Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 7899
Submitted: June 16, 2021 at 11:48:45 PM
First Name: Sarah
Last Name: Currie
Student Number: 20120387
Email: 18sc2@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BA
Plan: GNDS
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Sarah Currie
20120387
June 16, 2021
Academic Appeal
To whom it may concern,
My name is Sarah Currie, and I am writing this appeal to be granted the opportunity to continue my academic career at Queen¿¿s University.
Over the past year, I have struggled a lot with school due to my own circumstances getting in the way, as well as a worldwide pandemic. I am particularly talking about the Fall 2020 semester, in which my academic performance was not strong. During this semester I had some changes that made that semester significantly more difficult than any other semester. I wanted to start by saying, 2020-2021 has been a complete change and reset for myself and every other individual in this world. One of the most challenges parts was transitioning to online learning. I have taken online courses before, but a maximum of one at a time. I am a hands on and in person learner, this transition and balancing five different courses at once was very difficult and hard to accomplish.
Not only did the pandemic and online learning affect my performance in different courses, I struggled a lot with my mental health. I have been struggling with depression and anxiety since high school, this has always gotten in the way of my work but not in such a drastic measure. This steamed and got worse when I lost a family member during that semester. Due to Covid-19, I was not allowed to say goodbye either, causing my fall months to be extremely difficult. I was barely in Kingston during this time, so trying to complete my schooling was very unusual and trying to balance it with my mental health and the loss of someone close was even more painful and troublesome.
My fall semester was not a successful semester for myself, yet I saw changes in my academic work when Winter 2021 came around. By this point I had adjusted to online learning, got control over my mental health and had significantly different outcomes than Fall 2020. I am currently enrolled in a Summer 2021 course and am feeling much better about my academic work and feel that Fall 2021 will have greater outcomes, as I move fast the negative and complex year.
I hope you take the time to review my appeal and understand how difficult the 2020-2021 school year has been, yet realize how positive and confident I feel going forward in my academic career. Documentation is on the way.
Thank You,
Sarah Currie
20120387
June 16, 2021
Academic Appeal
To whom it may concern,
My name is Sarah Currie, and I am writing this appeal to be granted the opportunity to continue my academic career at Queen¿¿s University.
Over the past year, I have struggled a lot with school due to my own circumstances getting in the way, as well as a worldwide pandemic. I am particularly talking about the Fall 2020 semester, in which my academic performance was not strong. During this semester I had some changes that made that semester significantly more difficult than any other semester. I wanted to start by saying, 2020-2021 has been a complete change and reset for myself and every other individual in this world. One of the most challenges parts was transitioning to online learning. I have taken online courses before, but a maximum of one at a time. I am a hands on and in person learner, this transition and balancing five different courses at once was very difficult and hard to accomplish.
Not only did the pandemic and online learning affect my performance in different courses, I struggled a lot with my mental health. I have been struggling with depression and anxiety since high school, this has always gotten in the way of my work but not in such a drastic measure. This steamed and got worse when I lost a family member during that semester. Due to Covid-19, I was not allowed to say goodbye either, causing my fall months to be extremely difficult. I was barely in Kingston during this time, so trying to complete my schooling was very unusual and trying to balance it with my mental health and the loss of someone close was even more painful and troublesome.
My fall semester was not a successful semester for myself, yet I saw changes in my academic work when Winter 2021 came around. By this point I had adjusted to online learning, got control over my mental health and had significantly different outcomes than Fall 2020. I am currently enrolled in a Summer 2021 course and am feeling much better about my academic work and feel that Fall 2021 will have greater outcomes, as I move fast the negative and complex year.
I hope you take the time to review my appeal and understand how difficult the 2020-2021 school year has been, yet realize how positive and confident I feel going forward in my academic career. Documentation is on the way.
Thank You,
Sarah Currie
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: My academic plan includes the following updates and ideas:
- Talk to professors and TA¿¿s more frequently
- Taking a lighter course load and more courses I am interested in
- Organizing time management
- Thinking about what I personally need at that time (with my mental health)
These ideas although they sound simple, are very hard for me to grasp and hold onto. Since the beginning of 2021, I have already successfully gotten better at the least tasks and yet still have much more room to grow, in which I am doing now (in my summer courses and over the next few months).
- Talk to professors and TA¿¿s more frequently
- Taking a lighter course load and more courses I am interested in
- Organizing time management
- Thinking about what I personally need at that time (with my mental health)
These ideas although they sound simple, are very hard for me to grasp and hold onto. Since the beginning of 2021, I have already successfully gotten better at the least tasks and yet still have much more room to grow, in which I am doing now (in my summer courses and over the next few months).
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: My documents are not available right now, will be sent at a later date.
Decision Letters
Level 1 Status
Status: DeniedLevel 2
Appeal Type: Level 2
ID: 24
Submitted: September 9, 2021 at 8:45:42 PM
Relevant Petition: 7899
Decision(s) Being Appealed: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Appeal Letter
Appeal Letter: To Appeal Committee,
My parents and I have been in touch with Dr. Jill Atkinson about my situation. She suggested I appeal to the second level of the Board of Studies with further information and documentation.
I would like to start off by saying this past year has been a whole new learning experience in itself. During my third year at Queen??s University I went through many ups and down in my personal and academic life, that ultimately left me with a tremendous amount of difficult situations. To say the least, I struggled a lot. Towards the end of my second year (March/April 2020) the world was hit with Covid-19, changing our normal everyday lives into a new reality of isolation, new routines and online learning. Fast forward to Fall 2020 and we had just begun our first semester of online school. I have taken courses online, but was not ready for the challenge of maintaining 5 classes online, while trying to cope with new struggles in my mental health. I understand that Covid-19 affected people in many different ways, but my experience changed my life drastically from where I was in the beginning 2020 to today.
