Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this formal appeal, to drop a class after the published deadline date. I am appealing to drop SOCY 211, a winter semester course, with no academic penalty. This year I have been dealing with an ongoing issue in which I have been bullied by a group of people. This situation started last year in the winter semester and has progressively gotten worse, particularly throughout this semester. Looking back at my grades it is evident that something began happening in the winter semester of last year when my grades significantly dropped. At the time my strategy to recover from my failed courses was to retake them most of which I have tried to do this year, It was not until I met with academic advising recently that I was reminded of the appeal process. I failed to drop this course by the deadline of February 27th because I thought I could still succeed, I did not think my situation would get worse and I thought I would be able to finish strong. However, looking back I was in denial about my anxiety and overestimated my ability to continue on normally with my academics. Unfortunately, as a result of this situation I have developed severe anxiety, insomnia and stress, which has affected my mental state and my ability to cope normally. When I finally developed the confidence in myself and realized how serious the situation had become I went to Queen's Counseling Service who referred me to the Queen's Human Rights Department. The Queens Counseling Services will be sending supporting documentation to back up my claims. I understand that I will not be receiving any credit for the work that I have put in, however, I hope that without this course I will be able to focus on my other classes. I decided that this course was too much for me to handle this semester seeing as I tremendously struggle with statistics. In light of my situation the added stressor of not succeeding in this course is only adding to my extremely high stress levels and causing me more anxiety, making it extremely hard for me to focus. I took this course and passed last year in the winter semester, however, I got a low grade and for an honors degree I need a higher grade, which is why I was retaking it this year. I understand this is a required course for my degree, and I plan to complete it next year after I have had time away to work on my issues and myself. I hope by submitting this appeal over the summer I will be able to seek help for my anxiety and stress and come back stronger next year when I will succeed academically again and be in a better mental state.

Thank you,
Sarah McKinnon