Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

I am appealing to drop POLS 392 (Winter, 2021). On January 21st, 2021 my grandmother, Alice Ward, fell into septic shock. My family and I were told that she would pass away within the next 24 hours. This news was devastating and significantly impacted my mental health and academic abilities. I then went on to receive Academic Consideration for Extenuating Circumstances that covered the time period of January 21st to 23rd. My grandmother ended up defying the odds and lived for another two weeks. Sadly, my grandmother passed away on February 3rd. I then went on to receive Academic Consideration for Extenuating Circumstances from February 3rd to 5th. Shortly after I extended my Academic Consideration for Extenuating Circumstances request to February 15th.

This loss has significantly impacted me. My grandmother was an amazing woman and she played a crucial role in raising me. Since the moment that her health began to decline, my mental wellbeing unfortunately plummeted. I have struggled with Generalized Anxiety Disorder since my early teen years. I have been registered with Queen¿¿s Student Accessibility Services since the summer of 2018. My grandmother¿¿s sudden decline in health and untimely passing has triggered a significant decline in my mental wellbeing. My poor mental state has resulted in me being incapable of effectively taking four courses.

I firmly believe that dropping POLS 392 will provide me with the opportunity to focus on my remaining three courses. Furthermore, dropping this course will provide me with the time necessary to focus on improving my mental health. When I returned to my academics, I had created a plan to catch up on the material and assignments I had missed. Unfortunately, I was unable to predict how significantly my mental health would have been impacted by the loss of my grandmother. By the time I came to the conclusion that I needed to drop a course, the drop deadline had passed. I am appealing to drop only POLS 392 as this course has group work incorporated into various portions of it. Due to my extenuating circumstances, I have been unable to effectively participate in this work.

In order to prevent such an instance from happening in the future, I have started seeing a councillor. Dr. Brown was my councillor in high school. I will be meeting with Dr. Brown weekly to ensure that my mental wellbeing maintains a priority. Furthermore, I will be meeting with my family doctor to assess if I should readjust my anxiety medication. Throughout the entirety of this circumstance, I have maintained communication with my Accessibility Services Advisor and an Academic Advisor. I will make sure to touch base with my Accessibility Services Advisor and an Academic Advisor often to ensure that I effectively take care of my mental health and do my best academic performance. Finally, in order to make up for dropping this course and to ensure that I do not need to drop another course after the drop deadline in future semesters. I have decided to take a fifth year which will allow me to take a reduced course load (approximately 3-4 courses a smelter).

Thank you for taking the time to consider my appeal to drop POLS 392.

All the best,

Emma Patton