Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Respected Associate Dean,

I am petitioning the Faculty's decision to drop PSYC100 from the fall/ winter term(2022-23), BIOL103 from the winter term (2023), GNDS125 from the winter term(2023) and HLTH102 from the winter term (2023).I am Kashvi Nanda, a first-year international student at Queens University. I had arrived a month and a half late on campus due to an unfortunate delay in my visa processing. This greatly impacted PSYC100. I had taken PSYC100 online in the fall and in the winter I had shifted to the offline course. Arriving late made it hard for me tosadjust properly to the academics and this caused the downfall of my grades mainly in PSYC100 as it was hard for me to cope with this course online.

The main problem had arisen after the fall semester. Around the 20th of January,I was told over a phone call through my family that my grandfather was diagnosed with blood cancer(leukemia).This news absolutely shattered me to the core.I had previously planned my study schedules and strategies for the winter semester as I was not satisfied with my grades in the fall semester. However, my grandfather's diagnosis of cancer made me deal with a series of challenges that I could have never anticipated. The emotional and mental strain on my health has posed serious consequences on my academics this year. There were even times when I felt like I was not able to breathe.My ability to concentrate on my courses decreased and I had completely isolated myself at the beginning of the semester. This also caused me in failing to attend the classes which in turn caused me in missing a number of assignments like the RAT quizzes in HLTH102, the quizzes in GNDS125 and the DSMs in BIOL103. I also missed the lab assignments in PSYC100 as I had shifted to the in-person course and failed to attend the lab sessions. Anxiety attacks and panic attacks had become common for me as I kept in touch with my family online and I also came to know that oftentimes my grandfather's condition used to become critical. Since I am an international student living far away from home, it was not possible for me to go back home to visit my grandfather I was feeling extremely hopeless and helpless during this time and I remained in self-isolation for the longest period. I started feeling better in the midst of February as I had come to know that my grandfather was out of the hospital for the first time in the whole month. I started getting back to academics. I started attending my biology tutorial and my gender studies tutorials as I tried to get my academics together gradually. What came next was again something that I had not quite imagined, I came to know that my grandfather had become extremely critical again and he had been hospitalized in the ICU.My family was told that his chances of survival were minimal during March.During this time, I wanted to go home desperately to see my grandfather but with the exam season ,I didn't think I could go back. My anxiety and panic attacks had returned with extreme emotional exhaustion. This had a profound impact on my grades.The doctors had told my family that my grandfather had little time left to live.Hearing this over call, had broken me from the inside.I visited the student wellness centre at the end of April to get some help and they provided me with a supporting document. I do realise that I should have visited the student wellness centre earlier as I would have received the right help at the right time.I had also received a job offer for the position of the Tricolour travel and administration assistant manager which required me to stay in Kingston over the summer but I did not accept it as I needed to go home to see my grandfather who was admitted in the ICU in the most critical situation.The constant state of heightened anxiety hampered my skills to concentrate and focus.It was extremely challenging for me to meet my deadlines and complete my assignments.

I had even failed to drop the courses before 3rd March as I thought that I should just complete the courses so that I don't have to do redo them later on and under the pressure of getting done with my courses, I didn't drop them before the deadline even though I now realise, I should have dropped them.

I understand the importance of maintaining academic integrity and I have successfully and strategically planned to follow my academics in my second year with seriousness I have willfully decided to get my GPA up to the desired level in my second year. I have decided that I will take regular academic advising to keep my degree in check. I have also planned on making an Excel sheet which will include all the deadlines and the timelines of my assignments to be submitted so that I can work well.I will also maintain regular check-ins with the student wellness centre. I also plan on meeting with the learning strategist in the Student Academic Success Services.I am now back in India, with my grandfather for 3 months. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I trust in your fairness to evaluate this matter and I humbly request you to arrive at a decision in accordance with the exceptional circumstances that I faced.
Thank you,
Regards,
Kashvi Nanda(she/her)