Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Maya Macleod
20058863
06/10/19

Dear Associate Dean of Studies,

I am writing this letter to formally request an appeal for the requirement to withdraw from Queen¿¿s University in the 2019-2020 academic year. I also request to appeal my failure in the following courses: SPAN111, GNDS125, GPHY101, GEOL107, and POLS243. My justification to appeal these courses is grounded in particular experiences I faced during my time at Queen¿¿s which were beyond my control.
During first year, the process of adjusting to a higher learning environment proved to be an immense challenge. I could overcome this time with proper dedication and support, however, soon my health declined drastically. During the beginning of November 2017, my health became a consistent issue and permitted to be so until March of 2018. During November and December of 2017, I experienced severe throat pain and nausea, which made eating difficult. This eventually made it so I was too weak to leave my room, and caused my mental health to decline. My diagnoses of Strep Throat and Mononucleosis became a significant long-term barrier to my studies. Inevitably, a domino effect ensued as the stress my body was under rendered me weak and dizzy. This made attending my lectures and tutorials extremely difficult, which reflected in my grades.
In first year, I returned after the winter break, prepared to conquer my course load. However, similar issues arose again in March, resulting in several emergency visits to Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital. My health resulted in me failing SPAN111, GPHY101, GNDS125, and ENGL100. This is because balancing the extenuating circumstances of my health and the heavy demand for my courses proved to be an inescapable obstacle. In the spring, I submitted my GNDS125 midterm ten minutes after the deadline and received a zero, this is despite the fact that I communicated to my professor that this was a result of my inability to sleep at night due to my illness, which caused me to miss my alarm. While dedicating adequate time towards HIST122 and POLS112 was equally difficult, achieving passing grades was attainable because I was familiar with the content, as I covered many concepts previously during high school.
Following my return home in the summer, I was informed of my Academic Probation. I was shocked and extremely disappointed in myself, because I know I am a capable and driven student. I saw an ENT specialist during the summer, who informed me that my prolonged illnesses were a result of my narrow nasal passages and inflamed tonsils, and I was in need of an Adenoidectomy surgery, as well as the removal of my tonsils. I could not secure an appointment prior to the end of the summer in either Canada or St Kitts, therefore, I needed to wait until the summer of 2019. I completed my appeal regarding my academic probation but was informed after numerous attempts to communicate with Hotel Dieu and Kingston General Hospitals, that obtaining documentation regarding my medical history would not be possible from overseas. I was fully aware of the fact that providing documentation was a key element and that my appeal, based on illnesses, would be deemed invalid without it. I was not aware that I could provide documentation at a later date, therefore, I missed the deadline in August to submit an appeal.
Arriving in my second year, I entered the semester with a strong sense of mind. I was able to maintain a consistent, healthily, balanced schedule. However, on September 14th as I was in lecture, I noticed several missed calls from my mother. She informed me that my first cousin, who was like my brother, had suddenly passed away that morning. With my family thousands of miles away in the Caribbean, this was one of the scariest, most painful and emotionally traumatic situations I've ever faced. However, I wanted to do my cousin proud, so I decided to stay enrolled at Queen¿¿s for the year. I have never lost a family member before, and the process of mourning threw me into a maelstrom of emotions that were detrimental to my academic focus.
This loss not only tarnished my focus, but my motivation and happiness throughout the entire of first semester, impacting my ability to manage my courses. I failed POLS243 and GEOL107 because these syllabuses demanded a heavier amount of research, lab work, and revision. I was honestly not in a frame of mind to dedicate the amount of effort that was required. I had already taken ENGL100, and was familiar with the content, which made it possible to pass; the syllabus for PHIL157, in its theoretical component, was light and easily manageable; and DEVS100 was chalked full of theories I had learned in first year.
I recognize now that it would have been beneficial for my productivity levels if I had dropped POLS243 and GEOL107 after my cousin¿¿s death. However, at that period in time, I was experiencing high levels of stress about the numerous credits I lost in first year and was afraid that I would fall more behind in my degree. I recognize now, through reflecting on my failures, that I was going through an extremely traumatic period that was damaging to my focus. Furthermore, I recognize that my stubbornness to continue pushing myself beyond my limits, rather than accepting a weaker workload, was extremely unhealthy. The extenuating circumstances I have experienced over these two years have undoubtedly led to results that portray an inaccurate representation of the dedication I am capable of applying towards my studies.