Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To The Associate Dean,

I am appealing to drop POLS 410 and HIST 267 (Winter 2021). Over the past 2 years I have been battling severe generalized anxiety and depression. While I deal with these issues on a daily basis, I had believed that I had overcome the worst part of it and was handling the side effects relatively well. I have been continuously working with medical professionals and when this school year begun I had truly felt that I was prepared to succeed in school while managing my mental health, which I feel is exemplified in my first semester performance of the 2020-2021 academic year. However, situations pertaining to the ongoing pandemic and personal issues caused an acute flare up of my symptoms which began to severely impact my work mid way through the winter semester of this year. My anxiety and depression became so severe that I began to shut down completely withdrawing form almost every aspect of my life. Unfortunately, when in these situations I tend to over estimate my abilities and truly believed that in the end I would be able to push through in order to finish the semester and pass the courses. This did not come to fruition and my abilities to complete course work were continuously impacted. All of the various effects on my abilities are outlined in the accompanying medical letter, however the main impact of these circumstances was my inability to focus, think clearly, extreme exhaustion and procrastination to avoid stressors caused by my lack of ability to complete my work. My tendency to withdraw and avoid stressors resulted in incomplete coursework, which in turn resulted in this appeal coming so late in the term. While this is a chronic condition, I am normally able to function on a daily basis and have learned multiple coping techniques to help me complete course work in a more efficient manner. However, the acute onset of severe anxiety and depression that resulted from recent personal circumstances was the main impact on my abilities this term and is now something I am working on daily to improve. In addition to increasing the frequency and improving my mental health counselling, it has been recommended by a number of doctors and advisors that I get tested for ADHD, something that these professionals feel is a condition that has gone undiagnosed and is possibly a contributor to all the above symptoms in times of increased anxiety. This testing, along with mental health counselling is something that I will be focusing on and working hard on on the coming months and I believe will result in my full academic abilities being restored.

The acute onset of the symptoms occurred at a point in the term where these two courses were to become the most impacted, hence why I am only appealing two out of the four courses I was in. The structure of my other two courses allowed me to complete most of the necessary coursework and with the understanding of my professors I was able to complete the remaining coursework in order to pass them. However, in POLS 410 and HIST 267, the major coursework, such as large essays and a final exam, came at the end of the semester when my symptoms were the worst and I was unable to finish these courses under the circumstances which resulted in an F.

As mentioned above, I will be using the coming months to address the causes and symptoms of this acute attack in order to succeed professionally in the future. In order to achieve my goals and success that I see for myself, I have created a plan that best suits these aspirations in consultation with medical professionals and advisors. I believe that in order to reach these goals, the best course of action for me is to graduate now as I have the credits to do so, and take the time needed to properly deal with the severity of my conditions. When I am ready, I plan to work with a career advisor to help me better understand what path is best suited for my abilities and goals. I am unsure at the moment whether or not this will include returning to Queens at a later time to complete the courses needed to earn my honours degree or if a college graduate diploma will be better suited for my future aspirations. I am leaving Queen¿¿s University a proud student with numerous academic and life skills that I feel will greatly impact my success later in life.

I hope that this letter has accurately depicted the recent circumstances that have led to the need for this appeal and that I have adequately outlined a future plan that will enable me to succeed. As these grades do not reflect my academic abilities and potential, I am appealing to remove them in order to put my best foot forward when I am ready and be in a position to have every opportunity to succeed.

Thank you for your assistance and your consideration.