My third year at Queen??s was not normal, and I know neither was anyone else??s. It started with an adjustment to online and independent learning. As the semester went on, the weight of five full course loads being completed online basically caused me to fail and my life started going downhill. I struggled to focus, stay on track, organized, and work at my computer for 10 consecutive hours a day. Personally, I am a hands on, visual learner. I complete my work more productively in class instead of my shared living space. This form of learning lead me to fall behind and become more careless with the effort and time I was putting into my work. As the semester was slowly coming to a close, I realized the mental state I was in wasn??t healthy, and the work I was completing was not as good as I am capable of. I fell into a big hole my Fall semester but persevered through Winter 2021, where I saw significant changes in my personal and academic lifestyle.
I would really like to return to Queen??s now as a part-time student to ensure maximum focus on the courses I am interested in taking, and ones that will be helpful in life. I also plan on taking advantage of the resources Queen??s offers to students who are struggling both mentally and academically. I have always been one to keep my questions, comments, concerns and feelings to myself, but I hope I can gain more confidence and courage to use these resources more frequently. In the upcoming weeks, I am also being assessed by a psychologist and will have ongoing discussions with my doctor about my mental health and learning struggles.
I want to say thank you for giving me this second opportunity to appeal as the Covid-19 Pandemic was so unexpected and left me and many others with more problems we never imagined.
Please find attached letters from Dr. Blew and my parents.
Thank you again for your time and consideration.
- Sarah Currie
20120387
My parents and I have been in touch with Dr. Jill Atkinson about my situation. She suggested I appeal to the second level of the Board of Studies with further information and documentation.
I would like to start off by saying this past year has been a whole new learning experience in itself. During my third year at Queen??s University I went through many ups and down in my personal and academic life, that ultimately left me with a tremendous amount of difficult situations. To say the least, I struggled a lot. Towards the end of my second year (March/April 2020) the world was hit with Covid-19, changing our normal everyday lives into a new reality of isolation, new routines and online learning. Fast forward to Fall 2020 and we had just begun our first semester of online school. I have taken courses online, but was not ready for the challenge of maintaining 5 classes online, while trying to cope with new struggles in my mental health. I understand that Covid-19 affected people in many different ways, but my experience changed my life drastically from where I was in the beginning 2020 to today.
My third year at Queen??s was not normal, and I know neither was anyone else??s. It started with an adjustment to online and independent learning. As the semester went on, the weight of five full course loads being completed online basically caused me to fail and my life started going downhill. I struggled to focus, stay on track, organized, and work at my computer for 10 consecutive hours a day. Personally, I am a hands on, visual learner. I complete my work more productively in class instead of my shared living space. This form of learning lead me to fall behind and become more careless with the effort and time I was putting into my work. As the semester was slowly coming to a close, I realized the mental state I was in wasn??t healthy, and the work I was completing was not as good as I am capable of. I fell into a big hole my Fall semester but persevered through Winter 2021, where I saw significant changes in my personal and academic lifestyle.
I would really like to return to Queen??s now as a part-time student to ensure maximum focus on the courses I am interested in taking, and ones that will be helpful in life. I also plan on taking advantage of the resources Queen??s offers to students who are struggling both mentally and academically. I have always been one to keep my questions, comments, concerns and feelings to myself, but I hope I can gain more confidence and courage to use these resources more frequently. In the upcoming weeks, I am also being assessed by a psychologist and will have ongoing discussions with my doctor about my mental health and learning struggles.
I want to say thank you for giving me this second opportunity to appeal as the Covid-19 Pandemic was so unexpected and left me and many others with more problems we never imagined.
Please find attached letters from Dr. Blew and my parents.
Thank you again for your time and consideration.
- Sarah Currie
20120387
Documentation
Document: Letter from Parents.docx
Documentation Detail: Doctor's Note will be uploaded, not cooperating at the moment.
Level 2 Amendment
Appeal Type: Level 2 Amendment
ID: 25
Submitted: September 9, 2021 at 8:49:52 PM
Relevant Petition: 7899
New Information: Uploading Doctor's Note for my Appeal.
Documentation
Document: Sarah Currie Doctors Note.docx
History
Originally submitted June 16, 2021 at 11:48:45 PM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Incomplete | Kerri Andrews | 2021-06-17 11:02:03 AM | |
| status | N/A | Incomplete | In Review | Kerri Andrews | 2021-06-29 8:35:43 PM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Denied | Kerri Andrews | 2021-07-16 9:16:23 AM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Jill Atkinson, Ph.D. | Kerri Andrews | 2021-07-16 9:16:23 AM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Kerri Andrews | 2021-07-16 9:16:55 AM | |
| new_appeal_level_2 | N/A | Level 2 | Level 2 Appeal ID: 24 | 18sc2 | 2021-09-09 8:45:42 PM | |
| new_appeal_level_2 | N/A | Level 2 Amendment | Level 2 Appeal ID: 25 | 18sc2 | 2021-09-09 8:49:52 PM | |
| status | N/A | Received | In Review | Pamela Briand | 2021-09-24 2:32:59 PM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Granted with Conditions | Pamela Briand | 2021-12-08 9:05:26 AM |