Petition Letter
I am formally asking to withdraw from PSYC100, and drop the course completely.
At 10:00 am, on October 12, 2018, I fell in my dorm room. As a result, I was diagnosed by a Dr at KGH as having suffered a concussion. I was put on leave for any school related work or activities for at least 3 days from that doctor.
Feeling ill, and wanting to seek the comfort of home and family, I I travelled to Toronto on October 14th. On October 15th, I saw my family doctor, who confirmed I had a moderately severe concussion and that for three weeks I should not complete my school work . As the week went on, my headaches were debilitating, and any attempt at reading or concentrating made the pain worse.
I followed up with my family doctor where she recommended accommodations for all of my classes for at least three months because my concussion was moderately severe and also unpredictable.
I did not write the Psychologoy midterm on October 13 because my concussion occurred the day before. PSYC 100 is an exam-based course ¿¿ where 85 of the grading is based on exams, 10 on labs, (which I still attended every week), and 5 based on attending lectures. I was then advised by my TA that I should try and write the mid-year exam in December, because having an exam worth 85 in April is considerable for a first year student.
My family doctor was also unsure as to how I would do. Once writing it, I was very shaky, and practically knew nothing, studying was not the issue, it was hard to retain the information for 5 courses, with a concussion still. Being in first year and not really knowing any better, I proceeded to write the mid-year exam, and had got the grade back with a grade of 24.
This was not just in PSYC100, my other courses exam marks were around the same area, however, there was room for improvement in other courses, but not in PSYC100. Then I was given instruction over the phone, in the first week of January of 2019 and then a follow up email from one of the coordinators in PSYC 100 (Cheryl Hamilton) to try and appeal my exam completely. Not knowing what this entailed, I set up a meeting with an academic advisor to proceed with the appeal in the second week of January¿¿ in hopes to have the exam either re written at a later date, or have the exam re weighted, which is what I was told over the phone.
Then when I spoke to one of the academic advisors in Arts and Science office in Dunning, she told me I could drop the course completely, and that I could not ¿¿Appeal The Exam¿ because this year the rules had changed. She explained something about only appealing not to write the exam, but I had already written it. I was also not made aware of the option to drop a course due to extenuating medical circumstances. Had I been made aware of this, I would have dropped withdrawn at that time, but she told me otherwise ¿¿ and it would be seen as just a regular drop, and not have to do with medical. This is when I asked to have Cheryl Hamilton put on the phone ¿¿ because clearly there was confusion. The academic advisor got Cheryl Hamilton on the phone and in fact there was confusion and the academic advisor told Cheryl Hamilton that things were changed, and that there was not much they could do. Frustrating for me because over the span of 2 weeks, I was told 2 different things, and set up appointments to deal with this.
She also told me it might be better to try and stick it out and see if I can do well. SO, I tried to stick it out and try my best in labs. But needing a high mark on the next exam to even pass the course was a major problem for me. The last week of March came along, and I found myself speaking with Dr., Norris head of undergraduate PSYC, about a completely unrelated issue - and further analyzing my file, and hearing the stress in my voice in general, she made me aware that I can still drop the course due to medical leave, which I was never made aware of until that point.
This is when she put me in direct contact with Haley Everson, and she told me to proceed with an Appeal to drop the course after the deadline. I am in hopes of withdrawing from PSYC 100, as I¿¿ve confirmed that I do not need it for my academic plan (and was not made aware of this prior to March 1).
I have spoken to coordinators in my other courses, and have chosen that I will be majoring in DRAMA and minoring in POLITICAL SCIENCE. None of which need PSYC100 in any of their academic plans.
Thank you for your guidance and consideration. As you have likely deduced, there¿¿s been a fair amount of confusion in the various meetings and discussions over the last few months, and should I have been made aware of the drop due to medical earlier, I would have dropped it then.
Best Regards,
Amalia Toner
At 10:00 am, on October 12, 2018, I fell in my dorm room. As a result, I was diagnosed by a Dr at KGH as having suffered a concussion. I was put on leave for any school related work or activities for at least 3 days from that doctor.
Feeling ill, and wanting to seek the comfort of home and family, I I travelled to Toronto on October 14th. On October 15th, I saw my family doctor, who confirmed I had a moderately severe concussion and that for three weeks I should not complete my school work . As the week went on, my headaches were debilitating, and any attempt at reading or concentrating made the pain worse.
I followed up with my family doctor where she recommended accommodations for all of my classes for at least three months because my concussion was moderately severe and also unpredictable.
I did not write the Psychologoy midterm on October 13 because my concussion occurred the day before. PSYC 100 is an exam-based course ¿¿ where 85 of the grading is based on exams, 10 on labs, (which I still attended every week), and 5 based on attending lectures. I was then advised by my TA that I should try and write the mid-year exam in December, because having an exam worth 85 in April is considerable for a first year student.
My family doctor was also unsure as to how I would do. Once writing it, I was very shaky, and practically knew nothing, studying was not the issue, it was hard to retain the information for 5 courses, with a concussion still. Being in first year and not really knowing any better, I proceeded to write the mid-year exam, and had got the grade back with a grade of 24.
This was not just in PSYC100, my other courses exam marks were around the same area, however, there was room for improvement in other courses, but not in PSYC100. Then I was given instruction over the phone, in the first week of January of 2019 and then a follow up email from one of the coordinators in PSYC 100 (Cheryl Hamilton) to try and appeal my exam completely. Not knowing what this entailed, I set up a meeting with an academic advisor to proceed with the appeal in the second week of January¿¿ in hopes to have the exam either re written at a later date, or have the exam re weighted, which is what I was told over the phone.
Then when I spoke to one of the academic advisors in Arts and Science office in Dunning, she told me I could drop the course completely, and that I could not ¿¿Appeal The Exam¿ because this year the rules had changed. She explained something about only appealing not to write the exam, but I had already written it. I was also not made aware of the option to drop a course due to extenuating medical circumstances. Had I been made aware of this, I would have dropped withdrawn at that time, but she told me otherwise ¿¿ and it would be seen as just a regular drop, and not have to do with medical. This is when I asked to have Cheryl Hamilton put on the phone ¿¿ because clearly there was confusion. The academic advisor got Cheryl Hamilton on the phone and in fact there was confusion and the academic advisor told Cheryl Hamilton that things were changed, and that there was not much they could do. Frustrating for me because over the span of 2 weeks, I was told 2 different things, and set up appointments to deal with this.
She also told me it might be better to try and stick it out and see if I can do well. SO, I tried to stick it out and try my best in labs. But needing a high mark on the next exam to even pass the course was a major problem for me. The last week of March came along, and I found myself speaking with Dr., Norris head of undergraduate PSYC, about a completely unrelated issue - and further analyzing my file, and hearing the stress in my voice in general, she made me aware that I can still drop the course due to medical leave, which I was never made aware of until that point.
This is when she put me in direct contact with Haley Everson, and she told me to proceed with an Appeal to drop the course after the deadline. I am in hopes of withdrawing from PSYC 100, as I¿¿ve confirmed that I do not need it for my academic plan (and was not made aware of this prior to March 1).
I have spoken to coordinators in my other courses, and have chosen that I will be majoring in DRAMA and minoring in POLITICAL SCIENCE. None of which need PSYC100 in any of their academic plans.
Thank you for your guidance and consideration. As you have likely deduced, there¿¿s been a fair amount of confusion in the various meetings and discussions over the last few months, and should I have been made aware of the drop due to medical earlier, I would have dropped it then.
Best Regards,
Amalia Toner