Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,

I am appealing to receive a Credit Standing notation alongside my grade on my transcript for CHEM 281 (Summer 2021). During this semester, I experienced extenuating circumstances beyond my control that, coupled with my disabilities, significantly impacted the outcome of my studies. At the beginning of May 2021, my grandmother, and childhood caregiver, was hospitalized and upon her return home at the end of May, her dementia had progressed severely, and she suddenly required 24/7 in-home care. As my family scrambled to find permanent care amidst a pandemic, I cared for her fulltime from May 24th to June 13th. The mental toll that taking care of a loved one with dementia had on both my eating disorder and my ADHD symptoms, made accomplishing schoolwork a larger feat than normal. On May 28th I notified all of my professors of my circumstances and on May 29th I requested (request 21774) short term academic considerations. As the circumstances progressed, I was grateful to receive full accommodations from both my PSYC 251 professor and my GNDS 280 professors in accordance with both my extenuating circumstances request and my QSAS accommodations. However, I did not receive the same accommodations from the CHEM 281 teaching team.

Throughout CHEM 281 I was struggling significantly due to the culmination of both my diagnoses and my grandmother??s progressive circumstance. Having reached out asking for the assistance I am aware I required, I was unable to access my accommodations from the CHEM 281 teaching team, safe for an 23hr extension on an assignment in which the deadline was marked as a ??recommended due date? in the course timeline, and as ??TBD? in the course syllabus. Moreover, throughout my grandmother??s illness, I was unable to dedicate the time needed to grasp the details that this course requires in order to be successful. In retrospect, I believe that attempting to complete a difficult course alongside two other courses in a condensed timeframe was a large ask for someone with ADHD and I am aware that this was a mistake on my behalf. While I became wistfully aware that I may complete the course with a poor grade as a result, I did not drop the course as it is was the final requirement I needed in order complete my degree.

As for my two other courses, I was able to complete GNDS 280, and continue PSYC 251, successfully as both these courses are heavily writing, and comprehension based. I excelled during this difficult period and was capable of performing up to my usual academic standard with extensions provided and my circumstances kept in mind by both teaching teams. Unfortunately, I have struggled on multiple occasions to complete my required chemistry credit, due to the nature of chemistry being memorization and attention to detail. At each attempt, I have dropped the course prior to the drop deadline as I suspected a poor academic result and feared risking my GPA. As I struggled acutely with school work in the beginning of the pandemic, I received my ADHD diagnosis in September 2020. I finally felt confident that I would be able to complete this course successfully with a high enough grade in order to apply to my dream career of becoming a midwife. Having my ADHD diagnosis and my eating disorder now well managed with the help of both my health teams as Student Wellness and Hotel Dieu, I am now aware of the challenges this kind of course presents me. Meaning, under general circumstances I am well equipped with my medication and the help of accommodations to perform well in a detail-heavy course, such as CHEM 281. This is a feat I would never have expected from myself a year ago, and I am extremely proud of the strides I have made with the help of some very caring people. In the future, I hope to move on to a BHSc. Midwifery, with this experience in mind, I will recognize the barriers that my disabilities may place on my studies during tumultuous times, and work to mitigate these risks.
I hope my words find you well and thank you dearly for reviewing my request.

Kind regards,
Darcey Pearson (she/they)