Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: December 2022
Appeal Letter

This letter is being written as an appeal to drop the two semester MATH 111 course after the academic deadline, without academic penalty.

I have experienced a somewhat abnormal first year at Queens University. I came into the school as a student already diagnosed with anxiety and depression and at the end of September was present and watched the events at Kingston General Hospital. I received academic consideration and spoke to a counsellor. I struggled to attend class for several days as it meant walking past the scene and was unable to maintain healthy eating or sleep habits during that time, which caused me to fall behind in my classes. Unfortunately beginning the week of November 20th, I began experiencing severe insomnia. I was going days without sleeping and typically able to sleep a maximum of 3 hours at night. I suffer from complex migraines, meaning they bring on symptoms of a stroke. The lack of sleep began to often trigger those which impairs my vision for several hours. On Thursday November 24th I made an appointment with a wellness counsellor who was unable to determine a source for the insomnia, his biggest suggestion was that it may still have been resulting from the events in September or possibly something physical. The earliest medical appointment available to look for something physical was December 14th, which is 4 days before the MATH 111 exam. On December 7th I was able to go and speak to a counsellor who had suggested a form of treatment to be able to rule out the hospital as a cause, but again suggested looking into physical causes. I have tried every suggestion to deal with the insomnia from cutting out caffeine and taking supplements to weighted blankets and white noise.

The events in September caused me to either miss a large amount of class or be unfocussed when I was able to attend. Most of my other classes (chemistry, biology and calculus) have been a review of my understandings from grade 12, so I was able to confidently go over the missed content. For MATH 111 I was able to look over that material from photographs posted to onQ, but my understanding of the content was greatly impacted by not being able to watch the prof actually go through the processes. This type of math is not something you can learn effectively from annotated notes online. It is by far my most challenging course in terms of needing to properly understand the lectures to be able to perform at the level expected. The mark for this course is based on eight assignments (4 per semester), as well as a take home midterm and an exam each semester. I have passed two of the assignments with marks just above 50% and had to receive an extension on the final assignment as well as likely deferring the exam to the new year. This course runs through both semesters and after these circumstances I do not feel I have been able to actually learn the content from this semester, let alone learn it well enough to carry into another semester and build off of it.

I would ideally like to do a specialization in biomedical computing and have investigated the requirements for that program. If I am able to drop linear algebra, I can substitute it with MATH 112, an introduction to linear algebra which will also satisfy the program requirement. MATH 112 is being offered second semester (only 3 credits) and I have already reached out to an ArtSci advisor about enrolling in it if I am approved for a late drop. This would give me a chance to stay on track for my desired program and acquire a solid understanding of the concepts that are going to be carried forward in my degree.

Thank you,
Paige Hawker
(20341281)