Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Ryan Seychuk
243 Division Street
Kingston, K7K 3Z5
(647)-535-4530
20rds6@queensu.ca

January 22nd 2023

Dr. Barbara Crow
Dean
Queen's University
Kingston, K7L 3N6

Dear Dr. Barbara Crow,

I am appealing to remove the courses CLST 103, GPHY 101, MATH 120B, ASTR 101, GPHY 102, MATH 110A and MATH 120A (2021-2022) from my course history and transcript. Therefore resetting my GPA and allowing me to start anew this upcoming summer/fall semester (2023).

The reasoning behind this appeal is that during the course of my first year, I was dealing with issues such as Depression, GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) and ADHD. All of these issues were UNDIAGNOSED and present through the entire 2021-2022 year and have been for 4-5 years prior. These issues had not been revealed to others at that time, meaning I had no help from Queen??s (accommodations), family, or friends. During the school year, I attempted to keep up to date on all my classes, but it quickly got out of hand and started to spiral, only making matters worse. The reason I didn??t drop any courses or consider any academic alternatives is because of pressure from family and friends to keep trying and hopefully regain the marks. Eventually, it was too late to attempt to drop the courses and take a lighter course load. To quickly explain why I??m not appealing to remove 2 courses (GEOL 104 & 107), I spent most of my time where I was able to think clearly on those two courses due to enjoying them (professor and content) and the slightly lower amount of work the 2 courses required.

This September, I revealed my issues to my family and others for the first time. And since then, My family and I have been working nonstop to try to get therapy, medication, counseling and academic guidance regarding returning to studies. Attached is my diagnosis for GAD and major depressive disorder from CAMH. I have also had a psycho-educational assessment completed which reaffirmed the later plus also diagnosed ADHD. This assessment was completed by Dr. P. Jean Szkiba-Day, Psychologist, License 2427 (we??ve had the verbal debrief and the formal written report will follow in a couple of weeks and she??s happy to send it if needed). As a result, I am now on proper medication and in weekly CBT therapy sessions. I have also just started taking an experimental dose of Lisdexamfetamine (ADHD medication) which has already shown huge improvements in my ability to focus.

As part of this request, I would like to return this upcoming summer (May 2023) to take a single asynchronous course to help ease my way back into the academic mindset. A couple of plans I have to ensure a smooth transition and for me to excel are that I won??t be taking a full course load in the fall (2023), so I??m not jumping into the deep end of the pool after not having been in school for almost a full year. I??ve also been told by psychologists (with reports), to request accommodations such as an academic coach, extra time/separate rooms for exams, time between exams and a reduced workload. Other things I??ve learnt while being out of school are that there are many tools and assists offered by Queen??s that are designed to help students with the same issues as me and I had never taken advantage of them. I plan to on a regular basis, especially when returning to studies. I am trying to do everything in my power to return to studies and succeed in the fashion I used to.

Please understand that the low GPA and lack of credits doesn??t mean I??m a bad student, but a very good student that has just had a very bad year for the first time in his life. I hope you will give this some thought, thank you for considering this appeal.

Sincerely,
Ryan Seychuk