Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,

It is nice to virtually meet you. Although I am not proud to meet on these terms, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Jessica Lafave, I am a fifth-year ASC non-degree granting student and a Queen's 2020 graduate. I am currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Education program at Queen's beginning this May. During this gap year, I took a couple of courses first semester and three second semester while working for the PGPS department at Smith School of Business. I decided to take these courses to meet academic requirements allowing me to teach across Canada.


I am submitting an appeal to drop ASTRO 101 (Winter 2021) from my transcripts, due to a mental health illness and anxiety disorder I feel severely impacted my ability to successfully continue with this course while maintaining good grades in my other studies. I am appealing ASTRO 101 and not the GEOL 102 or MATH 126, as ASTRO 101 has taken the majority of my time this semester as I struggled to understand, memorize and recall the concepts and algorithms. I have spent more time on this course which has impacted the amount of time and level of effort for the other two courses. I am unfamiliar with the subject but thought as I was only taking three courses it was manageable. When I look at the mark distribution in BIOL 102 (Fall 2020), GEOL 102, and MATH 126, I can now see the slow decline as the academic year progressed.

Throughout my undergrad, I was never in the position to consider dropping a course after the deadline. I was unaware of this process and was under the impression that I could drop a course at any time. In 2016, my housemate from undergrad dropped MATH 126 after speaking with an academic advisor the day before the exam and had no troubles. I had no idea this process changed until I spoke with an academic advisor in April and was told I would have to write an appeal.

This year was exceptionally hard physically, mentally, and financially. I fund my own education and due to the pandemic, I lost two part time jobs which were a large source of my income. I am employed by Smith and I was going into the office at least once a week. I have to work on average 30+ hours a week to pay my bills this year, while managing my course load and mental health. Funding my education is the only option I have right now; I pay rent, utilities, phone and internet payments, OSAP payments and loan payments. I know the value of a good credit rating and have worked extremely hard to maintain it; missing payments was not an option and would affect my ability to obtain any type of loan in the future.

In mid-April I tried to drop the course online but got a message it was not possible. In OnQ, it is evident I made the decision to discontinue the work in ASTRO 101 long before writing this academic appeal. I struggled with this decision and writing this letter and the decision was not due to poor grades but my ability to cope at this time. I received 80-90 on labs in the course but struggled with lecture material. I realized with my anxiety and current mental health state, I would not pass this course. I have become more irritable, losing sleep, and my eyes were often burning as I spent every day staring at a computer screen with no outlet due to the pandemic. My immune system is weakened, I catch colds more frequently and they last longer than usual. At one point this year, I requested (and was granted) academic consideration after losing a week of school due to being physically sick. I was confined to bed for a week. I was able to get a doctor's note through a virtual clinic in Kingston and can provide that should you need.

As I am a part-time student this year, I am not covered under my parent's insurance plan. I do not have the means to pay for therapy on my own. Had I been able to seek professional help this year and had the pandemic not happened, I may have been able to manage my mental health and anxiety better.

As a future plan, when I am officially a full-time student in May and back on my parent's insurance plan, I will be seeking therapy to learn how to manage my mental illness and anxiety. I am hoping to learn how to recognize the signs of spiralling and to put in place effective coping mechanisms and checkpoints before things get worse. I also told my employer at Smith that I cannot work more than a couple of hours a week while in full-time school. My hours will be balanced with my course load and time needed to manage my illness; this should help with my anxiety levels. In terms of financing my education, I am in the process of applying for loans and developing a financial plan to stay on top of my bills. In a separate academic plan, I would like to pursue a master's degree at Queen's following my B.Ed. I fear failing ASTRO 101 and appearing on my transcripts would greatly impact my GPA and chances of getting into a master's program.

Should you require a note from my family doctor, I can request one. However, as my doctor is in my hometown and I was unable to see her, this may be difficult. However, she has treated me in the past and my mental health issues and anxiety are documented in clinic files. I can also request a confirmation from my parent's insurance company confirming I was not covered this year. As my mother has been trying to help me cope and has intimate knowledge of my struggles, she is able to submit a written statement outlining what I have been struggling with and confirming my situation. Lastly, if requested, I can share my current financial situation (bank loans, OSAP, monthly bills and expenses) if you need confirmation of my financial needs.

I am kindly asking to be granted permission to drop ASTRO 101 from my transcripts to ensure it does not impede my ability to qualify for future education programs. I feel in my current state of mind this year, I would have failed the exam and failed the course as a whole. I tried for so long to find different ways to complete everything this year, but knew it was absolutely necessary to discontinue my work in ASTRO 101 if I wanted to heal both mentally and physically from the suffering this course caused.

Thank you for your time to review my request, I look forward to hearing from you and would be more than happy to answer any additional questions.

Stay healthy,

Jessica Lafave
20025418
16jjl1@queensu.ca