Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am writing to formally request a late drop for the courses PHYS 115, MATH 111(Fall 2022), as well as CHEM 321 and CHEM 233 (Winter 2023).

During the year of 2022-2023 I experienced extenuating circumstances related to my mental health that were beyond my control and effected my academic performance. I was suffering from anxiety and depressive/ suicidal symptoms without the support of a therapist which made it difficult for me to address these challenges. I was suffering mentally with the increasingly difficult workload and the switch back to in person from being fully online. I am very driven and at times push through things but as the pressure increased and my mental health declined, I was unable to advocate for myself and drop the course at the drop deadline. Due to Covid-19 my first and second year of studies were fully online apart from two classes that started online and moved to in person halfway through. It was a difficult adjustment for me both mentally and academically to make the switch to fully in person in 2022. My mental health continued to decline in October 2022, this led to my unsuccessfulness in PHYS 115, MATH 111. During the fall examination period I was experiencing severe anxious and depressive symptoms with minimal sleep (about 2-4hours a night) and physical symptoms such as vomiting due to anxiety. Due to circumstances beyond my control my academic performance in PHYS 115 and MATH 11 was affected.

My stress and mental health issues increased during the winter semester due to an injury to my dominant hand and stitches on my knuckle area. This injury prevented me from writing my CHEM 223 and LLCU 214 midterms during the scheduled exam period. My family physician advised my professors that I should not write my midterms until my stiches were removed to allow my hand to heal properly. My LLCU 214 professor allowed me to write the midterm once my stiches were removed, but my CHEM 223 professor did not. I had applied for academic consideration for a week however, I had never had this type of injury before especially to my dominant hand. I did not realize the type of pain I would be in or how long the recovery process would be. I had reached out to my professor explaining that I was anxious about the midterm and that this injury was causing me alot of pain. At the time I was on strong pain killers for my hand which made me drowsy, and CHEM 223 is a course that requires practice drawing out mechanism and reactions. Which was difficult as I was unable to hold a pencil at this time due to the pain and the area I had injured my hand. I felt pressure to write the midterm during the makeup time despite knowing that I would not preform well even with an extra hour due to circumstances beyond my control. There was not a guarantee that I would be able to write a make-up midterm after my stitches came out and so the weight would be put on my final which would have caused me more anxiety. I did not pass CHEM 223 midterm and my mental health at this time declined severely due to stress of the injury, anxiety, and depressive/suicidal symptoms. This injury and my anxious and depressive/suicidal symptoms affected my academic performance in both CHEM 321 and CHEM 223. Due to this I was unable to advocate for myself and drop the classes at the official drop date.

I think it’s important to acknowledge that I did well in some courses however, these courses were weighted differently than the courses I did not do well in which helped me manage the course load better during this time. In addition to the accommodation, I was given by my LLCU 214 professor.

After the winter semester ended in April, I started meeting with a therapist in July 2023 to help me with my mental health issues. Since working with her I have developed coping strategies to help me with my anxious and depressive symptoms which will help me be academically successful. To set myself up for academic success and cope with my mental health issues I am taking a lighter course load (4 Classes) and will be spreading my classes out into the summer to make the course work manageable. I was able to take an equivalent course to CHEM 223 over the summer of 2023 which I was successful in. I plan on retaking PHYS 115 in the summer semester of 2024, I will retake MATH 111 in Fall 2024 and CHEM 321 in the winter of 2024. I understand the importance of academic responsibility however, at this time due to my severe mental health issues and the lack of a therapist support hindered my ability to perform academically. I have attached documentation from my family doctor from when I injured my hand and a letter of support from my therapist to provide validation on the extenuating circumstances beyond my control.
I request your understanding and consideration in allowing my petition to late drop the courses PHYS 115, MATH 111 (Fall 2022) as well as CHEM 321 and CHEM 223 (Winter 2023). I believe that with the support of my therapist and the coping strategies I have in addition to my academic plan, I can overcome the mental health challenges I suffer from that affected my academic performance.

Thank you,
Meg Bashall, 20223097