Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 7874
Submitted: June 16, 2021 at 2:37:44 AM
First Name: Aaron
Last Name: Tan
Student Number: 20240906
Email: aarontan6823@gmail.com
Degree Program: BScH
Plan: General Arts and Science
Level of Study: 1
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To Dr. Stephenson, Associate Dean (Academic) of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences,
My name is Aaron Tan (student ID 20240906), and I am a first year student writing to appeal the Faculty's decision to require me to withdraw from Queen's University for one year until Sept 2022 (due to academic probation).
I would like to write and explain extenuating personal circumstances affecting my academic performance this past academic year. I had initially started off the school year strong, adjusting well to university workload and achieving good marks through the first few weeks of studies. Unfortunately, about three weeks into September 2020, I began to experience what has now been retroactively diagnosed by my physician as an untreated episode of major depression that lasted throughout the school year. During this time, I experienced daily symptoms of low mood, poor concentration, and very low levels of energy to the point where for the majority of the first semester I was mostly sleeping in bed throughout the day and having difficulty or motivation even just to get up to go to the student cafeteria for one meal a day. Most of the days I did not have the energy or concentration to attend classes nor fulfill my academic duties and I subsequently fell very behind in coursework. During the few interspersed good days throughout the school year in which I had enough energy to function academically, I drew up a study schedule to commit myself to a study regimen for my classes and catch up on my readings, but my depressive episode remained untreated and more days than not I did not end up having the energy to get up from my bed and fully commit myself to studying.
Because of my undiagnosed/untreated depressive symptoms severely impacting my academic abilities, I ended up failing three courses in the first semester. In hindsight, I realize I should have recognized the severity of my situation and should have proactively started seeking academic and medical support much earlier on, but I was truly struggling just to get up from bed every day and I did not have the mental energy or motivation to figure out or how to get help on campus, nor the energy to reach out to family or friends to ask for their help (myself and my family both have high academic expectations for myself and at that time I was feeling too drained to fully explain my situation to them). I was unable to seek help until late into the second semester, when an upperclassman told me about the many support resources Queens had for its students in similar situations such as contacting an academic advisor or the Student Wellness Services. Unfortunately by then, it was too late to fully recover my grades by the end of the semester.
I have since sought further mental health support from my family physician who is now actively managing and supporting me, and I also have a referral in place to see a psychiatrist for further care. I have also been receiving ongoing mental health counselling from a social worker, which has been quite helpful so far. I am now doing much better mentally than I was during the previous school year, and so far have been succeeding academically in PHYS118, maintaining a grade far above what I had during the previous school year. I have also familiarized myself with the various mental health resources and supports available when I return to campus e.g. Student Wellness Services appointments, Therapy Assistance Online, etc and will not hesitate to reach out to them next time should I need further support. Moving forward, I'm confident that I will be well-equipped with the skills and well-supported professionally to recognize and immediately address and manage any further mental health episodes without having it negatively affect my future studies.
Beyond mental health wellness, I have also identified that improved study habits will also go a long way in complementing my academic studies, so I have been learning new time management techniques and effective studying e.g. Pomodoro technique, and have already committed to a weekly study group with my housemates for the upcoming year to keep each other accountable. I have also been actively researching and applying new learning strategies such as active learning, mind mapping, and spaced repetition (please see academic plan for full details).
Overall, I feel that I have demonstrated an ability to perform well academically outside of the aforementioned resolved extenuating circumstances, and I hope to be able to progress within my program.
Thank you very much for your consideration of my appeal,
Sincerely,
Aaron Tan
My name is Aaron Tan (student ID 20240906), and I am a first year student writing to appeal the Faculty's decision to require me to withdraw from Queen's University for one year until Sept 2022 (due to academic probation).
I would like to write and explain extenuating personal circumstances affecting my academic performance this past academic year. I had initially started off the school year strong, adjusting well to university workload and achieving good marks through the first few weeks of studies. Unfortunately, about three weeks into September 2020, I began to experience what has now been retroactively diagnosed by my physician as an untreated episode of major depression that lasted throughout the school year. During this time, I experienced daily symptoms of low mood, poor concentration, and very low levels of energy to the point where for the majority of the first semester I was mostly sleeping in bed throughout the day and having difficulty or motivation even just to get up to go to the student cafeteria for one meal a day. Most of the days I did not have the energy or concentration to attend classes nor fulfill my academic duties and I subsequently fell very behind in coursework. During the few interspersed good days throughout the school year in which I had enough energy to function academically, I drew up a study schedule to commit myself to a study regimen for my classes and catch up on my readings, but my depressive episode remained untreated and more days than not I did not end up having the energy to get up from my bed and fully commit myself to studying.
