Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Office of the Associate Dean,

I am writing this petition letter to formally request a late course drop for the following courses: SOCY 225 (Fall, 2020), SOCY 227 (Winter, 2021), HIST 498 (Winter, 2021), HIST 252 (Winter, 2021), HIST 228 (Winter, 2021), HIST 216 (Fall, 2021), HIST 259 (2022, Winter), SOCY 284 (Fall, 2022), HIST 461 (Fall, 2022), SOCY 336 (Winter, 2023), SOCY 302 (Winter, 2023), and HIST 400 (Winter, 2023).

In terms of the reasoning behind my request to drop these courses, I suffered extenuating circumstances related to my mental health condition, from the time frame of late 2019 to the present. Specifically, my mental impairment heavily impacted my ability to perform basic academic tasks, such as class attendance, meeting assignment deadlines, focusing on studying of course material and so on. This condition at the time was medically undocumented, and greatly affected my ability to succeed in my courses.

In regards as to why I did not withdraw or appeal these courses earlier in time, I will say that at the time in which my mental health deteriorated, I had no available access to mental health services, and was not fully aware of the negative impacts of the issue until it had exacerbated. Furthermore, my later attempts to access support and counselling were impacted negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic, whose shutdowns, and implementation of online-oriented systems created barriers for me to properly seek help. Once I managed to secure counselling with Student Wellness Services in September 2023, I was then made aware of the system of the Academic Appeals/Petitions, which previously was a process that I had no knowledge of.

I managed to seek proper support for my mental health condition during the Fall 2023 term and have been receiving semi-regular therapy from a counsellor on campus. In addition, I have set up accommodations with QSAS to help mitigate my mental impairment in impacting my academic coursework. I also have taken steps in the past year to temporarily reduce my course load (e.g. taking only one course in the Summer and Fall 2023 Terms) and attend SWS wellness group sessions to help relieve some of my mental health issues.

Should some or all my petitions be granted, I have in place a comprehensive plan to ensure that my remaining time here at Queen’s University will be successful. I fully intend on continuing my regular therapy sessions with my SWS counsellor to help cope with the inevitable stress and rigour of academic work. I also will seek out support with academic advising with SASS and my department’s undergraduate academic advisor to help organize and provide me with a solid framework to set myself up with the tools that I need to succeed. Ultimately, my goal for the future is to finish my undergraduate degree on a high note and put myself in a position to make graduate studies a viable opportunity.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my petition.


Regards,

David Cao (Student ID# 20118660)