Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am petitioning for credit standing of STAT 263 (Fall 2022), MATH 121 (Fall 2022&Winter 2023), ECON 112 (Winter 2023) and DEVS 101 (Summer 2023).

Firstly, because of the visa delay, I started studying on campus at the end of October for the 2022 Fall term. Although I contacted an academic advisor in time to transfer some of my courses online before the start of the semester, it was challenging for me to complete my studies in an unfamiliar environment where I had just entered my first year of study. Later that year, I developed depression and anxiety.

Starting from December 2022, I began to have some symptoms related to depression. It became difficult for me to communicate with others, and I often think of the past, which made me feel sad, guilty and unsuccessful. Yet, at the time, I thought that these symptoms were caused by the upcoming final exams and that they were only temporary. However, the situation did not get any better in Winter 2023. It became more serious starting from January, I developed severe anxiety symptoms such as sudden increase in heart rate, tightness in the chest area that led to trouble breathing, trembling hands, and nausea. In such circumstances, I was unable to do a big amount of calculations and it became difficult for me to understand new theories and concepts. I was always worried about the quality of my work, for which reason it had taken me longer to complete various tasks. Thus, I dropped PSYC100 and started visiting a counsellor in March, and I was referred to a psychiatrist in April. I then registered at QSAS in the end of April, but since it was the end of the semester, the accommodations only start from Summer term.

Starting from May, things gradually got better with the help of the psychiatrist and the medication. However, from the end of July, my anxiety worsened, and the medication could not control my condition anymore. Because of my inability to concentrate, I missed several important deadlines. Even though I had requested additional extensions from my professors, doing abundant reading to understand and analyze different concepts was still challenging for me. Moreover, explaining my personal situation to my professors and requesting extra extensions also made me feel stressed and guilty. Due to my mental condition, I was not able to complete all the assignments on time. A medication adjustment was made in August and the circumstances got better in September.

In the future, I will be continuing my meetings with psychiatrists and occupation therapist to help me control the influence of my mental condition on my studies. In fact, in the present 2023 Fall term, I was able to maintain a grade of B and higher in all my classes. The help I received from the occupation therapist made it easier for me to manage my time and to balance my coursework. We developed a plan that I was able to follow even when I’m feeling stressed. Besides, the lighter course load in the 2023 Fall term has been beneficial for my grades. Therefore, I will continue to take 3 or 4 classes per semester to reduce my academic stress.

Other questions that helps for explain:

Why not the other courses in Fall 2022 & Winter2023?
Because PSYC 100 was dropped in February, and the other courses in Winter 2023 (GEOL 106 & GPHY 102) did not require big amounts of calculations and understanding new concepts and theories.

Why only course DEVS101 in Summer 2023?
Since my anxiety only became severe from the end of July, ARTH202 was unaffected, because it ended in mid-June.

Why was my professional document not given by psychiatrist?
Because my appointment with the psychiatrist was on the last day of the semester, but the doctor canceled the appointment that morning due to personal reasons. However, since the deadline for applying credit standing is one year after the end of the program, I absolutely needed the document. Consequently, I sought help to complete the document, and the social worker at Student Wellness completed this professional document based on my consultation record, the retained doctor notes and my narrative.