Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
Before I begin my letter, I would like to stress the time-sensitive nature of this appeal, as your decision will determine which exams I should be studying for.
Before I provide detail of my circumstances, I have laid out the details of my request below:
This semester I am enrolled in PSYC302, and have IN grades for PSYC400, PHGY210, PSYC251, and PSYC301.
My initial request is to extend IN grades for PSYC400 and PHGY210, in which case I believe that I will be able to complete the requirements of my other courses this term. I have received support for this appeal from both instructors, Dr. Jill Atkinson and Dr. Christopher Ward.
For PSYC400, I have two assignments left to complete. I believe that I can finish these assignments over the month of May. For PHGY210, all I have left to complete is the final exam (worth 50). The situation for PHGY210 is unique in that I have already received an extension of an IN. I initially took the course in Summer 2017, received an extension from Dr. Ward for the Fall semester, and then was granted an appeal to extend the exam into the Winter semester. I have considered the option of dropping the course, but I strongly believe that another extension is the best course of action for the following reasons: 1) I have already completed 50 of the course and half of the material that will be on the final exam, 2) I will have no additional responsibilities in the summer, allowing me to solely focus on completing the course, and 3) Although the symptoms of my mental illnesses have made it difficult to study over the course of the semester, I have made a significant improvement over the last few weeks such that my studying has been much more productive. For this reason, I believe that, if given more time, I will be able to successfully complete the course over the summer. That being said, I recognize that you may decide not to grant me a second appeal. In this case, I have devised a second option: if an appeal for PHGY210 is not granted, I would like to appeal to write my PSYC251 and PSYC301 exams at a later date, so that I can focus my attention on completing PHGY210 by the end of this term. I have explained my situation and laid out this plan to all four of the professors involved (Dr. Atkinson, Dr. Ward, Dr. Jacobson, and Dr. Kelley) and have received support from all four of them, such that if an appeal for PHGY210 is not granted, Dr. Jacobson and Dr. Kelley support an appeal to extend PSYC301 and PSYC251.
I will now describe my extenuating circumstances that I believe justify this appeal:
I suffer from both major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and have been in the process (and am still in the process) of determining the appropriate treatment with my doctor and psychologist. This has affected my academic ability over the course of the last three semesters in a number of ways: trouble focusing and concentrating, trouble processing complex information (specifically, PHGY210), frequent emotional breakdowns, low motivation, and inability to function in everyday activities. Although I decided to enroll as a part-time student this semester in order to be able to catch-up with my past-due work and focus on my mental health, I have not been well enough over the course of the semester to cope with all of my responsibilities: this semester I am enrolled in PSYC302 (which I have managed to keep up with), have been working as a PSYC100 TA, have been trying to catch up with past-due work from these four courses, have been coping with stressors at home, while also continuing to work through a trial and error process to find a successful treatment for my ongoing depression and anxiety. To expand on the additional stressors I have been coping with at home, in my previous letter for my original PHGY210 appeal, I spoke about my grandmothers condition as well as other circumstances that I believe are still relevant:
My grandmother, whom I am very close with, has been suffering from an inoperable aortal dissection, and is currently in palliative care and living in my house in Brampton. This situation has had large emotional, physical, and financial strain on my entire family. During the Fall semester, I frequently travelled home on the weekends to visit with my Nana and be with my family. The stressful and emotional environment of being home added to my personal struggles. Additionally, even while I was in Kingston, I experienced the stressful and emotional nature of the situation. While in the hospital, my grandmother also suffered from a severe case of pneumonia (which is especially dangerous for her because she received a double lung transplant 7 years ago). At this time, she was delusional and experiencing symptoms of dementia. The doctors at Toronto General were not sure what was happening and my family was constantly receiving new diagnoses and false updates, which were translated back to me in Kingston. This uncertainty and insecurity was emotionally draining and contributed to initiating symptoms of my depression and anxiety. While my grandmother was in the hospital, my grandfather suffered a heart attack. Additionally, on the same day, the verdict for the murder of one of my best friends was announced and the defendant was determined not guilty. My friend Jeremy Cook was murdered on June 14th, 2015. The case was heavily mediatized so there are many online news articles if more details are needed. Although I did take time to grieve, this is something that still undoubtedly has an effect on my mental health.
My grandfather has thankfully recovered. My grandmother is, against all odds, still with us and living at my house in Brampton. She has been relatively steady for the last couple of months, however, her torn aorta is still inoperable, and doctors cannot provide any estimate of a timeline. While I am happy to have more time with her, the unpredictable nature of this situation has been incredibly emotionally draining - going from preparing for her passing, to moving her back in and watching her make some strides towards recovery, while knowing that despite minor improvements she is not truly recovering and never will.
All of this being said, I am happy to say that I have noticed some improvements in my mental health recently, however, this ongoing battle has greatly impaired my ability to utilize this semester optimally. Nearing the end of the semester, I had come up with a very ambitious plan to complete everything on time. My goal was to finish all outstanding assignments by the end of classes (from both PSYC302 - my current course - and PSYC400). With this done, I would have 13 days to complete 6 remaining chapters for PHGY210 before my exam on the 20th. After this, I would have 5 days to prepare for my PSYC251 exam on the 26th. And finally, I would then have the remaining 4 days of the semester to move out of my apartment in Kingston and complete my take-home PSYC301exam by April 31st.