Because of my undiagnosed/untreated depressive symptoms severely impacting my academic abilities, I ended up failing three courses in the first semester. In hindsight, I realize I should have recognized the severity of my situation and should have proactively started seeking academic and medical support much earlier on, but I was truly struggling just to get up from bed every day and I did not have the mental energy or motivation to figure out or how to get help on campus, nor the energy to reach out to family or friends to ask for their help (myself and my family both have high academic expectations for myself and at that time I was feeling too drained to fully explain my situation to them). I was unable to seek help until late into the second semester, when an upperclassman told me about the many support resources Queens had for its students in similar situations such as contacting an academic advisor or the Student Wellness Services. Unfortunately by then, it was too late to fully recover my grades by the end of the semester.
I have since sought further mental health support from my family physician who is now actively managing and supporting me, and I also have a referral in place to see a psychiatrist for further care. I have also been receiving ongoing mental health counselling from a social worker, which has been quite helpful so far. I am now doing much better mentally than I was during the previous school year, and so far have been succeeding academically in PHYS118, maintaining a grade far above what I had during the previous school year. I have also familiarized myself with the various mental health resources and supports available when I return to campus e.g. Student Wellness Services appointments, Therapy Assistance Online, etc and will not hesitate to reach out to them next time should I need further support. Moving forward, I'm confident that I will be well-equipped with the skills and well-supported professionally to recognize and immediately address and manage any further mental health episodes without having it negatively affect my future studies.
Beyond mental health wellness, I have also identified that improved study habits will also go a long way in complementing my academic studies, so I have been learning new time management techniques and effective studying e.g. Pomodoro technique, and have already committed to a weekly study group with my housemates for the upcoming year to keep each other accountable. I have also been actively researching and applying new learning strategies such as active learning, mind mapping, and spaced repetition (please see academic plan for full details).
Overall, I feel that I have demonstrated an ability to perform well academically outside of the aforementioned resolved extenuating circumstances, and I hope to be able to progress within my program.
Thank you very much for your consideration of my appeal,
Sincerely,
Aaron Tan
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: Aaron Tan's Academic Plan
Background Context and Reflection on Academic Performance
Starting in late September of the 2020-2021 academic year, I suffered from a retroactively diagnosed and thus untreated episode of major depression that made it hard for me to perform well academically throughout the school year. I had low energy, low mood, and poor concentration on an almost daily basis, which contributed to overall poor academic skills and work habits that ultimately compounded over the course of the semester.
During my depression, I felt drained of energy most days and spent most of the day sleeping in bed. As a result, I was not able to keep up with my classes and fully complete all the assigned readings on time. To try and make up for this, I tried to create a regular study schedule to manage my time and activities. On the occasional days when I found myself having more energy to get out of bed and do my schoolwork, I would commit myself to creating a schedule and plan out my studying during the week, but my energy and concentration did not last very long.
As a result of this, my academic work habits consisted of me haphazardly trying to catch up on schoolwork on the days when I felt less drained of energy, instead of seeking the appropriate medical/academic help and following a set study schedule throughout the week. With my erratic class attendance schedule based on my energy levels for the day and my unrecognized/untreated depression further impairing my academic ability and concentration, I was not able to complete all my readings which made me fall even further behind in my classes, resulting in the aforementioned academic results.
In further reflection, I also found that another contributing factor towards my academic performance during the past year was also my initial underestimation of the sheer amount of discipline and effort required for university studies in comparison to high school. I found the adjustment to a university workload from high school more difficult than expected, especially since the learning was delivered through an online asynchronous platform, which required more self discipline, self-directed cognitive engagement and independent time management than what I was used to throughout the more rigidly structured high school curriculum.
Focus:
If permitted to continue my studies at Queen's University during the 2021-2022 school year, I will be focusing on achieving a high enough GPA to be considered for the Life Sciences Major stream. I am currently in General Arts and Sciences, and I am planning to re-take all the prerequisite courses needed for consideration for admission into the Life Sciences stream. I'm currently taking PHYS118 in summer school and am planning on re-taking ANAT100, MATH121, CHEM112, BIOL103, and their respective second semester courses.
