Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern (Associate Dean of Studies),

I am appealing to drop MATH 221 (Fall, 2019) and CISC 221 (Fall, 2019). As this semester comes to an end, I find myself quite unhappy with the outcome. Early on in the semester I was determined to perform well academically and become more socially active. Last year, I was living in a house with three other people and was not content with the situation, thus, I decided to move into an apartment and gain some independence. Additionally, I decided to take five courses this semester rather than four, which is how many I have taken in my previous semesters. The semester started off fairly well, however, soon after the second week I became very sick and due to my physical inability to keep up with my academics I was already put in a bad position to begin the year. This illness lasted for about a week and a half, after which I was determined to continue a healthy lifestyle as well as catch up in my studies. Unfortunately, I fell ill once again, just two weeks later. I have been sick on and off for this entire semester and am currently feeling symptoms of another illness. Since I was all alone in my new living situation, I began feeling depressed and unmotivated, and with nobody to talk to I began bottling up my feelings and trying to escape from reality. This is very similar to how I felt in my first year of undergraduate studies in 2017-18. My first year was a turning point for me, I was put on academic probation following that year and managed to dig myself out of the hole in my second year at Queen's. I never imagined I would be in such a similar situation again, but I have come to realize that life sometimes takes its turns but I must have the self-awareness to take back control and follow the path which I choose. This was my main issue; I began doubting myself and questioning my identity as a person. Amongst all this, I stopped taking my anti-stress medication and drifted off into an unhealthy and lonesome place in my mind.

In order to better lay out the timeline, I found myself doing well in the first two weeks of this semester but then fell ill soon after. After the first illness passed, I did my best to get caught up in all my classes, but was unable to do so for all of my classes, primarily CISC 221 and MATH 221 due to the fact that these courses relied heavily on in-class activities and readings. Additionally, CISC 221 had weekly lab assignments and both, MATH 221 and CISC 221, had bi-weekly quizzes of which I was physically unable to attend them all. I then became sick again during week 6, which is when I started to become mentally unstable and began feeling very alone. I acquired different viruses for the duration of the semester, till this date, where I have been sick for the passed two weeks. However, I have started to better mentally since I began taking my medication again, I am currently seeking help and would like to begin talking to a counselor on a weekly basis. I am currently enrolled in five courses; CISC 221, CISC 235, CISC 282, MATH 221, CISC 204, and I believe my performance in these courses has been severely impacted due to my physical and mental status. However, I am still content with my performance in CISC 204 as well as CISC 282. In terms of CISC 221, I believe I would have been able to perform much better if I was physically and mentally capable throughout the duration of this semester and I plan on retaking this course in the Winter term (2020). In terms of CISC 235, I am still yet to write two of the quizzes in this class due to my most recent illness, which is still ongoing. I plan on retaking this course in the Summer term (2020), depending on the outcome of my final quizzes as well as my final grade. I would like to finish the year off strong and see how this course goes such that I can look back at the course work and better myself for if I do end up retaking the course in the Summer.

In terms of MATH 221, due to the bi-weekly quizzes and my inability to keep up with the pace of the course, I have not been able to perform well in this class. I managed to score a passing grade on the midterm, however, I have not been pleased with my overall performance. I was quite inclined to drop the course prior to the deadline but did not want to give up, so decided it would be of my best interest to stay in the course and to do the best I can, which I now realize was a mistake given my mental state. I was aware of the state I was in, however, being in that state I was not making the wisest decisions, and I notice this more clearly now, and am looking to change my ways and take back control of my life. I am unable to complete this course as with the exam coming up, I feel unprepared and see myself beginning to become stressed again and I do not want to revert to my previous mental condition. Although I am starting to feel much better than before from a mental standpoint, physically I do not feel comfortable writing this exam. Additionally, I was not able to attend numerous quizzes throughout the semester, and the quizzes of which I was able to write, I did not perform well due to my weakened state. I do plan on eventually retaking this course before I graduate, but I need a fresh start, as even if I complete the course, I will not be happy with the result.

My plan going forward is to resume leading a healthy lifestyle over the upcoming winter break, afterwards I plan on coming back with even more determination and effort. Feeling this way for the passed months has been the worst time of my life so far, and I will not allow myself to sway on this path again. I plan on retaking the courses I am appealing and performing to the best of my capabilities. I will likely be taking a fifth year, allowing me to focus on a select few number of courses per semester and performing well in whatever courses I am taking. I also plan on taking a leave for a year as part of the QUIP program, either next year or the year thereafter to complete a yearlong internship, after which I know I will do extremely well. After I complete my undergraduate studies, I will be applying for the one-year MBA program at Queen's, I know this will be a tough task but I will do everything in my power to prepare myself for this over my remaining undergraduate years. I feel blessed to be a part of this University along with the community and will not continue to let myself down. Starting immediately, I have three goals that will help me better myself and my academic standing, take care of myself/health, perform well academically with all my focus and effort, and finally become more socially active and meet more people within my classes and program. I will also be scheduling weekly meetings with a counselor; I have drawn up a goal chart recently and am certain I will be able to succeed in the future.

Please note that I wrote this letter prior to the end of the previous semester (Fall 2019), however was not able to submit it till this date, January 7th 2020. I am currently on my way back to Kingston and am feeling much better about getting started on my classes this semester. I have never felt this motivated and excited to do well in all my years thus far at Queen's. I now have a much clearer mindset and understand why I failed to perform well in the previous semester. I was very ill as well as was having mental and confidence problems throughout the semester, and allowed negative thoughts and my mental stature to get the better of me. However, coming into this semester I am focused and determined to stay healthy and study hard. If I am to fall sick again, I am confident I will not fall into the same mental trap as I have done so previously, I will continue to stay on pace with my courses and seek additional help if I feel I am in need of it. I plan on meeting with a counselor first thing tomorrow morning, on January 8th 2020, and will be setting up weekly appointments to ensure that I am able to keep in touch with my mind and body throughout the duration of the semester and for the years to come. I am looking to develop better and healthier habits not only for this semester, but for the rest of my life, for which I am keeping track with my goal chart, daily schedule and undergraduate studies plan, which I completed and have followed to the best of my current abilities over Winter break.

The classes I took last year, particularly CISC 235, could have gone better but I am not too upset with my final grade in this class. In terms of the two classes which I am appealing, to reiterate, both classes were heavily reliant on in-class presence and large amounts of weekly readings. For CISC 221, I am currently on the waiting list to retake the course this semester (Winter 2020) and do plan on attending the classes as soon as I return to Kingston. For MATH 221, I had the final exam deferred in case this appeal was rejected, I was nervous when first writing this letter as I have never submitted an appeal and wasn't fully clear on the procedure, but I have decided not to write the exam since even with a exceptional grade on the final, I know that I will still be unhappy with my mark. I now know that I can do well in this course, but I believe it is in my best interest to retake it from the beginning sometime in the near future. Additionally, I do not want to start the year off with a stressful mindset and would like to start fresh this semester. I have already given up many of my unhealthy habits during the break and am excited to continue my studies as a new, determined individual. I know that through all the bumps I will persevere, if I put my mind to it and am in sync with myself, which more than ever, I now feel prepared to do. I realize this is a lengthy letter but I felt I could not include all of what I wanted to mention in such few words. I look forward to hearing back about my request to appeal. Thank you.

Raghav Taneja (Student No. 20058783)