After talking with my doctor, I have determined that although I desperately want to be able to successfully complete all of this, it is simply not realistic given my circumstances. In fact, I believe that the pressure that I have been putting on myself over the last few weeks has served as a set back to my recovery. In hindsight, I think it would have been ideal for me to have taken this semester off to slowly complete my past due work and focus on my mental health, as I have not been well enough to successfully cope with what I have taken on, however, I am working hard to stop thinking about what I cannot change and instead proactively focus on what I need to do now to overcome this challenge.
For all of the reasons outlined above, I am requesting to 1) receive an appeal for PSYC400 so that I have the month of May to complete my outstanding assignments, and 2) receive an appeal for PHGY210 (and write the final exam in either July or August), so that I have 3 or 4 months to complete the remaining material and study for the exam.
If an appeal for PHGY210 is not granted, I am requesting to instead receive an extension for PSYC251 (and write the final exam in either July or August) and PSYC301 (a take-home exam that I will be able to complete from home).
I would like to end my letter by stressing that I strongly believe an extension in PHGY210 is the best course of action. I have much more material to complete for this final exam than I do for PSYC251 and PSYC301. Therefore, I believe that I will be able to successfully complete PSYC251 and PSYC301 to the best of my ability by the end of this semester, if given an extension on PHGY210. Whereas, although an extension in PSYC251 and PSYC301 will provide me with more time to focus on PHGY210 and I will likely be able to pass the exam, because of the amount of material, I do not believe that I will be able to complete the course to the best of my ability by the end of this semester. Additionally, I truly believe that my ability to complete PHGY210 has changed. I have been focusing on techniques to combat one of my most challenging symptoms (inability to focus and comprehend complex information) in my sessions with my psychologist. I have noticed a significant improvement in my ability, such that I was able to complete around 4 weeks of PHGY210 material through the month of March. For this reason, I am confident that I will be able to complete PHGY210 to the best of my ability over the summer semester.
I have attached a Verification of Illness form from January, that details the ongoing nature of my conditions, as well as my documentation from Queen's Student Accessibility services. If more recent documentation is preferred from my doctor or psychologist, I am more than happy to provide it. However, given the time-sensitive nature of this appeal I figured it was best to send it in as soon as possible rather than waiting until I see my psychologist and doctor later in the week.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you very much for your time and support during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Baylee Balfour
Before I begin my letter, I would like to stress the time-sensitive nature of this appeal, as your decision will determine which exams I should be studying for.
Before I provide detail of my circumstances, I have laid out the details of my request below:
This semester I am enrolled in PSYC302, and have IN grades for PSYC400, PHGY210, PSYC251, and PSYC301.
My initial request is to extend IN grades for PSYC400 and PHGY210, in which case I believe that I will be able to complete the requirements of my other courses this term. I have received support for this appeal from both instructors, Dr. Jill Atkinson and Dr. Christopher Ward.
For PSYC400, I have two assignments left to complete. I believe that I can finish these assignments over the month of May. For PHGY210, all I have left to complete is the final exam (worth 50). The situation for PHGY210 is unique in that I have already received an extension of an IN. I initially took the course in Summer 2017, received an extension from Dr. Ward for the Fall semester, and then was granted an appeal to extend the exam into the Winter semester. I have considered the option of dropping the course, but I strongly believe that another extension is the best course of action for the following reasons: 1) I have already completed 50 of the course and half of the material that will be on the final exam, 2) I will have no additional responsibilities in the summer, allowing me to solely focus on completing the course, and 3) Although the symptoms of my mental illnesses have made it difficult to study over the course of the semester, I have made a significant improvement over the last few weeks such that my studying has been much more productive. For this reason, I believe that, if given more time, I will be able to successfully complete the course over the summer. That being said, I recognize that you may decide not to grant me a second appeal. In this case, I have devised a second option: if an appeal for PHGY210 is not granted, I would like to appeal to write my PSYC251 and PSYC301 exams at a later date, so that I can focus my attention on completing PHGY210 by the end of this term. I have explained my situation and laid out this plan to all four of the professors involved (Dr. Atkinson, Dr. Ward, Dr. Jacobson, and Dr. Kelley) and have received support from all four of them, such that if an appeal for PHGY210 is not granted, Dr. Jacobson and Dr. Kelley support an appeal to extend PSYC301 and PSYC251.