Expectations:
In order to receive acceptance into the Life Sciences Major stream, I will need to achieve and maintain an average of at least a 3.2 GPA on the 4.3 GPA scale, which translates roughly to a 75 numerically.
Strategies for Success:
1. What challenges have you encountered and how will you address those in the future 2. What skills do you need to build moving forward 3. What kind of support or resources do you plan to employ
With respect to my depression, I am now being actively managed by my family physician and I also have a referral to a psychiatrist in place for further specialist management. I have also been attending weekly personal counselling, which I have found quite helpful in keeping me feeling well. Overall, I am in a much better place in comparison to my first year at Queens after seeking treatment, and now have better energy levels and concentration in order to pursue academic studies.
With respect to improving my academic skills and work habits outside of the depression itself, I have already researched and engaged in a number of learning strategies and habits and seeing good results with them so far with the PHYS118 course I am currently taking over the summer. Firstly, with my improved energy levels, I have been able to work on effective time management by mapping out a small list of daily tasks I hope to accomplish each day and spacing out my studying in small digestible chunks to make sure I don't overwhelm myself all at once. I have also started using the Pomodoro technique of 25 minutes of studying followed by 5 minutes of break, which I've found to be very effective for concentrated studying without losing focus. Next year, I will also be able to live with two roommates who I plan to form a study group with in order to encourage and support each other in our academic endeavors.
I've also been researching and beginning to apply new learning strategies to my studies, such as active learning. Nowadays, instead of relying only on passively highlighting and making notes, I will also pause and ask myself questions and try to summarize the main idea in my own words without going back to the textbook/notes. I find it very helpful to pretend and teach someone else the concept I'm learning, as it helps me realize whether I truly understand the concept or if there's something I am not understanding. I sometimes also struggle with not seeing the bigger picture and integrating different concepts/knowledge application together - to address this I've started using mind maps to help draw and build connections between different concepts, and this has allowed me to better visualize how each concept interplays with another. Looking into the future, I also anticipate consulting my professors and TAs for extra help during office hours if I encounter difficulty with course content.
A second learning method I am planning on using in the future is the concept of spaced repetition - there have been many studies done on the forgetting curve, which shows how long it takes people to forget what we have just learned. Repetitive learning in certain time intervals can help one retain more information our long-term memory, and I plan on using spaced repetition software such as Anki in the future to help me in courses where there are many distinct terms and concepts to memorize, such as ANAT100 and BIOL103.
Finally, the last component of my academic plan is being more self-aware and recognizing when I may be struggling academically and/or with my mental health which could impact my studies, and be proactive about seeking support, e.g. making an appointment with a learning strategist to further explore different learning strategies, applying for academic accommodations if appropriate, etc. I am also well aware now of recurrent depressive symptoms and will not hesitate to seek medical attention with my family physician or psychiatrist as soon as I feel unwell, in order to not let it impact my studies.
Background Context and Reflection on Academic Performance
Starting in late September of the 2020-2021 academic year, I suffered from a retroactively diagnosed and thus untreated episode of major depression that made it hard for me to perform well academically throughout the school year. I had low energy, low mood, and poor concentration on an almost daily basis, which contributed to overall poor academic skills and work habits that ultimately compounded over the course of the semester.
During my depression, I felt drained of energy most days and spent most of the day sleeping in bed. As a result, I was not able to keep up with my classes and fully complete all the assigned readings on time. To try and make up for this, I tried to create a regular study schedule to manage my time and activities. On the occasional days when I found myself having more energy to get out of bed and do my schoolwork, I would commit myself to creating a schedule and plan out my studying during the week, but my energy and concentration did not last very long.
As a result of this, my academic work habits consisted of me haphazardly trying to catch up on schoolwork on the days when I felt less drained of energy, instead of seeking the appropriate medical/academic help and following a set study schedule throughout the week. With my erratic class attendance schedule based on my energy levels for the day and my unrecognized/untreated depression further impairing my academic ability and concentration, I was not able to complete all my readings which made me fall even further behind in my classes, resulting in the aforementioned academic results.
