Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 10638
Submitted: June 8, 2023 at 4:26:29 PM
First Name: Gunin Singh
Last Name: Bhatia
Pronoun: he/him
Preferred Name: Gunin
Student Number: 20348966
Email: 21gsb9@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BSH
Plan: Math
Level of Study: 1
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PHIL259
Term: Fall
Year: 2022
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: ANAT100
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: COGS100
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Level 1 Status
Status: Granted with ConditionsLevel 2
Appeal Type: Level 2
ID: 209
Submitted: July 19, 2023 at 5:20:33 PM
Relevant Petition: 10638
Decision(s) Being Appealed: Drop a course after the academic deadline: ANAT100, Winter 2023
Drop a course after the academic deadline: COGS100, Winter 2023
Drop a course after the academic deadline: COGS100, Winter 2023
Appeal Grounds
Appeals to the Board of Studies must include a letter based on one or more of the Grounds for Appeal (Appeal Regulation 3.4). What are the grounds you are basing your appeal on?
- The Associate Dean's decision did not follow the rules of procedural fairness. A breach of procedural fairness includes such things as the Associate Dean failed to:
- Make a reasonable decision in your appeal. A “reasonable” decision is one that is based on evidence, thought out and supported by facts and logical inferences from the facts. To be reasonable, the decision must contain adequate reasons for the conclusions.
Appeal Grounds Details: To deny your request to drop COGS 100 (W 2023) since the circumstances outlined and documentation provided were relevant to Fall term 2022 and it was your responsibility to assess the impact the challenges from Fall term 2022 were having on your Winter term 2023 courses and drop course you were struggling in by the drop deadline of March 4, 2023.
To deny your request for Credit standing in ANAT 100 (W 2023) since, as noted above, the circumstances outlined and documentation provided were relevant to Fall term 2022.
These are the two aspects of my petition that were not granted. My documentation showed that the problem that I was facing was continuing and was during my second term as well. The problem had started in term 1 but affected in a different way in the second term as well. I will explain further in my appeal.
To deny your request for Credit standing in ANAT 100 (W 2023) since, as noted above, the circumstances outlined and documentation provided were relevant to Fall term 2022.
These are the two aspects of my petition that were not granted. My documentation showed that the problem that I was facing was continuing and was during my second term as well. The problem had started in term 1 but affected in a different way in the second term as well. I will explain further in my appeal.
Appeal Letter
Appeal Letter: Appeal
Gunin Singh Bhatia
20348966
21gsb9@queensu.ca
July 19th, 2023
Queens University
Subject: Formal Appeal to Drop Grades for ANAT100 and COGS100 Courses
Dear receiver,
I am writing this formal petition to respectfully request the dropping of grades for the ANAT100 and COGS100 courses. I have encountered extenuating circumstances that have significantly impacted my academic performance in these courses.
First and foremost, I would like to highlight the reason my petition for these courses was declined. The decision letter stated: “since the circumstances outlined and documentation provided were relevant to Fall term 2022 and it was your responsibility to assess the impact the challenges from Fall term 2022 were having on your Winter term 2023 courses and drop course you were struggling in by the drop deadline of March 4, 2023.”
I absolutely agree that it’s my responsibility to assess the challenges from fall term 2022 but in my defense I would like to bring in light the fact that the challenges I faced in term 2 were different than term 1. In term 1, I suffered mostly because of my time used in meetings and handling the situation. I was in constant stress from the situation that I was in and was unable to perform up to my capabilities. ( not elaborating on term 1 as I have already gotten the course in term 1 dropped.)
I have been struggling with depression, which has had a profound impact on my ability to effectively engage in my studies. This condition emerged as a result of an incident that occurred in October 2022. The incident led to negative consequences, sanctions, and a prolonged period of emotional distress. In term 2 I faced the following problems (these are from my petition itself) :-
· I was compelled to move out of the residence and live off-campus. I was also then banned from even visiting any residence where basically all of my friends lived. This change resulted in a loss of my emotional support and negatively affected my friendships. I found myself in a state of complete isolation, lacking both mental and academic support.
