Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,


My name is Mikyla Callaghan and I am going into my third year of Life Sciences at Queens University. Due to personal and health factors that have hindered my abilities to complete an appeal before April 30th, I am requesting to waive the one-term deadline to submit an appeal for credit standing in a course. If granted, I would like to appeal for credit standing in PHGY 215 taken in fall 2018 of my second year of studies.

I am registered with Student Accessibility Services due to an extensive medical history that has affected my schooling for many years. I have had diagnoses of anxiety and mood related disorders which make coping with stressful situations more challenging for me.
After high school, I experienced three cases of a spontaneous collapsed lung which resulted in an emergency surgery in 2017. Since the surgery, I have struggled with ongoing chest wall pain that can be triggered by stress and anxiety, as any tension in my chest is often magnified due to the sensitivity of the area. In addition, I experience minimal strength and difficulty breathing during these times. The episodes often impair my abilities to complete tasks until the symptoms subside.

During the fall 2018 examination period I had an episode of this chronic condition that greatly impacted my performance on my final exams. Towards the end of the exam week, I had to defer my Math 121 exam due to the symptoms I was experiencing. The PHGY 215 exam was the day following, and while I was still experiencing symptoms, I unfortunately attempted to write the exam anyways.

In winter 2019, I was primarily focused on reducing stress and anxiety as much as possible to minimize the symptoms of my condition. My symptoms appeared to be amplified by the stress of completing Math 121, and therefore, I withdrew from the course at the mid-year mark. My hope was to ensure I could complete my April 2019 exams successfully without having my medical history interfere with my performance.

My intent was to appeal for credit standing in PHGY 215 after completing my exams second semester. However, since I previously withdrew from Math 121, I had to complete the course in the summer term which began quickly after. Throughout the past three months I have continued to experience severe anxiety and stress correlating to the course. I was only recently able to see my family doctor to discuss the ongoing symptoms as I am an out-of-province student.

Now that I have completed the course that may have led to the flare up in my condition, and have had the opportunity to speak with my doctor, I felt as though I could properly complete this appeal. After explaining my personal and health related history, I would appreciate the opportunity to further explain the reasons behind appealing for credit standing in PHGY 215 by waiving the one-term deadline for submission.

Sincerely,

Mikyla Callaghan (20079694)