In further reflection, I also found that another contributing factor towards my academic performance during the past year was also my initial underestimation of the sheer amount of discipline and effort required for university studies in comparison to high school. I found the adjustment to a university workload from high school more difficult than expected, especially since the learning was delivered through an online asynchronous platform, which required more self discipline, self-directed cognitive engagement and independent time management than what I was used to throughout the more rigidly structured high school curriculum.
Focus:
If permitted to continue my studies at Queen's University during the 2021-2022 school year, I will be focusing on achieving a high enough GPA to be considered for the Life Sciences Major stream. I am currently in General Arts and Sciences, and I am planning to re-take all the prerequisite courses needed for consideration for admission into the Life Sciences stream. I'm currently taking PHYS118 in summer school and am planning on re-taking ANAT100, MATH121, CHEM112, BIOL103, and their respective second semester courses.
Expectations:
In order to receive acceptance into the Life Sciences Major stream, I will need to achieve and maintain an average of at least a 3.2 GPA on the 4.3 GPA scale, which translates roughly to a 75 numerically.
Strategies for Success:
1. What challenges have you encountered and how will you address those in the future 2. What skills do you need to build moving forward 3. What kind of support or resources do you plan to employ
With respect to my depression, I am now being actively managed by my family physician and I also have a referral to a psychiatrist in place for further specialist management. I have also been attending weekly personal counselling, which I have found quite helpful in keeping me feeling well. Overall, I am in a much better place in comparison to my first year at Queens after seeking treatment, and now have better energy levels and concentration in order to pursue academic studies.
With respect to improving my academic skills and work habits outside of the depression itself, I have already researched and engaged in a number of learning strategies and habits and seeing good results with them so far with the PHYS118 course I am currently taking over the summer. Firstly, with my improved energy levels, I have been able to work on effective time management by mapping out a small list of daily tasks I hope to accomplish each day and spacing out my studying in small digestible chunks to make sure I don't overwhelm myself all at once. I have also started using the Pomodoro technique of 25 minutes of studying followed by 5 minutes of break, which I've found to be very effective for concentrated studying without losing focus. Next year, I will also be able to live with two roommates who I plan to form a study group with in order to encourage and support each other in our academic endeavors.
I've also been researching and beginning to apply new learning strategies to my studies, such as active learning. Nowadays, instead of relying only on passively highlighting and making notes, I will also pause and ask myself questions and try to summarize the main idea in my own words without going back to the textbook/notes. I find it very helpful to pretend and teach someone else the concept I'm learning, as it helps me realize whether I truly understand the concept or if there's something I am not understanding. I sometimes also struggle with not seeing the bigger picture and integrating different concepts/knowledge application together - to address this I've started using mind maps to help draw and build connections between different concepts, and this has allowed me to better visualize how each concept interplays with another. Looking into the future, I also anticipate consulting my professors and TAs for extra help during office hours if I encounter difficulty with course content.
A second learning method I am planning on using in the future is the concept of spaced repetition - there have been many studies done on the forgetting curve, which shows how long it takes people to forget what we have just learned. Repetitive learning in certain time intervals can help one retain more information our long-term memory, and I plan on using spaced repetition software such as Anki in the future to help me in courses where there are many distinct terms and concepts to memorize, such as ANAT100 and BIOL103.
Finally, the last component of my academic plan is being more self-aware and recognizing when I may be struggling academically and/or with my mental health which could impact my studies, and be proactive about seeking support, e.g. making an appointment with a learning strategist to further explore different learning strategies, applying for academic accommodations if appropriate, etc. I am also well aware now of recurrent depressive symptoms and will not hesitate to seek medical attention with my family physician or psychiatrist as soon as I feel unwell, in order to not let it impact my studies.
Documentation
Professional Letter: scan0007.pdf
Decision Letters
Amendment to Appeal 7874
History
Originally submitted June 16, 2021 at 2:37:44 AM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Incomplete | Kerri Andrews | 2021-06-16 10:45:13 AM | |
| status | N/A | Incomplete | In Review | Kerri Andrews | 2021-06-25 1:05:55 PM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Granted | Kerri Andrews | 2021-07-22 10:05:16 AM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Jill Atkinson, Ph.D. | Kerri Andrews | 2021-07-22 10:05:16 AM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Kerri Andrews | 2021-07-22 10:05:35 AM |