Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Deans (Studies),

My name is Sydney Wong and I just completed my 1st year in general arts for my Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree this past school year (2014/2015). I am appealing for Aegrotat Standings in two of my courses. The following courses are DEVS 100 (Fall/Winter, 2014/15) and ENGL 100 (Fall/Winter, 2014/15).
The past school year was a very difficult year for me. I entered Queen¿¿s this past year after taking a year off to deal with the depression I¿¿ve had since roughly around 2011/2012. During this year off I greatly improved however the challenges of adjusting to the new environment along with some other personal issues caused my depression to resurface. The fall semester was tough but I managed to pull through and finish all my required work. Unfortunately, winter semester things became more difficult as more personal issues arose while I was back at home. Early February I began seeking help from the Residence Outreach Counselor as well as at HCDS. The assistance helped but I improved at a very slow pace. I found myself unable to concentrate, sleep or even leave my room. By the time I reached out for help I was skipping class regularly and fell very behind in my studies. The reason why these two classes were the ones that were affected the most was due to the fact that they were a heavier workload compared to my other courses. They also both involved earlier class times that I failed to ever attend. By the time the last of my assignments came around I was not attending any classes or doing any work. The anxiety that comes along with my depression makes it very intimidating for me to reach out to those of higher authority as I was very anxious about my grades and also embarrassed that I fell so behind in my classes and assignments. By the end of classes I was unable to function as I was extremely anxious and spent at least 12 hours a day sleeping to avoid how I was feeling. I continued to see the professional that I had been referred to by HCDS and was put on medication however the expectant time for the medication to work was at least 4 weeks and by then classes had ended. I was lucky to pass most of my courses however DEVS 100 and ENGL 100 were a much heavier course load compared to my other classes and with all the obstacles I was facing I could not keep up and complete all my work which resulted in me receiving a D ¿¿ in ENGL 100 and an F in DEVS 100.
If I were to be granted these two aegrotat standings it would greatly improve my GPA and allow me to continue with my BAH plan. I have continued taking my medication along with talking to health professionals. I also met with disability services so that I am now more knowledgeable and comfortable with asking for assistance. For my next three years at Queen¿¿s I plan to prevent this situation from reoccurring my possibly taking a lighter course load during the fall and winter and then also studying during the spring semester. I will maintain regular meetings with my health care professionals. In addition to these things I want to have better contact with my Professors and TA¿¿s so that they know better about my situation. I think with all these elements I will be more successful in my future years at Queen¿¿s.
Thank you for taking the time to read my appeal and for evaluating all the elements within my situation.

Sincerely,
Sydney Wong