Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,

I am appealing to drop PHIL 271 (Winter, 2019) and receive Aegrotat standing for PHIL 203 (Winter, 2019).

During the second semester of my second year, I began experiencing increased anxiety and had a mild depressive episode. These began affecting me around the beginning of February, and lasted until around the beginning of April. The increased anxiety affected my ability to focus and my memory and increased feelings of panic and irritability. The depressive episode resulted in oversleeping and fatigue and I began to have more difficulty waking up. In PHIL 271, I had trouble completing assignments, which was worsened with memory difficulties and fatigue that I had also experienced in that time period. In PHIL 203, I had similar issues as in PHIL 271 in terms of completing some assignments. I had also forgotten dates of quizzes and discussions, however the ones I had completed were done well. MATH 112 and PSYC 236 were less affected; since there were only tests in those courses, and I was able to complete them. I am not appealing for PSYC 203 despite having not completed any of the course because I am planning to retake it.

During this time, I had consulted a psychologist (around March) and in April, I received an increased dosage in my anxiety medication from a psychiatrist. During the earlier part of the school year, I believed that my difficulties in school would not continue and that my situation would get better, and I didn¿¿t drop the courses before the deadline. However, from then on, my performance in school only decreased. With certain assignments, as time decreased, I thought that I would have been able to complete them in time and didn¿¿t think to ask for extensions until it was too late.

In terms of management, I plan to continue consulting a psychologist during the summer, and plan to find one in Kingston to help during the school year. I believe much of the difficulty I had in school was related to my mood and mental state, and was intensified due to irritability, fatigue, inability to focus, memory problems, and more. I think that with continued counselling and the new medication dosage, I should be able to better manage my situation.

Sincerely,
Calli Lung