group and Sunnybrook.

In the Academic Appeal Decision the Associate Dean suggested that I should ¿¿evaluate the impact your health is having on your studies prior to week 7 of the term and ensure you drop courses by the week 8 drop deadline date if you feel you are not on track for successful completion of a course¿ but prior to week 8 I had no reason to think I would not be able to finish all of my course successfully.

My mental state in January and February of this year was similar to previous years, however this year by mid to late March my mental health had declined to new unprecedented personal lows that rendered me unable to complete all of my courses in the winter term. Unfortunately, you can not predict the onset of more severe mental illness any more than you can predict the onset of physical illness. If you get a common cold there is no way of knowing that in a few weeks it may turn into pneumonia. ¿There was no way for me to predict before week seven that I would not be able to complete my course work this year. l am used to studying with poor mental health and I did not realize it would get as bad as it did in the weeks following week seven.
In this regard my declining mental health in March and April is clearly an extenuating circumstance and as a result my academic performance this term was performance was significantly compromised by circumstances beyond my control.

Thank you again for your thoughtful consideration.

Thank you and best regards,

Samuel Robinson Crossland
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