Petition Letter
To Whom It May Concern,
I am appealing to the Associate Dean of Studies; Dr. Johanne Bénard to drop courses after the academic deadline. The following are the aforementioned courses taken between September 2014 and April 2015:
1. CLST 214 ¿¿ Fall 2014
2. MUSC 273 ¿¿ Fall 2014
3. LLCU 200 ¿¿ Winter 2015
4. CLST 200 ¿¿ Winter 2015
5. STAT 263 ¿¿ Winter 2015
This appeal is intended to relieve my student status of Academic Probation and return to a Student in Good Standing.
This past school year I have continued in my battle against Depression (Diagnosed August 2012). Despite the support from medical professionals I have continued to be affected in my day to day life. The intent this year was to take on a minimal full-time course load in thinking that I would not be as overwhelmed as I have been in the past with school. Unfortunately, that was not the ultimate reasoning behind my failures and I was unable to be successful, or even attend the classes of the courses listed above. Through my denial of just how much the depression affected me, I continued to believe that I could turn things around and at least pass the courses. This thought process is the reasoning behind not dropping the courses by the deadline.
Since returning home after the winter semester I have revisited my family physician (Dr. Rutherford, Lindsay, ON) to discuss my medication and dosage. We have added a prescription of Ratio-Bupropion (AKA Wellbutrin) to my daily Cipralex pills. Though immediate changes were not noticeable, after a couple of weeks I was able to see how much easier it was (and is) to function. Also since returning, I have continued in my bi-weekly sessions with Lorraine Gregson (M.Ed., RSW).
I had planned on this school year being a final test of whether continuing at Queen¿¿s or university in general was the appropriate path. I went into the fall semester with a last chance to prove to myself that I could be successful again at Queen¿¿s attitude. Having failed all of the courses I was enrolled in and the fact that I had made that ultimatum decision prior to the start of the year, has helped me to face the reality of my limitations. With the acceptance of this, I have been able to make major progressions towards finding out what is right for me, especially when it comes to academics. I have made the decision to step back from university at this time. Whether I look at going into work or look at college programs is currently undecided. I still have every intention of completing my degree however; I have accepted that it will be at a later point in my life.
After my academic advising appointment with Spring Forsberg, I am aware that I have completed all the necessary core music courses for my degree and only elective courses remain. This helps to make future plans of online courses or part-time courses a viable option. As well, we discussed what was involved with taking an extended break from a degree and what courses I could look at retaking in the future to improve on my GPA. The first step in moving forward from my time at Queen¿¿s is to get my student status back into good standing. I want to make sure that when I am healthy enough to take another course towards my degree that I am not met with limitations because of my failures. By granting this appeal to drop the 5 courses and return to a Student in Good Standing I will be able to move forward without having my Depression control what my future is limited to.
Thank you for your consideration of my appeal. I have attached supporting documentation from each of the medical professionals mentioned in my application. I look forward to hearing your response and thank you once again for taking the time to review my appeal.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Budden
0590 2419
8kab3@queensu.ca
I am appealing to the Associate Dean of Studies; Dr. Johanne Bénard to drop courses after the academic deadline. The following are the aforementioned courses taken between September 2014 and April 2015:
1. CLST 214 ¿¿ Fall 2014
2. MUSC 273 ¿¿ Fall 2014
3. LLCU 200 ¿¿ Winter 2015
4. CLST 200 ¿¿ Winter 2015
5. STAT 263 ¿¿ Winter 2015
This appeal is intended to relieve my student status of Academic Probation and return to a Student in Good Standing.
This past school year I have continued in my battle against Depression (Diagnosed August 2012). Despite the support from medical professionals I have continued to be affected in my day to day life. The intent this year was to take on a minimal full-time course load in thinking that I would not be as overwhelmed as I have been in the past with school. Unfortunately, that was not the ultimate reasoning behind my failures and I was unable to be successful, or even attend the classes of the courses listed above. Through my denial of just how much the depression affected me, I continued to believe that I could turn things around and at least pass the courses. This thought process is the reasoning behind not dropping the courses by the deadline.
Since returning home after the winter semester I have revisited my family physician (Dr. Rutherford, Lindsay, ON) to discuss my medication and dosage. We have added a prescription of Ratio-Bupropion (AKA Wellbutrin) to my daily Cipralex pills. Though immediate changes were not noticeable, after a couple of weeks I was able to see how much easier it was (and is) to function. Also since returning, I have continued in my bi-weekly sessions with Lorraine Gregson (M.Ed., RSW).
I had planned on this school year being a final test of whether continuing at Queen¿¿s or university in general was the appropriate path. I went into the fall semester with a last chance to prove to myself that I could be successful again at Queen¿¿s attitude. Having failed all of the courses I was enrolled in and the fact that I had made that ultimatum decision prior to the start of the year, has helped me to face the reality of my limitations. With the acceptance of this, I have been able to make major progressions towards finding out what is right for me, especially when it comes to academics. I have made the decision to step back from university at this time. Whether I look at going into work or look at college programs is currently undecided. I still have every intention of completing my degree however; I have accepted that it will be at a later point in my life.
After my academic advising appointment with Spring Forsberg, I am aware that I have completed all the necessary core music courses for my degree and only elective courses remain. This helps to make future plans of online courses or part-time courses a viable option. As well, we discussed what was involved with taking an extended break from a degree and what courses I could look at retaking in the future to improve on my GPA. The first step in moving forward from my time at Queen¿¿s is to get my student status back into good standing. I want to make sure that when I am healthy enough to take another course towards my degree that I am not met with limitations because of my failures. By granting this appeal to drop the 5 courses and return to a Student in Good Standing I will be able to move forward without having my Depression control what my future is limited to.
Thank you for your consideration of my appeal. I have attached supporting documentation from each of the medical professionals mentioned in my application. I look forward to hearing your response and thank you once again for taking the time to review my appeal.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Budden
0590 2419
8kab3@queensu.ca