Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you, in order to ask for a credit standing for CHEM 223: Organic Reactions course that I took in the Winter 2023 semester. Before the final examination of this course (which was worth 35% of the final grade), l had an A in the course after completing laboratory reports (worth 25% of the final grade), in-person tutorial assignments (worth 10% of the final grade) as well as two in-person midterm exams (worth 30% of the final grade total). I believe that this shows that I had a strong grasp of concepts and the ability to perform at a high level on assessments. Now, for the reasoning of my request. The final examination of this course took place at 7:00 pm on April 24th. The night before this examination (April 23rd) and morning of the examination (April 24th), I began to experience some frightening health issues including chest pains, numbness on the left side of my body, heart palpitations, brain fog, increased anxiety, etc. At first, I had believed that it was just anxiety or stress (although, prior examinations have not effected me this way, including the prior midterms in the course), however as the day progressed I felt my condition worsen, physically and emotionally (almost unable to control my emotions). However, I still believed that when I began the examination, that these symptoms would stop and I would be able to complete the examination that I had spent weeks (in reality, months) properly preparing for. However, when I entered the examination, all of my symptoms remained (and then worsened), leaving me unable to properly complete the examination, as I was crying and could not focus past my symptoms to focus. I wrote down what I could on the examination, went home for the evening, where my condition did not improve. The next day I knew I needed to go to the emergency department of the Kingston General Hospital, where I was for many hours completing multiple tests. The emergency department doctor found that I was having an anxiety episode (the cause unknown), paired with inflammation in my chest (called costochondritis), both contributing to my condition and therefore my inability to perform on the examination. I was given inflammation medication, as well as an anxiety medication, trying to break the episode I was in and told to go to Queen's Student Wellness Services the next day if my condition did not improve. After going home and still not being able to function properly the next day, I called Queen's student wellness services, where I was booked to meet with a counsellor, on April 26th. After explaining the past few days to her, the counsellor explained to me that I was in an anxiety episode (that the inflammation likely contributed to). The counsellor also explained, in-depth, that the reason I was unable to focus and perform on the examination was not because I did not know the information but likely because my brain was more focused on fighting the perceived danger it felt I was in during this episode. This counsellor urged me to seek care with my own health care team (which I am in the process of trying to do), and as well suggested I defer my last examination (which I did). When I receive my final mark for CHEM 223, I see that it has dropped from an A to a C, after that examination. As supported by the discussions I had with the Queen's Student Wellness Service's counsellor, I know that this was not a representation of all the knowledge I had of this course material, as well as all of the work, time and effort I had put into this course since January. Seeing I have scholarships I would like to uphold (such as an Undergraduate Student Research Award), as well as would like to eventually attend graduate school, I am asking to receive a credit standing in CHEM 223: Organic Reactions.

Thank you for your time,
Mikaela Coleman
20271189