Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,

I am appealing to receive Aegrotat standing in ECON 371 (Fall, 2019), MATH 339 (Fall, 2019), ECON 310 (Fall, 2019), and ECON 320 (Fall, 2019), and to drop MATH 384 (Fall, 2019). My appeal relates to unforeseen mental health issues that began to affect me during Fall term 2018, and have significantly impacted my academic performance. During this time, I began to notice behavior issues, including problems with organization, memory, and attention. I found I was often forgetting to fulfill responsibilities - including academic ones such as assignments and readings - and independent work was difficult due to frequent distraction. Even shifting work environments, I was still unable to consistently focus on school work. The novelty of engagement in lectures and other course material started to wear off, and I suddenly found it quite difficult to direct attention and mental effort towards academic responsibilities. Moreover, problems with planning and time management, which I have had for as far back in time as I can remember, started to affect me more as I became increasingly independent. These problems primarily affected my ability to complete assignments in my courses, which I find relies on sustained attention, planning, and self-management.

These issues continued into Winter term 2019, during which I began to develop mood and anxiety problems, which in retrospect were likely caused by repeated failure to meet obligations and perform at my best. Near the end of the school year, I saw a physician at the Student Wellness Centre, and was treated for depression and anxiety. Over the course of the summer, I experienced an improvement in mood and anxiety, which I then believed to be the source of my performance and attention issues. However, despite this improvement, the performance issues continued during Fall term 2019, and I found myself still struggling to attend lectures, study independently, and complete assignments. Seeking further help, I was referred to another physician at the Student Wellness Centre, and eventually diagnosed with ADHD-PI in early December 2019.¿

I did not drop these courses before the deadline because my issues affected all courses I was in, and dropping all courses was not a possibility given that I intended to graduate within four years, and that I wanted to remain in good academic standing. Further, I presumably would have dropped them with the intention of taking them in a later term, but at the time I did not see a clear path towards resolving these issues, so putting the courses off to a later date seemed like a poor choice. In addition, my issues with planning and attention caused me to put little thought into the possibility of dropping any courses, and by the time I started to consider my options, the deadline had already passed.

I¿¿m appealing for Aegrotat standing instead of attempting to finish the coursework because most of the work I did not complete were assignments, for which answers are typically made available to students within a few days after the deadline, so I could not complete them without having a significant advantage in the form of answer keys, which would clearly be unfair and unacceptable. I¿¿m appealing to drop MATH 384 because in that course, unlike the other ones I took during Fall 2019, I completed less than 60 of course work.¿

I¿¿m now being treated with medication which helps me manage my symptoms and perform better academically. My motivation, focus, and organization have significantly improved over the past couple months. I maintain regular meetings with a physician at the Student Health Centre, and have also begun seeing an occupational therapist, with whom I have developed specific goals for academic success and learned strategies for managing these issues. I have made (and plan to continue making) lifestyle adjustments which will help achieve academic success, such as writing things down more so I rely less on my memory to get assignments and readings done, and planning more by breaking tasks down into smaller ones and scheduling them in a personal calendar. I also plan to register with Queen¿¿s Student Accessibility Services so I can make arrangements that help me achieve greater success in my courses.

I appreciate your time in considering my appeal.

Kind regards,

Brandon Groth