Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Appeals Board Members:

I am appealing to you to express my urgent need to retroactively withdraw from courses I took as a first-year Arts and Science student in 2020-2021. In the months that followed, I was not healthy enough to resume studies, or even to attempt to navigate the appeals process. Through lengthy and intensive treatment, I have become sure of the fact that I must remain in Alberta where I have developed an effective support system.

Today I am proud to say that I have put in the necessary hard work to become healthy and am ready to return to university. However, the University of Calgary admissions officers have informed me that for my application for Fall 2023 to be considered, I must hold fewer than 12 credits from another postsecondary institution. This is the reason for my petition.

My circumstances are indeed extenuating, as outlined in my attached appeal letter. I sincerely hope you will read this document so you can fully understand my situation. Namely, a severe mental health crisis which took over every aspect of my life shortly after I began my studies at Queen??s altered my path in ways I never could have predicted.

While I understand that there is a time limitation for withdrawing from completed courses, I believe my situation warrants waiving of the deadline and the members of the Queen??s student services team that I spoke to agree. I did not want to give up on my dream of graduating from Queen??s, and held fast to my goal until this past spring, when it became clear that I needed the support of the right medication and my team of practitioners to get healthy and stay that way.

As is outlined in my attached personal experience letter, as well as in supporting documents from both my doctor and therapists, I developed debilitating depression among other mental health issues during my first semester at Queen??s. Because lectures were delivered online, I returned home at Christmas of 2020 and completed my first year from my hometown of Calgary. However, I was still trying to hide my depression from my friends and family, and it wasn??t until I hit crisis point after beginning second year, that I finally sought the extensive treatment that I needed.

The grades I achieved, while passable, are in no way reflective of my abilities, but rather of the sickness that plagued me during the lowest and darkest point in my life. I didn??t know how to get the help I needed; instead, I tried to keep going.

I now have the right care, a diagnosis, and strategies for success. I hope you will consider my request and grant retroactive withdrawal from the Queen??s courses I took in 2020-2021, so that I may begin the next chapter of my life and restart my studies now that I??m in better health.

I eagerly await your response, as I hope to meet the fast-approaching deadline to apply for the Fall 2023 semester at the University of Calgary and resume my academic life as soon as possible, and will only be eligible if this appeal is successful. Thank you for your understanding.


Sincerely,
Jackson Nash

Student : 20218527
Phone: (403)-827-4839
Email: jf.nash17@gmail.com

Attachments:

1. Psychologist Letter 2022: From current practitioner, outlining my diagnosis, treatment plan, and extensive support systems
2. Jackson Nash Appeal Letter: timeline of how my health severely impacted my studies at Queen??s
3. Psychologist Letter 2020: Letter requesting residence change and support
4. Letter from family doctor: Outlining both medication and mental health history
5. Psychologist Letter 2021: Outlining treatment throughout 2021-2022
6. Emails: to/from Queen??s Student Wellness Services, regarding academic accommodations
7. Detailed assessment: Details of testing to reveal diagnoses