Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing to drop HLTH 102 past the academic deadline, to receive aegrotat standing in ENGL 100, and to receive aegrotat standing in DRAM 100.

On the evening of January 28th, I was brought to the emergency room of KGH after expressing suicidal ideation following a panic attack that was the result of a growing struggle with mental illness. Following the medical advice of the doctors who met with me that evening, I went on an emergency medical leave of absence indefinitely until I could regain my mental health enough to return to my studies. Throughout the entire month of February and most of March, I was away from classes. I had tried to make arrangements to complete my work from home; however, I was unable to focus and would have panic attacks when faced with too much stress. Additionally, the doctors advised me to stop the use of my ADHD medication as that was worsening my anxiety; my focus was further impaired by that decision.

During my time at home, I was taking steps to deal with my mental illness. I had regular meetings, weekly on average, with a referred psychiatrist, and in addition sought out the help of both my family doctor and holistic therapies. As I was considered unsafe to be left alone, my mother also took an emergency leave from work and stayed home with me to help me practice coping skills such as breathing exercises, to regulate my medication, and to ensure I was doing everyday tasks such as eating and showering.

I returned to my studies officially on March 31st; however, by then enough time had elapsed that I was too far behind in my courses to fully catch up. I spoke with my professors to make arrangements for completing my courses. Both professors Dr. Pierce of ENGL 100 and Dr. Renyk of DRAM 100 were fully supportive of an aegrotat standing in their courses. Unfortunately, by the time I had returned to my studies, I had missed all four examinations in HLTH 102, which made up the full extent of the course grade, and as these examinations were based on notes for lectures which I was unable to attend, I received a failing grade in the class.

I have taken many steps to ensure that I achieve academic success in the future. In terms of addressing my medical situation, I continue to have regular meetings with the psychiatrist to whom I was referred so that he can review my medications. Additionally, I am seeing the Faculty of Education counsellor on a regular basis to work on skills for coping with mental illness. In terms of course load, I have decided to take an extra year to complete my arts degree so that I can take a lighter course load each year, and in doing so will be taking measures to prevent the high levels of stress that I believe played a role in causing this episode of mental illness.

In conclusion, I was unable to complete my studies due to mental health issues, and am therefore requesting the above academic accommodations.

Thank you.