Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am appealing to drop FREN118 (Spring, 2022).

I have struggled with mental illness for nearly my entire academic career. So, I have academic accommodations. Over the years, they have been helpful, providing me with extra time on assignments or exams when my symptoms would become unmanageable. Towards the end of December, my dad was diagnosed with a form of dementia. Following this diagnosis, I noticed a significant exacerbation of my symptoms. Most notably, I have struggled with low energy, concentration, dissociation for lengthy periods at a time, and lack of motivation.

At the beginning of this spring semester, I was enrolled in three courses which I could typically manage. Two or three weeks into the semester, I realized I could not handle my course load, so I decided to drop two of the courses but chose to stay in one as I still wanted to have some sense of accomplishment. However, due to the severity of my symptoms, I fell about 2-3 weeks behind with just one course on my plate. I tried to access my accommodations, but I tried after things were due. Shortly before winter reading break, I had emailed the professor for FREN118, sent her my letter of accommodations and briefly explained my situation. She had initially said it was okay and asked for a list of the assignments that I had not submitted. Because I was embarrassed at how long the list had become as there were many smaller assignments, I took a few days to send it. She, however, also took a few days to reply to me as it was reading break, and in her reply, she told me that I couldn??t catch up, so she recommended I drop the course. This was on a Wednesday, and the drop date was on Friday. When I??m feeling depressed, I don??t check my email daily; it's just not something I can remember to do. And unfortunately, I had seen the professor's email on that Saturday, so I no longer had the option to drop the course. I felt defeated and was not able to bring myself to reach out anymore.

I was successful throughout the first four years of University and completed enough courses to graduate with my BA. I plan on taking time off until I feel I have my symptoms under control before pursuing further studies (or potentially returning to obtain the credits needed to get my honours). And I plan to continue with therapy sessions on an ongoing basis.

Regards,
Emily Kempt