Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Carter B. Smith
69 Saint Edmunds Drive
Toronto, ON M4N 2P8

February 8, 2020

Associate Dean (Studies)
Queen's University, Faculty of Arts and Science
94 University Avenue
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6

Dear Associate Dean,

I am appealing to waive the one-term deadline for academic appeals. In this appeal letter, I describe how I experienced extenuating circumstances over the relevant period. I also explain how these circumstances were beyond my control and how they prevented me from reasonably meeting the one-term deadline. Documentation verifying these circumstances is enclosed. If this appeal is granted, I intend to use the appeal process to address issues related to four courses that over the period between the Winter Semester of 2017 and the Winter Semester of 2019.

I have a history of mental health challenges that have affected every aspect of my life and forced me to work a lot harder than I otherwise would to achieve my goals and get results. Despite these challenges, I am dedicated to making meaningful contributions and furthering my personal development. I am proud to say that I have applied to graduate from Queen's this spring. My undergraduate career has taken me seven-years at two universities.

In the Fall Semester of 2017, I experienced a mental health condition that was new to me and difficult to identify. This condition developed in addition pre-existing disability. In combination, these mental health conditions directly and specifically affected my ability to succeed in an academic environment and prioritize or even think about submitting academic appeals for for more than two-years. As my academic record shows this was not a producitve period of time for me academically, I was struggling with my health, and in the process made some mistakes academically. I should not have enrolled in any courses over this time period and instead should have focused on my health but this understanding is with the benefit of hindsight.

This new condition in concert with my pre-existing condition was incredibly distracting, made it very difficult to stay motivated, and accomplish personal, professional and academic activities One of my conditions affected my ability to get up in the morning, get to classes and dramatically afectedmy mood. The other condition made it hard to prioritize, made decisions, and be productive. I was not in a position to advocate for myself, seek academic accommodations, or submit appeals. The idea of submitting academic appeals related to the courses over this period did not even occur to me until very recently. These things were not on my mind. I was just trying to do the best I could. I was too distracted to even identify that I was having problems, much less decide I needed to seek help. Given my current knowledge of this condition, and how it affected me, I now understand that many people in do not seek advice for a long time after symptoms develop.

It took me more than two years after the Fall of 2017 before I started to start to feel like myself again and I started the process of assessing my academic situation.

I acknowledge and understand that the appeal system is not designed to compensate for chronic or ongoing circumstances. However, there is simply no other process for addressing issues stemming from a disability that affect my academic record after the fact. Unfortunately, most mental health issues do not last for exactly one semester. Similarly, it is not always possible to anticipate the effects a mental health condition will have academically and arrange academic accommodations in advance.

I am committed to fully utilizing all available resources and self-advocacy to ensure I am able to complete my degree and gradiuate with a record that accurately represents my abilites and not my challenges with disability.

This whole experience has made me better equipped to deal with the challenges of being a student while also managing my mental health. I am also much better at identifying when I am struggling and need help now, then I was in a year and a half ago. I am having success in completing my remaining credit, and I hope to be able to make specific appeals over the timeline indicated in this letter.

Thank you for your consideration.

Carter Smith