Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern:

I am petitioning to drop GNDS 129 after the deadline has passed. I am enrolled as an interest student and due to extenuating circumstances I have not been able to dedicate the needed time to this course and do not want it to have a negative impact on any future studies I have.

To preface I started this semester working full time as a nurse at Toronto General, and it was manageable for me to take this one course. At the beginning of October my mother had her insurance cut off and was placed on disability, this was due to a workplace injury and was not expected as she has been working with her employer about returning. This was a sudden and unexpected loss of income for my family, and even though I do not live with them I felt obligated to help financially. When this originally started 2 months ago I thought it would be for a couple weeks, however it is still going on. Due to the unexpected increase in my expenses as I live in a very high cost of living city (Toronto) and am essentially supplementing all the lost income for my family, I have been working my full-time job plus an additional job where I am working at minimum 5 12 hour shifts a week between the two places.

I know I missed the deadline but I went into this situation thinking it would be short term and I’d be able to catch up on missed work. It has obviously lasted much longer and I’ve finally realized how dire my standing is in this class due to missed assignments and I realistically do not think I can ask for extensions or make up the work as this situation has continued. I already suffer from mental health problems, and all this additional pressure I am feeling has exacerbated it, this course is just another stressor for me and at this point there is no recovering it especially as I’m continuing to work this insane schedule.

Until my family’s situation is dealt with and I can return to my normal, I don’t think I am able to be enrolled in any classes, and even after I’ll need time to recuperate as I am feeling incredibly burnt out with everything. I know what I am capable of, and this along with everything else that I’ve been dealing with has resulted in my academics suffering. So I hope that my petition is granted and I can return once I feel ready.

Thank you,
Sydney White