Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: September 7th, 2019

Dr. Jenn Stephenson
Associate Dean (Studies)
Dunning Hall, Queen's University
94 University Ave,
Kingston, ON K7L 3N9


Dear Dr. Stephenson,


This letter is to appeal for a late withdrawal from PSYC271 (Summer, 2019) with Dr. Baker.

I am registered with QSAS as a student with a disability. The academic accommodations I receive include semi-private examinations, and assignment extensions/exam deferrals when needed. Since my initial diagnosis a year ago, I had taken steps to manage my condition by seeing a psychologist at Queen's weekly. However, over the summer I was only able to speak to this psychologist once every few weeks by phone. I was also switched onto a new medication which I experienced numerous issues with. Without the support system that I had so carefully constructed during the school year, my disability took up much of my time and energy, leaving me unable to complete the course work required of me for PSYC271. My condition proved debilitating and detrimental to my academic performance in the last few weeks of the course.

Initially, I was keeping up with the coursework. By the deadline to drop the course, I had submitted everything that was required of me and had an A in the course. It was for these reasons that I did not drop the course before the deadline. But as time went on, I found myself overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the coursework due to the circumstances of my disability. In the last 3 weeks of the course (July 10th- August 1st), the condition I had tried so hard to manage throughout the summer was spiraling out of control. There was a 10 percent paper to be written that fell within ten days of the final exam worth 50 percent. At this point, I was barely eating or sleeping, and I had no energy to exert on even the simplest of tasks so facing the heavily weighed tasks left in the course was an impossible feat. Dr. Baker was willing to accept the paper after the course had been completed, but the night before the final exam, I was having severe panic attacks through the night and could not make it to my 9am examination. When I reached out to Dr. Baker, he notified me that it was now a special circumstance and let me know he was in support of a request for late withdrawal since a majority (60 percent) of the course work had yet to be completed due to my condition.

With the support of my instructor, the psychologist I see regularly, and the QSAS team, I decided to reach out and appeal the matter since I know the result of this course was due to my extenuating circumstances at the time, and in no way indicative of my academic abilities.



I have since been placed on a medication on which I feel more stable in my wellness and productivity now, and with my support system in place once again I feel confident in my abilities to put my best foot forward in my studies. This semester, I am focusing on managing my time wisely and maintaining regular meetings with medical professionals.

Attached you will find a letter of support from the psychologist that I see regularly, Dr. Farah Nanji, as she can speak to the impact of my health condition on my academic performance in PSYC271 this past summer.


Thank you for your understanding and for taking the time to review this.



Sincerely,



Paulina Bernreiter