· Rumors surrounding the incident spread within the Indian friend group that I was a part of, causing fellow students to distance themselves from me. This further added to my isolation and increased my feelings of loneliness.
· Being new to Canada, I struggled with the cultural adjustment, which was made even more challenging due to the absence of any emotional support. This situation caused immense dejection and distress. I was also banned from the dining halls and now had to cook by myself which I don't know how to. I ate only eggs, burgers and ramen, which affected my physical health also. I lost about 7kgs.
· The transition from the residence had adverse effects on my academics, social circle, physical health, and mental well-being.
Throughout this period, I experienced immense stress, anxiety, and depression. These factors made it extremely challenging for me to maintain focus and productivity in my academic endeavors.
Now I would like to bring in light the fact that I was unaware of my mental health deteriorating at first. I had no clue that my mental health would be affected so adversely in the second term.
At first I did not even realize that I had gone into depression and did not seek any medical help. But later on the situation hindered my ability to meet the academic requirements of the ANAT100, COGS100 courses. Furthermore, as they were my elective courses, I underestimated their difficulty, especially given my background in mathematics and computers had nothing to do with these courses.
I genuinely thought that I would be able to cope up with my courses in the second term but my mental health started deteriorating and by the time I realized that I needed help and that I would not be able to handle them, it was too late. I was unaware of the effects that my situation will have on my studies. My supporting documents say that it was an ongoing problem and did not finish in the first term. What I am trying to convey is that I had no clue that I will do badly in these courses and thus could not prevent it. My depression got worse with time and was not as bad in the starting as it was during the mid of second term.
My petition has been declined saying that the situation happened in term 1 and I should have known better to not take these courses in second term or seek help. But as I said before, my situation deteriorated with time and I could not have predicted that I won't be able to cope with my studies.
If we talk about what I have been doing so that I am ready for the fall and that this does not happen again, I have been actively working on managing and resolving my extenuating circumstances. I have been in regular touch with an academic counselor on emails and also have been meeting with another counselor from the wellness department. Now I can cook very well, have new friends and am also doing a job to keep myself busy and work on myself. I am now in a much better position to cope with my mental health condition and navigate my academic responsibilities more effectively.
To ensure my future academic success, I have developed a comprehensive plan that includes seeking support from a counselor, adjusting my academic workload to allow for better focus and commitment (meaning taking courses related to my main subject so that it i can understand concepts easily and not over burdening myself with courses.), and utilizing queens counseling resources.
In light of my extenuating circumstances and the efforts I am making to overcome them, I kindly request your understanding and support in dropping the grades for ANAT100 and COGS100 courses. By doing so, I believe I will be provided with a fair opportunity to demonstrate my true academic abilities without the undue impact of these circumstances.
This matters to me a lot and I want to give my 100% to studies now. I want a somewhat fresh start so that I can prove my capabilities and achieve success. I request you to please consider helping me with this situation.
Thank you for your time and consideration of my appeal. I am more than willing to provide any additional documentation or information necessary to support my request. I look forward to a positive resolution that will enable me to continue my studies with renewed determination and focus.
I am attaching the supporting documents. Please have a look.
Thanking in Anticipation,
Sincerely,
Gunin Singh Bhatia
Student Number: 20348966
Email: 21gsb9@queensu.ca
Date: July 12th, 2023
Gunin Singh Bhatia
20348966
21gsb9@queensu.ca
July 19th, 2023
Queens University
Subject: Formal Appeal to Drop Grades for ANAT100 and COGS100 Courses
Dear receiver,
I am writing this formal petition to respectfully request the dropping of grades for the ANAT100 and COGS100 courses. I have encountered extenuating circumstances that have significantly impacted my academic performance in these courses.
First and foremost, I would like to highlight the reason my petition for these courses was declined. The decision letter stated: “since the circumstances outlined and documentation provided were relevant to Fall term 2022 and it was your responsibility to assess the impact the challenges from Fall term 2022 were having on your Winter term 2023 courses and drop course you were struggling in by the drop deadline of March 4, 2023.”
