Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I’m appealing to late drop CISC 203 (Fall, 2023), CISC 204 (Fall, 2023), CISC 221 (Fall, 2023), MATH 121A (Fall, 2023), and STAT 263 (Fall, 2023).

Going into the fall term, I had zero classes, and not even a major selected until around September 15. It wasn't until after I spoke with Haley Everson, the Director of Advising, that together we were able to develop a course of action and course plan. This already caused great mental pressure as it was very difficult to get any extensions on most deliverables, and there were 5 classes to catch up on, with no way to acquire an extension that was long enough to account for a 2-3 week late start. Furthermore, my mental health was rapidly declining, not only from the prior stress of even trying to acquire classes, but now the added stress of catching up and keeping up with all 5 classes at once. It is important to note, that at this time, I was waiting to speak with a student wellness doctor to get my prescription increased to the proper dose that I was supposed to have, as currently it was under the amount I had been previously taking. This medication issue wouldn’t be fixed until around the middle of October, with another 2 months before this dosage would take proper effect again. Especially since it had been roughly two months with a lesser dose. So these greatly impacted my ability to perform successfully as well as my mental health, as a student with major depressive disorder, who needs these meds to function and to be mentally healthy. However, these were not the only issues I faced, I also had a greatly stressful examination (CISC, 221) in the special accommodations exam environment, where not even 15 minutes into the exam, I was told my exam had 10 minutes left, as the proctor thought I was another student. Which also impacted a grade that was already desperately trying to be recovered due to starting late, my performance on that exam, as well as my trust (anxiety) for the accommodated environment, one which I wasn't even allowed to leave. In order to remedy the effect this had on my exam, I would go on to contact QSAS, who claimed all they could do was possibly speak to the professor, yet the decision would remain in the professor's hands. I also contacted the exam center who said there was nothing they could do except talk to the proctors and suggest that I lower my accommodation time. This situation led to a major distrust in the accommodated exam environment at Queen’s as well as severely impacting my anxiety on following exams, and my grades. Grades which were already great sources of anxiety due to my floundering mental health, lack of proper medication for my mental illnesses, and starting everything so late. Furthermore, I was in talks with a Student Wellness counselor, who helped me acquire a longer extension due to my mental health circumstances. Yet, QSAS denied this as they claimed a 7-day extension (that I already had) was all they could grant, with Student Wellness claiming otherwise. In an effort to remedy this, I spoke to the manager at QSAS Alan Jean, but never heard anything back after our meeting. Furthermore, Student Wellness wasn't even sure why QSAS was denying the request. The constant back and forth and misinformation from all sides made an already extremely stressful event even worse, where I would become a recluse only studying, trying desperately to catch up in classes, while not being able to get an extension for what were clearly extenuating circumstances. Nor did I even get the break that was reading week as I was constantly trying to catch up. Furthermore, I had exams misscheduled on ONQ from their actual time, like my exam for CISC 204, which was scheduled on Ventus for 4 pm, yet in reality was from 9:30 AM to 11:AM, with the aforementioned CISC 221 exam being 30 minutes later. A fact I didn't not realize, due to the incorrect scheduling on ONQ until 11:00 AM of that same day. Which I included in my letter to both QSAS and Exams office, who both claimed there was nothing they could do. This feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, was amplified by the already immense pressure to catch up due to my late start, as well as due to the miscommunications, and the fact that my medication was at a lower dose than what was needed for my mental health to remain stable. These all caused not only my depression to severely worsen to the point of suicidal ideation, but also to the point that I would not leave my house for two weeks, only studying, borderline agoraphobic, and extreme stress/fatigue. Despite my efforts to remedy these, with continued communication with Mrs. Everson, contact with not only my QSAS advisor, but also their manager, and being in constant counseling and advising with Student Wellness, It was decided that it would be not only in my best interest to drop all of my courses, but also for my mental health and medical dosage to reach proper levels.

I sincerely believe that given the time for my dosage to reach equilibria, which will happen in January, and being at the same start date as other students, I will be able to succeed. This is greatly due to the fact that I will be in a much better mental state, unstressed by a late start or lack of medication, and will no longer need to rely on extensions just to be able to catch up with the course timeline.

Once again I’m appealing to late drop CISC 203 (Fall, 2023), CISC 204 (Fall, 2023), CISC 221 (Fall, 2023), MATH 121A (Fall, 2023), and STAT 263 (Fall, 2023). Thank you.

Sincerely,

John Williamson