Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Academic),

I am appealing to drop PSYC 337 (Fall, 2021) past the academic deadline, or to appeal for credit standing in the course.

I was diagnosed with discontinuation syndrome/delirium from accidental withdrawal of my medication, which led to confusion, loss of time, loss of appetite, and a loss of sense of reality. I am a Residence Don this year, and the combination of lack of sleep (due to late nights on-call) and school stress led to me forgetting to take a dose of my medication on January 13th or 14th, 2022. I have lost memory and a sense of time from this period, but I remember starting to write the deferred final exam for PSYC 337 at about 4:00 am on January 15th, 2022 after compulsively researching (characteristic of the delirium). This circumstance was unforeseen because I had never experienced delirium prior to this.

Writing the PSYC 337 final exam while in a delirious episode led to the lowest grade that I have received in my lifetime (final grade is a C)- I have never performed this poorly in a course, and my grades while at Queen's and in the last few years reflect this. I did perform poorly on the midterm for this course due to the fact that I was balancing my job (as a Residence Don) with school for the first time. However, I was on the waitlist for anxiety CBT since October, and when I got my bad midterm mark I booked an appointment with QSAS and an academic advising appointment to discuss my accommodations and the possibility of being referred to other resources (Dec. 6, 2021). With the delirious episode I was admitted into hospital on January 20, 2022 and was not discharged until January 27, 2022. I have also had continued consultation with my psychiatrist.

I am only appealing the grade for PSYC 337 because the circumstances occurred at the time that I wrote the deferred exam for the course. I do have academic accommodations for exams, but they are mainly for anxiety and extra time- the delirious episode was unforeseen, and I had never experienced anything like it previously. It made focusing nearly impossible and made me lose time and any sense of recognizing the importance of the exam or grade.

I am currently finishing recovery at home and am prioritizing my Honour's thesis course and the other course that I am enrolled in this semester. I am set on graduating at the end of the semester- I only need my Honour's thesis course to do so- and my main responsibility is my schoolwork and a medication change. I have already lessened my course load by dropping one of my interest courses at the beginning of February and have since had two follow-up appointments with my psychiatrist. I am also in the process this week of getting a psychologist that I can see regularly. I am in regular contact with my thesis supervisor and have worked out new due dates with the course administrators. Each of these steps- medical appointments, therapy, and prioritizing the course I need to graduate- will help me succeed academically.

The impact of this event on my academic performance has been discouraging and unlike me, and I worry about this grade showing up on my transcript and affecting my GPA. I am hoping to pursue graduate studies in the future, and I would hate for this low grade to affect my ability to get into a program. I thank you so much for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding the appeal.

Thank you,
Marissa de Boer