Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing for the late addition of the ANAT 380 course for the May-July summer term. I recently missed the deadline by only a few days, due to extenuating circumstances.

During the winter term, I began experiencing severe anxiety and depression due to conditions with covid-19. I have a history with depression, which has greatly impacted my productivity and ability to focus on academics. Since then, I have improved my ability to cope with my depression and have been achieving better results in school. However, recent covid-19 conditions have caused my depression to rebound. I was performing adequately in the fall semester, but my depression really started to impact my academics in the winter semester. This resulted in me failing the ANAT 380 course, although I was able to pull through and pass the rest of my course load. Upon finding out that I failed, I became more depressed and did not realize I had missed the deadline for the summer term.

In addition, this course is required for my life sciences specialization degree plan and missing it will affect my course selection in the fall and hinder my ability to graduate on time. Now that I have moved home for the summer and have fewer distractions and stressors, I am coping with my depression much better and feel that I am mentally prepared to take the course again. There really is no specific reason I failed this course and not the others, my performance simply happened to be affected by my depression more than my other courses. I believe that I will be able to complete this course by making several changes in my life that I have listed in my academic plan.

I will include a doctor's note, but if any more information or references are required, please let me know.