Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am petitioning to drop the following courses: ANAT 215 (Fall, 2022), CHEM 281 (Fall 2022), and BCHM 218 (Fall 2022). I make this request because I suffered a serious decline in my mental health during the Fall 2022 semester, which significantly impaired my academic performance and daily life.

Before starting at Queen's, I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, ADHD and OCD. At the end of my first year of studying at Queen's, I worked with a children's psychologist to help manage my mental health.

Upon reflection, the decline in my mental health started after reading week in the Fall 2022 semester. I was taking 5 courses - ANAT 215, BCHM 218, STATS 263, PHGY 215 and CHEM 281 - and I was overwhelmed.

At first, I was struggling the most with ANAT 215, as this course contained many exams and the stress of falling behind heightened my anxiety. I began to feel unsuccessful and felt like I was failing myself, the school and my parents. I began experiencing intense feelings of depression and anxiousness. I began to close off my interactions with my roommates, and stopped activities (like workouts) that helped keep me healthy and balanced. I did not share my struggles despite weekly sessions with my psychologist as I convinced myself I could continue with my courses and hope for the best; however, it only worsened my mental state.

Towards the end of November 2022, I finally shared my struggles with my psychologist, and we planned a phone call with my parents. I shared the news with my parents on the evening of November 23, 2022 during a very emotional phone call, and later that night my dad flew out from Vancouver. My dad came to support me and help me create a plan to salvage the situation. At this time, I knew that I was not going to pass ANAT 215, and I needed to put my efforts in my other 4 classes.

My parents continued to be involved with my progress and help support me, but my mental health did not improve. Despite my dad creating a study schedule for me, helping me find a tutor to work with, and assisting me in signing up for exam prep sessions, my anxiety worsened. I was in no condition to write all the exams during this time so I requested exam deferrals in CHEM 281, PHGY 215 and BCHM 218. I was able to work with my tutor and study for my STATS 263 exam and ended up passing this course. I spent my Christmas break studying for the 3 deferred exams and working closely with my parents and psychologist. However, returning to Queen's in January 2023 was very difficult for me, and I felt as though I was losing hope as I was completely overwhelmed with the combination of beginning new courses while preparing for deferred exams. Ultimately, I passed PHYG 215 but I was unable to pass CHEM 281 and BCHM 218. I recognize now I had too much on my plate academically, and had no chance of being successful.

Currently, I am currently completing my second semester with a plan in place, that includes being more transparent with my parents and psychologist. While I continue to struggle with significant anxiety, I am making progress in dealing with my mental health and with my studies (I am only taking 3 courses in the Winter 2023 semester).

I am motivated to remain at Queen's, and recognize I will need to reset expectations during the rest of my time here, including plans to complete courses over the summer to maintain my academic progress. I am starting to feel more confident and enjoying being a student again - I have not felt this way since high school - and I know if my request in this petition is approved that it will have a positive impact on the progress I have made over the last few months.

Thanks for your consideration,

Kendall Birch