Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing for Aegrotat standing in both CISC 235 (Fall, 2019) and CISC 221 (Fall, 2019); as well as to drop both CISC 282 (Fall, 2019) and CISC 271 (Winter, 2019).

Over the past year, I¿¿ve dealt with mental health issues that have made it very difficult to stay motivated to perform and complete tasks that only affect myself. This resulted in unsubmitted assignments in the four courses listed above, along with severe degradation of my sleeping and eating schedules, and a drastic reduction in my level of interaction with others around me.

My condition had little effect on tests or group assignments, as there was a greater sense of urgency applied with them and my difficulties with motivation are much easier to overcome when working in a collaborative setting. As a result, there are two courses in Fall 2019 where my grades remained relatively unaffected: CISC 327 was a course that consisted of group assignments and tests, while CISC 360 uniquely piqued my interest and curiosity, which made it a whole lot easier to overcome my struggles.

While I realize now that I have dealt with episodes of very poor mental health for a few years, Winter 2019 was the first semester where my issues with mental health began to have a significant impact on my academics. I missed the announcement of the first assignment in CISC 271 (Winter, 2019), which lead to me missing the corresponding deadline, resulting in an anxious and avoidant approach towards that course. I should have dropped the course then, but I kept convincing myself that I would fix things and would begin submitting assignments. This turned into a constant loop of missing a deadline, then convincing myself that I would be fine and that I would fix things; all the while being too anxious and ashamed to actually seek help from academic advising or the counselling services at the university. My other courses that term remained in better standing because they all started out well and I felt able to manage their challenges and continue with them as normal.

By the end of the Fall 2019 semester, I finally went to seek help as my mental health was having a worsening impact on my academics. I have had three counselling appointments and an academic advising appointment about my Fall term and personal life struggles. I obtained a form from a counsellor to verify my extenuating circumstances to the Faculty of Arts and Science so that I could fix the issue of unsubmitted assignments in mid-November, but strong wording in the online portal combined with a lingering ¿¿you don¿¿t need this¿ feeling prevented me from hitting the submit button after entering in all the relevant information on the webpage on two separate occasions.

I finally submitted my extenuating circumstances form after the beginning of 2020 via email to the Arts and Sciences Considerations Office and contacted my CISC 235 professor regarding my options for late submission. However, the responses that I received from each pointed me to submit an appeal and stated that there was nothing that could have been done.

Of the courses that I am appealing, CISC 235 (Fall, 2019) is of extra concern. Achieving a grade of D+ in this course has resulted in four out of my five courses for Winter 2020 to be dropped off my schedule, leaving me with only one course on my timetable for the upcoming semester. I am confidant that I would have done very well in CISC 235 if it were not for my mental health, as I did achieve grades in the 80-100 range on the assignments that I was able to submit.

The main hurdle for me in seeking help has been initiating the process. As I have gotten over that hurdle and accepted that I¿¿and my academics¿¿can improve, I fully intend on working on improving my mental health and my organizational and motivational strategies through regular meetings with counsellors, academic advisors, and student groups over the course of the Winter 2020 semester. Upon submission of this letter, I will be discussing reenrollment options with the Faculty of Computing. Having both a full timetable and a support system to help me get myself through the semester, I¿¿m looking forward to recovering and being able to properly discover what university has to offer.

Thank you for your consideration,

Derian Kreider. (20064728)