Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Letter: Dear Members of the Board of Studies,

I am appealing the Associate Dean's decision to deny my appeal of credit standing for BCHM 218 (Fall 2020), BCHM 315 (Fall 2021), and CANC 380 (Fall 2021).

For my entire life I have been dealing with extreme general and social anxiety. During the Fall of 2020, I wrote my first online proctored exam for BCHM 218 and since I was one on one with a stranger for my entire exam, I was a nervous wreck and did horribly on my exam compared to my grades in my other classes.

I started seeing a doctor in May 2021 to obtain academic accommodations to assist with a variety of struggles I was having in school due to my mental health illnesses, but he wanted me to start medication first. I went on the medication and saw minimal improvement, but once it was back in person school, I still required academic accommodations, and my doctor, a Queen's doctor, would not provide them. Finally in January 2022, I had to go behind my doctor's back and visit a Queen's therapist to provide me the accommodations I desperately needed, especially since the medications the doctor had me trying were making me extremely ill (i.e., I was so tired and weak I could barely stand, or so nauseous I would spend the first half of my day vomiting). Due to my poor grade, I ended up with in the Fall of 2020, which now results in me not being able to meet my specialization cut off GPA. I got my appeal decision recently and for BCHM 218 the associate dean said, I want you know that exam-related stress is not typically considered an extenuating circumstance as many students experience this every term as well as the documentation that you supplied related to this course, does not indicate the timeline that your academic ability was impacted. Someone who now has been given a long list of accommodations to assist me in my academics, does not get accommodations for exam-related stress. My anxiety is an illness that I could not control, that not everyone experiences, and it has affected my entire life, and there is not a timeline. The associated dean seems to be severely minimizing mental illness, and the impact it can have on student performance. My grades were impacted for every single class, but BCHM 218 was the first time experiencing the proctoring software resulting in a severe impact on this grade in particular.

For the classes I appealed for Fall 2021, BCHM 315 and CANC 380, I had a major assignment and a midterm (worth 20% and 25%) that I did not do well on after being hospitalized at the beginning of November, the same day or within days of having to submit/write. I ended up in the hospital after undergoing a medical procedure at the student wellness centre. I could barely get home on my own, having to sit down on the sidewalk every few meters because I was in so much pain resulting in nausea. When I finally got home, I proceeded in vomiting for 2 hours when my roommates to decided to call 911. I was sent to hospital where I proceeded to vomit for another 6 hours, on average every 5 minutes during this time. I was given a large amount of a variety of drugs to stop the pain, sickness, and other medical complications due to my underlying conditions. The doctor at the hospital said that the procedure was too painful to undergo without medication, especially with underlying medical conditions, which directly impacted the chances of the procedure having negative effects. After the hospitalizations, for weeks following, I was dealing with the impacts of my medical procedure, including being in so much pain I could not get out of bed, being unable to eat, or keep anything, including water, down, and suffering from extreme weakness. This resulted in me missing the last month of my term, getting very behind in classes, and being unable to properly comprehend and submit assignments (40% of my CANC 380 grade was due in November). When it came time to write exams, I was so far behind, I had to write without knowing what some of the topics on the exam were.

Throughout all this, I was still writing my examinations and assignments without my required academic accommodations and dealing with side effects from the medications my doctor was pushing upon me. Four of my worst grades I have received in my entire academic career were between mid November to December after being hospitalized and dealing with the impacts for weeks, while also having extreme negative side effects from anxiety and depression medication being prescribed to me as my only way to gain academic accommodations, but still not being given the accommodations. Despite all this, the associate dean, also declined my appeal for these courses saying, the information that I received from your instructors indicate that you were accommodated appropriately for this absence from school. I received no accommodation for any examination and given a two and a half week extension for 1 half of my 40% project, but then having to do the second half with significantly less time than my peers.

I am applying for credit standing as I could not foresee ending up in the hospital nor control my ongoing health issues. By the time I had used Examity for the first time, it was too late to be given an academic accommodation to provide any hope in receiving a decent grade in the class. Due to these reasons, I am applying for credit standing for the courses BCHM 218 (Fall, 2020), CANC 380 (Fall, 2021), and BCHM 315 (Fall, 2021).

Thanks,
Abigail