Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean,

I am writing this letter to request Credit Standing in STAT263. This was my first semester back at Queen's after taking time off for mental health reasons (which have been previously documented). I am very proud of my accomplishments this semester and feel that I did exceptionally well given my previous circumstances, aside from my performance in STAT263. I was in contact with Professor Molson and discussed some of my struggles with him during the course. He is also supportive of my request for Credit Standing. STAT263 is a much different course than what I am used to taking. When preparing for my transition back into academics after my time off, I had a plan for success created with the help of my doctor, friends, and family. This plan involved study methods and schedules centred around the type of courses I was used to taking. The content of STAT263 was challenging but very manageable. I found the evaluation methods to be very different than what I am used to. Multiple spread-out assignments, followed by a take-home exam, are typical of most of my other classes. STAT263 had a heavily weighted final exam. This type of evaluation was, unfortunately, not something I had planned for. I now know that to succeed in a course like this, I need more mental health support and likely an accommodation for additional time since my anxiety makes focusing a significant challenge. I could not complete the exam on time and had to leave many questions blank because of this inability to focus. The heavy-weighting of this exam contributed to this anxiety and is something I will be discussing with my doctor.

Aside from my previously documented mental health struggles and how they influenced my success in the course, I know the time of the examination also played a significant role in my success (or lack thereof). All of my other classes (that I did very well in) were completed by the beginning of April when I was still living in Kingston. The STAT263 exam was to take place at the end of April, which has always been very challenging for me since I experienced a significant loss in my family. This loss is something I have never gotten over and is something I will have to seek further assistance with. I emailed professor Molson about this struggle and how it affected my ability to study for the final, and he was generous enough to let me write the exam during the deferral period. After this, I had to move back home to Brockville to begin my summer job and live with my family. Something I did not consider was how conducive my home environment was to success. I chose to move home for the summer since I can¿¿t afford to stay in Kingston, but my situation in Brockville is less-than-ideal. The house is small, loud and crowded, and I struggled to focus when studying. This environment also did not put me in a mental state that is optimal for academic success.

I am very proud of my accomplishments this semester (I ended with an A, two A+, and a B). I came back after a very challenging time in my life and used many resources to succeed. I struggled in one of my other courses this term (KNPE125) and met with my professor to help find strategies to test better (since, again, tests may not be my biggest strength). I was able to turn my initial course grade around by doing exceptionally well on my last test and raised my grade to a B. I am not sharing that story for no reason. I am sharing that story as proof that I am willing to put in the effort to succeed. Every time I have encountered something I have struggled with, I have identified the issue and sought support. I plan to do the same with STAT263. Now that I know what I struggled with, I will have a plan to succeed in the future.

I will likely take another statistics course in the future, but for the time being, I would be devasted to find that my hard work and success this term have been wasted due to my failure in one course lowering my GPA. If granted Credit Standing in this course, I guarantee you will continue to see my GPA rise, and I will continue to work hard to succeed here at Queen's. This was my first semester back, and I know that I can continue to improve tremendously.

An example of a current plan I have in place to succeed is coordinating with my two summer jobs to ensure the days I have off work are together. This allows me to come back to Kingston every week to do school work since I know focusing on school is something I struggle with at home.

In the future, I think it would be beneficial for me to meet with student academic success services to see if there are any additional resources I can use. I am hopeful Queen's is back in class in the fall, and I will be in an even better position to seek support and ask my professors questions as they arise.

I have made incredible strides during this challenging time. Please give me this opportunity to continue to succeed. My mental health struggles are well-documented at Queen's, and I will be providing documentation to support my claim of the loss in my family taking place at the end of April. If you would like any additional documentation or information, please let me know.

Thank you very much,

Brooke Noonan