Petition Letter
January 30, 2023
Associate Dean ( Academic)
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Queen??s University
94 University Avenue
Dunning Hall
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 3N6
Dear Associate Dean (Academic);
I am petitioning to waive the drop deadline for 4 courses (HLTH 200 Winter 2023, BADR 100 Fall 2022, ENIN 301 Fall 2022 and LIBS 100 Fall 2022) that I did not intend to enrol in.
I have been working on my Bachelor of Arts degree over the past 5 years as a part time student. Currently I am working full time and paying off my student debt while living independently.
In the spring of 2020, while at Queens, I sustained a concussion. Unfortunately this was not the first brain injury I have had. The University was understanding of my situation and granted me generous academic accommodations following this concussion for the remainder of the academic year. I already had academic accommodations granted to me by the QSAC due to my anxiety and ADHD which has been very helpful and appreciated during my time as a student.
After this tough year, I chose to seek employment and to complete my degree while working.
In the summer of 2022, I was on the university website looking at course options and placed a number of course choices in my academic shopping cart for consideration. My intention was to enrol in one course. I then started a new job and the pace and volume of my new responsibilities made it clear to me that it would be unrealistic to try and manage one course of study. What I did not realize is that unbeknownst to me, four courses in my shopping cart were now appearing as registered courses rather than as options. I did not realize this until December when I logged on and made the discovery. I was shocked and very concerned of the consequence this would have on my transcript as well as financially.
As I did not intend to enrol in these courses I am petitioning for the deadline to drop courses be waived so that I can drop these courses without penalty.
My mental health challenges heightened in Grade 10 after I suffered a concussion while playing football. Since then I have had professional help from a psychologist as well as my family physician. I was diagnosed with anxiety and suffer regular panic attacks and I have been taking prescribed medication to help with this as well as for ADHD. It continues to be a journey to learn how to manage my anxiety and ADHD. One of my most critical learnings is the importance of knowing my limits and managing my workload.
It is a definite priority for me to complete my degree. I want to complete it as soon as possible. However, an employment opportunity presented itself. I accepted the position not fully appreciating the amount of hours, the extreme focus, the amount of responsibility and fast and unpredictable pace of the job. It was a challenge for me just to manage this new position let alone it and an online course.
Since December when I discovered that I was enrolled in multiple courses and then that I had missed the deadlines to drop them, I have had multiple panic attacks just thinking about it and have been extremely anxious thinking about the consequences of this unfortunate mishap.
My plan moving forward is to enrol in my next course during the summer of 2023 when I know I will have the time to complete the course.
I ask for your support in granting me this petition and am available if you require any further information or have questions.
Best regards,
Charlie Skipworth
647 518 4600
Student Number 20029315
PS - supporting medical documentation to follow
Associate Dean ( Academic)
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Queen??s University
94 University Avenue
Dunning Hall
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 3N6
Dear Associate Dean (Academic);
I am petitioning to waive the drop deadline for 4 courses (HLTH 200 Winter 2023, BADR 100 Fall 2022, ENIN 301 Fall 2022 and LIBS 100 Fall 2022) that I did not intend to enrol in.
I have been working on my Bachelor of Arts degree over the past 5 years as a part time student. Currently I am working full time and paying off my student debt while living independently.
In the spring of 2020, while at Queens, I sustained a concussion. Unfortunately this was not the first brain injury I have had. The University was understanding of my situation and granted me generous academic accommodations following this concussion for the remainder of the academic year. I already had academic accommodations granted to me by the QSAC due to my anxiety and ADHD which has been very helpful and appreciated during my time as a student.
After this tough year, I chose to seek employment and to complete my degree while working.
In the summer of 2022, I was on the university website looking at course options and placed a number of course choices in my academic shopping cart for consideration. My intention was to enrol in one course. I then started a new job and the pace and volume of my new responsibilities made it clear to me that it would be unrealistic to try and manage one course of study. What I did not realize is that unbeknownst to me, four courses in my shopping cart were now appearing as registered courses rather than as options. I did not realize this until December when I logged on and made the discovery. I was shocked and very concerned of the consequence this would have on my transcript as well as financially.
As I did not intend to enrol in these courses I am petitioning for the deadline to drop courses be waived so that I can drop these courses without penalty.
My mental health challenges heightened in Grade 10 after I suffered a concussion while playing football. Since then I have had professional help from a psychologist as well as my family physician. I was diagnosed with anxiety and suffer regular panic attacks and I have been taking prescribed medication to help with this as well as for ADHD. It continues to be a journey to learn how to manage my anxiety and ADHD. One of my most critical learnings is the importance of knowing my limits and managing my workload.
It is a definite priority for me to complete my degree. I want to complete it as soon as possible. However, an employment opportunity presented itself. I accepted the position not fully appreciating the amount of hours, the extreme focus, the amount of responsibility and fast and unpredictable pace of the job. It was a challenge for me just to manage this new position let alone it and an online course.
Since December when I discovered that I was enrolled in multiple courses and then that I had missed the deadlines to drop them, I have had multiple panic attacks just thinking about it and have been extremely anxious thinking about the consequences of this unfortunate mishap.
My plan moving forward is to enrol in my next course during the summer of 2023 when I know I will have the time to complete the course.
I ask for your support in granting me this petition and am available if you require any further information or have questions.
Best regards,
Charlie Skipworth
647 518 4600
Student Number 20029315
PS - supporting medical documentation to follow