I will now describe my extenuating circumstances that I believe justify this appeal:
I suffer from both major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and have been in the process (and am still in the process) of determining the appropriate treatment with my doctor and psychologist. This has affected my academic ability over the course of the last three semesters in a number of ways: trouble focusing and concentrating, trouble processing complex information (specifically, PHGY210), frequent emotional breakdowns, low motivation, and inability to function in everyday activities. Although I decided to enroll as a part-time student this semester in order to be able to catch-up with my past-due work and focus on my mental health, I have not been well enough over the course of the semester to cope with all of my responsibilities: this semester I am enrolled in PSYC302 (which I have managed to keep up with), have been working as a PSYC100 TA, have been trying to catch up with past-due work from these four courses, have been coping with stressors at home, while also continuing to work through a trial and error process to find a successful treatment for my ongoing depression and anxiety. To expand on the additional stressors I have been coping with at home, in my previous letter for my original PHGY210 appeal, I spoke about my grandmothers condition as well as other circumstances that I believe are still relevant:
My grandmother, whom I am very close with, has been suffering from an inoperable aortal dissection, and is currently in palliative care and living in my house in Brampton. This situation has had large emotional, physical, and financial strain on my entire family. During the Fall semester, I frequently travelled home on the weekends to visit with my Nana and be with my family. The stressful and emotional environment of being home added to my personal struggles. Additionally, even while I was in Kingston, I experienced the stressful and emotional nature of the situation. While in the hospital, my grandmother also suffered from a severe case of pneumonia (which is especially dangerous for her because she received a double lung transplant 7 years ago). At this time, she was delusional and experiencing symptoms of dementia. The doctors at Toronto General were not sure what was happening and my family was constantly receiving new diagnoses and false updates, which were translated back to me in Kingston. This uncertainty and insecurity was emotionally draining and contributed to initiating symptoms of my depression and anxiety. While my grandmother was in the hospital, my grandfather suffered a heart attack. Additionally, on the same day, the verdict for the murder of one of my best friends was announced and the defendant was determined not guilty. My friend Jeremy Cook was murdered on June 14th, 2015. The case was heavily mediatized so there are many online news articles if more details are needed. Although I did take time to grieve, this is something that still undoubtedly has an effect on my mental health.
My grandfather has thankfully recovered. My grandmother is, against all odds, still with us and living at my house in Brampton. She has been relatively steady for the last couple of months, however, her torn aorta is still inoperable, and doctors cannot provide any estimate of a timeline. While I am happy to have more time with her, the unpredictable nature of this situation has been incredibly emotionally draining - going from preparing for her passing, to moving her back in and watching her make some strides towards recovery, while knowing that despite minor improvements she is not truly recovering and never will.
All of this being said, I am happy to say that I have noticed some improvements in my mental health recently, however, this ongoing battle has greatly impaired my ability to utilize this semester optimally. Nearing the end of the semester, I had come up with a very ambitious plan to complete everything on time. My goal was to finish all outstanding assignments by the end of classes (from both PSYC302 - my current course - and PSYC400). With this done, I would have 13 days to complete 6 remaining chapters for PHGY210 before my exam on the 20th. After this, I would have 5 days to prepare for my PSYC251 exam on the 26th. And finally, I would then have the remaining 4 days of the semester to move out of my apartment in Kingston and complete my take-home PSYC301exam by April 31st.
After talking with my doctor, I have determined that although I desperately want to be able to successfully complete all of this, it is simply not realistic given my circumstances. In fact, I believe that the pressure that I have been putting on myself over the last few weeks has served as a set back to my recovery. In hindsight, I think it would have been ideal for me to have taken this semester off to slowly complete my past due work and focus on my mental health, as I have not been well enough to successfully cope with what I have taken on, however, I am working hard to stop thinking about what I cannot change and instead proactively focus on what I need to do now to overcome this challenge.
For all of the reasons outlined above, I am requesting to 1) receive an appeal for PSYC400 so that I have the month of May to complete my outstanding assignments, and 2) receive an appeal for PHGY210 (and write the final exam in either July or August), so that I have 3 or 4 months to complete the remaining material and study for the exam.
If an appeal for PHGY210 is not granted, I am requesting to instead receive an extension for PSYC251 (and write the final exam in either July or August) and PSYC301 (a take-home exam that I will be able to complete from home).
I would like to end my letter by stressing that I strongly believe an extension in PHGY210 is the best course of action. I have much more material to complete for this final exam than I do for PSYC251 and PSYC301. Therefore, I believe that I will be able to successfully complete PSYC251 and PSYC301 to the best of my ability by the end of this semester, if given an extension on PHGY210. Whereas, although an extension in PSYC251 and PSYC301 will provide me with more time to focus on PHGY210 and I will likely be able to pass the exam, because of the amount of material, I do not believe that I will be able to complete the course to the best of my ability by the end of this semester. Additionally, I truly believe that my ability to complete PHGY210 has changed. I have been focusing on techniques to combat one of my most challenging symptoms (inability to focus and comprehend complex information) in my sessions with my psychologist. I have noticed a significant improvement in my ability, such that I was able to complete around 4 weeks of PHGY210 material through the month of March. For this reason, I am confident that I will be able to complete PHGY210 to the best of my ability over the summer semester.
I have attached a Verification of Illness form from January, that details the ongoing nature of my conditions, as well as my documentation from Queen's Student Accessibility services. If more recent documentation is preferred from my doctor or psychologist, I am more than happy to provide it. However, given the time-sensitive nature of this appeal I figured it was best to send it in as soon as possible rather than waiting until I see my psychologist and doctor later in the week.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you very much for your time and support during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Baylee Balfour