Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing to remove the HLTH 101 course from my academic record. I took this course during the winter term of the academic year 2021-2022. The winter term was very rough for me while at Queen's University. I faced many challenges with my mental & physical health, and it was often difficult to seek help in Kingston. I was very ill at the beginning of the semester with mononucleosis forcing me to travel back to my hometown of Georgetown many times. This illness was ongoing for months, and I could not attend classes because of my symptoms and the infectious nature of the sickness. During this period, getting any work done or even opening my laptop to check on new posts was challenging. My mental health and motivation were at their lowest, and I had no one to lean on. I struggled with anxiety disorder and my learning disabilities. These issues weighing me down did not help with my ability to get work done and caused me to procrastinate even more. Mid-semester, after feeling better from my sickness, I began to complete some work for my courses. I was holding onto the hope of passing them. My HLTH 101 course had many quizzes I had already missed due to my illness, but I was trying my best to complete them. At this juncture, I contracted Covid and once again missed more quizzes. My mental health weighed me down immensely to the point where I did not have the motivation to tell my profs I had got covid and needed extra time. At this point, I was hoping for just a pass. The end of the semester was the most challenging time. At this time, I learned the terrible news that one of my friends and fellow Queen's students had passed from cancer. I had to get home as quickly as I could, so I rushed to complete all my final assignments; when those were complete, I closed my laptop for a few weeks believing I had at least passed my courses. The number of issues I dealt with that semester had taken a toll on my academics. The physical and mental health struggles made completing work and attending classes impossible for me. When I realized I had failed the class, I was surprised and distraught because I knew how bad it would make my final GPA. I am not attending Queens next year, so I must apply to other schools. I wish to remove the course from my record so it will not be seen on my academic history and count toward my grades.

Sincerely,

Madeline Cook