I absolutely agree that it’s my responsibility to assess the challenges from fall term 2022 but in my defense I would like to bring in light the fact that the challenges I faced in term 2 were different than term 1. In term 1, I suffered mostly because of my time used in meetings and handling the situation. I was in constant stress from the situation that I was in and was unable to perform up to my capabilities. ( not elaborating on term 1 as I have already gotten the course in term 1 dropped.)
I have been struggling with depression, which has had a profound impact on my ability to effectively engage in my studies. This condition emerged as a result of an incident that occurred in October 2022. The incident led to negative consequences, sanctions, and a prolonged period of emotional distress. In term 2 I faced the following problems (these are from my petition itself) :-
· I was compelled to move out of the residence and live off-campus. I was also then banned from even visiting any residence where basically all of my friends lived. This change resulted in a loss of my emotional support and negatively affected my friendships. I found myself in a state of complete isolation, lacking both mental and academic support.
· Rumors surrounding the incident spread within the Indian friend group that I was a part of, causing fellow students to distance themselves from me. This further added to my isolation and increased my feelings of loneliness.
· Being new to Canada, I struggled with the cultural adjustment, which was made even more challenging due to the absence of any emotional support. This situation caused immense dejection and distress. I was also banned from the dining halls and now had to cook by myself which I don't know how to. I ate only eggs, burgers and ramen, which affected my physical health also. I lost about 7kgs.
· The transition from the residence had adverse effects on my academics, social circle, physical health, and mental well-being.
Throughout this period, I experienced immense stress, anxiety, and depression. These factors made it extremely challenging for me to maintain focus and productivity in my academic endeavors.
Now I would like to bring in light the fact that I was unaware of my mental health deteriorating at first. I had no clue that my mental health would be affected so adversely in the second term.
At first I did not even realize that I had gone into depression and did not seek any medical help. But later on the situation hindered my ability to meet the academic requirements of the ANAT100, COGS100 courses. Furthermore, as they were my elective courses, I underestimated their difficulty, especially given my background in mathematics and computers had nothing to do with these courses.
I genuinely thought that I would be able to cope up with my courses in the second term but my mental health started deteriorating and by the time I realized that I needed help and that I would not be able to handle them, it was too late. I was unaware of the effects that my situation will have on my studies. My supporting documents say that it was an ongoing problem and did not finish in the first term. What I am trying to convey is that I had no clue that I will do badly in these courses and thus could not prevent it. My depression got worse with time and was not as bad in the starting as it was during the mid of second term.
My petition has been declined saying that the situation happened in term 1 and I should have known better to not take these courses in second term or seek help. But as I said before, my situation deteriorated with time and I could not have predicted that I won't be able to cope with my studies.
If we talk about what I have been doing so that I am ready for the fall and that this does not happen again, I have been actively working on managing and resolving my extenuating circumstances. I have been in regular touch with an academic counselor on emails and also have been meeting with another counselor from the wellness department. Now I can cook very well, have new friends and am also doing a job to keep myself busy and work on myself. I am now in a much better position to cope with my mental health condition and navigate my academic responsibilities more effectively.
To ensure my future academic success, I have developed a comprehensive plan that includes seeking support from a counselor, adjusting my academic workload to allow for better focus and commitment (meaning taking courses related to my main subject so that it i can understand concepts easily and not over burdening myself with courses.), and utilizing queens counseling resources.
In light of my extenuating circumstances and the efforts I am making to overcome them, I kindly request your understanding and support in dropping the grades for ANAT100 and COGS100 courses. By doing so, I believe I will be provided with a fair opportunity to demonstrate my true academic abilities without the undue impact of these circumstances.
This matters to me a lot and I want to give my 100% to studies now. I want a somewhat fresh start so that I can prove my capabilities and achieve success. I request you to please consider helping me with this situation.
Thank you for your time and consideration of my appeal. I am more than willing to provide any additional documentation or information necessary to support my request. I look forward to a positive resolution that will enable me to continue my studies with renewed determination and focus.
I am attaching the supporting documents. Please have a look.
Thanking in Anticipation,
Sincerely,
Gunin Singh Bhatia
Student Number: 20348966
Email: 21gsb9@queensu.ca
Date: July 12th, 2023
Documentation
Document: Supporting Document Appeal Form.pdf
Document: appeal document old.pdf