Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Aurora Kimber
19adk@queensu.ca
399 Barrie St
Kingston, ON K7K 3T8

TO:
Office of the Associate Dean
Dunning Hall, Queen¿¿s University
94 University Ave
Kingston, ON K7L 3N9

I would like to submit an appeal to drop two courses from the Fall 2020 semester (PHGY 215, CHEM 281), and four courses from the Winter 2021 semester (BCHM 218, BMED 270, PHGY 215, PHGY 216). I am a student with a disability registered with QSAS. I am attaching a Disability Verification form completed by my current physician which aids in the documentation of the timeline and impact my disability had on my studies. The duration of my disability is described as permanent and episodic, with episodes lasting several months if left untreated and unmonitored. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this episode was left unmonitored and unrecognized for an extended period, caused by the halting of all in person appointments.

This episode started at the beginning of November of the Fall 2020 semester and lasted until mid-April of 2021. During the time period from November 2020 to April 2021 I had great difficulty attending/watching lectures, taking notes, reading, writing, completing exams, meeting assignment deadlines and participating in group activities. The difficulty associated with these tasks made it near impossible to receive a passing grade in several courses. Due to the episode starting two months into the semester in combination with the weighting of quizzes/tests/exams the courses BIOL 205 and STAT 263 were passed with D- and D+ grades respectively.

After consultation at the end of April, my primary care physician has referred me to a specialist that will be better suited to monitor my disability over the following terms.

I am pursuing my BSH in Life Sciences, which has resulted in many academically challenging courses that need to be completed in order to graduate. I made the mistake in assuming I could complete 12.0 credits per semester of these required courses whilst in an episodic period. Moving forward, I plan on slowly increasing the course load as I feel necessary. For the Spring/Summer 2021 term I am enrolled in 6.0 credits (BCHM 218, MICR 271) which my physician and I agreed would be a suitable number of hours required weekly and discussed dropping a course before the drop deadline if the workload was too demanding. For the Fall 2021 term I plan on taking 9.0 credits (CHEM 281, PHGY 215, and one undecided course) and will be monitored on my progress during the semester to see if the course load needs to be reduced. This will hopefully be successful, and the introduction of more courses can slowly be increased or decreased throughout the following semesters as needed. I plan on enrolling in courses throughout all three terms of the academic year to aid in the reduction of course work per semester in order to prevent future episodes.

I firmly believe that this episodic period has been a minor setback in the pursuit of my degree, and that with assistance from health care professionals will not happen again. I am dedicated to being a successful student and I will continue to do my best to achieve my degree regardless of the challenges I may face. I appreciate the time taken and consideration of this academic appeal.

Sincerely,
Aurora Kimber
20178990