Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Deans at the Arts and Science faculty,

My name is Maxwell Quackenbush, and I am entering my 3rd year as a computer science student and my 4th year student at Queen's University. I have currently registered in one course out of the five I intend to take this semester. I have included an additional course on the prior page of my application, to ensure my course-load is complete.

I was unable to meet the September 21st deadline for course registration due to a number of extenuating circumstances. Individually, I may have been able to overcome any of them, but together they meant that I was unable to meet the deadline.

In loose chronological order, these are the following challenges I have faced:
I have been battling ongoing clinical depression, and faced a difficult depressive episode beginning approximately in early July.


I was enrolled in the improper computing program on SOLUS until the weekend of the 18th, preventing me from enrolling in program-restricted courses


I had to have an emergency endoscopy on the evening of Sunday, September 20th
I recognize that point 2 (improper program registration) does not constitute an extenuating circumstance, but I feel it was worth including in this letter because it is important to the context of my situation.

I was unable to begin the process of course enrollment because of my depressive episode. I found it difficult to get out of bed in the morning, and do any of the things that I enjoy. Overcoming depression is an ongoing challenge, but I began to gain ground in early September.

Had I been enrolled in the proper program earlier, I would have been able to successfully register for courses. Many were reserved for students officially enrolled in the software design specialization, which I was actively pursuing.

After completing the necessary paperwork, I hoped to complete enrolling in courses. On Sunday, September 20th I choked on a piece of food and had to have an emergency endoscopy to remove it. The anesthesia required for the surgery prevented me from functioning at any level resembling my full capacity. The anesthesia left me Legally impaired for 24 hours, during which the midnight deadline passed.

I aim to provide documentation supporting points 1 and 3, detailing the respective psychological and physical circumstances. If the documents I provide are inadequate, I am confident I can gain more compelling items supporting my claims. I am submitting in the interests of resuming my studies as soon as possible. I am awaiting a response from my doctor about my current condition.

Sincerely,

Maxwell Quackenbush
Student number: 2008 0216