Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Katherine Bubalo, and I am writing this appeal to waive the 21-day or one-term deadline so I can drop courses from my transcript (after the academic deadline). I was going through extenuating circumstances which affected my ability to submit this appeal within the specified timeline and perform academically. The courses I am asking to drop are as follows:

ITLN 111 (FALL 2019)
SPAN 111 (SUMMER 2022)
WRITE 125 (SUMMER 2022)


During the latter semesters, I was not in the correct headspace - my mental health issues were ultimately misdiagnosed. Therefore the medication I was on was prohibiting me rather than helping me. This caused me to experience exacerbated mental health issues that spanned a few years.

Due to these troubles, I did not complete the coursework from these courses, causing me to receive failing grades. I did not appeal within the specified timeline because I felt immense shame, exacerbated by my ongoing mental health issues, which caused me to experience a sense of paralysis and, therefore, mentally and physically unable to reach out to the necessary instructors and staff in due time.

I am only now asking to waive the deadline due to months of working with my doctor to receive the correct diagnosis and medications. After years of struggling with my mental health, I finally feel capable of completing this degree - something I didn't think possible in the past. This change in my health has changed my ability to function academically and helped me realize how much I value my education at Queen's and my potential for future education.

I hope my appeal to waive the deadline is reviewed and accepted since my circumstances were out of my control at the time, preventing me from appealing within the deadline. I have worked very hard to get where I am, so I would appreciate the opportunity to remove these failing grades from my transcript to assist me in graduating with a GPA I am capable of. The marks I received in Fall 2022 compared to my past are a telltale sign of how I was at the mercy of the wrong medication, which was out of my control.

(The ITLN 2019 class was supposed to be removed at the approval of a past appeal, but I forgot to include it in my final letter. The same conditions affect 2019, as that was the year I was first diagnosed and prescribed the wrong medication)