Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Letter: Dear Board of Studies,

I am appealing the Associate Dean??s decision where my appeal was denied since I missed the 21-day appeal deadline. During the second semester of last year, I severely struggled with mental health issues due to my family's extenuating circumstances outlined in my previous appeal. Added to that, online learning was very challenging for me to handle. These contributing factors directly impacted my learning in many ways. When I realized that I was starting to fall behind in school I applied for academic consideration which had been approved on March 22, 2022. I was directly working with my professors and academic advisors to help me outline a plan on how to get back on track with my studies. When I inquired about the academic probation letter that I received, my academic advisors advised on multiple different occasions that students who are on academic consideration will not be placed on academic probation simultaneously when a file is open, and support is being offered to the student. Thus, I was in complete shock and very confused when it came time to register for winter classes the next year and I was unable to. By that time, I had already missed the 21-day deadline period which I was not even aware that I needed to meet because I was told otherwise. All summer long I was back and forth trying to get hold of someone who could advise me on how to move forward with my issue. Trying to directly speak to someone at Arts & Science (613-533-2470) was extremely difficult. Many times, they would give me a time for a meeting, and then when I would join at that time it would say ??portal is full.? I explained that this kept happening to me and they advised me that the quickest way to get hold of someone would be to go through PASS Advisors. After speaking to multiple different people at PASS, all of them informed me that it was out of their area of expertise and that I needed to speak to someone higher up. It was practically impossible for me to get an appointment, so I kept reaching out but did not receive a response for weeks. I felt very disheartened and discouraged. It was clear that I hadn??t reached the right person who can direct or advise. I sincerely hope you can understand how helpless I was feeling.

If my appeal is granted, my academic plan for success would be registering for my desired degree plan which I have already spoken to an academic advisor about. Also, lowering my course load to part-time would greatly impact the way I handle my time management, which I have struggled with in the past due to my mental health issues. In regard to my mental health, I will continue to have scheduled meetings with my therapist once a week. I also plan to be in constant contact with my professors and or TAs, requesting a mentor through the Peer Mentor Program, and have scheduled meetings with an academic advisor at least twice a month.

Thank you so much for your understanding and consideration.