Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: ACADEMIC PLAN

I am currently pursuing my studies with an undeclared major. I was hoping to declare a major in 2nd year. The course addressed in my appeal is not a component of the pathway I am pursuing.


STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Challenges
I have encountered a number of challenges this year, and have been able to address many of them. My situation became acute only recently when I experience an episode related to my condition that prohibited me from participating in the necessary in-person tests for the course in question. A contributing factor to my episode this month was the many changing formats of my courses. Most remained a mix of online and in-person after the March return to school on campus. This regular change and variety of course delivery did not benefit my condition. I also found the access to supports and resources on campus difficult to navigate and when I did, found they were not available in formats that met my needs.

shifting between online and in-person components of courses - sometimes within a single course and sometimes (as in January/February) as a whole school
restrictions placed on student gathering / movement in residence contributed to a worsening of the situation
accessibility of supports and resources on campus - difficult to navigate and not always in a format that met my needs



Skills to Build
I continue to build my resilience and increase my strategies for managing my condition to become more aware of the triggers that may cause periods of acute distress. I have become better able to speak to my condition which will in turn, assist me in managing any episodes in the future.

resilience
strategies to manage condition
awareness of triggers
speaking to my condition


Future Plans
I plan to continue to seek support through my off campus counsellor / therapist. I will apply strategies as I learn them to make my learning experience at Queen??s successful. I will also meet with my academic advisor to explore all of my options.

continue to seek support through therapist
apply new strategies
meet with academic advisor to explore all options
review accommodations to ensure they are suitable to help manage condition
consider different ways of completing my degree





To Associate Dean (Academic).

I am appealing to drop ____________ (Winter Term). I have attempted to continue with the course work but due to my situation, I have been unable to attend the in-person tests.

There are several factors that have contributed to my desire to drop this course. The circumstances are related to an acute period of distress that I experienced upon return to in-person learning at the beginning of March. I did not drop the course by the drop date as we had only just returned and I had not yet begun to experience my episode. The situation I quickly found myself in however, prohibited me from attending in-person sessions. The course in question demanded tests be written in-person. I pursued accommodations in an attempt to try and cope with the course requirement and my condition but the available and supported accommodations did not need my needs in this extreme case. I was able to continue completing my other courses as the materials were still available online and the requirements left were in such a format that I could complete them despite my condition.

I am including a letter from my personal therapist, attesting to the fact that this was an unforeseen, extenuating circumstance that was outside my control to ameliorate. I plan to address the occurrence of my condition by continuing to seek support from my therapist and also considering all of my options by consulting with academic advising and QSAS. I will need to reassess my accommodations to help ensure that I can avoid such situations in the future.

My goal is to succeed at Queen??s and I am dedicated to making that happen. ?I appreciate your consideration of my appeal.