Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr Jenn Stephenson,

I am petitioning the Faculty of Arts and Science’s decision that I must withdraw from Queen’s for a minimum of three years.

My physical and mental health have made it difficult to leave the house, to attend class, take notes, and complete assignments. It has impacted my ability to effectively manage my time, to focus and overall succeed academically. Due to the compounding nature of both physical and mental health struggles, this has greatly impacted my academic performance over the course of the 2023-2024 school year. I have been living with and managing the symptoms of chronic illness for approximately 10 years. Throughout this time, I have struggled to receive a concrete diagnosis which has made treating and managing symptoms difficult. Due to the nature of my condition, the severity, and duration in which I am affected by symptoms can differ greatly over any given period. Over the last two and a half years my symptoms as well as other bouts of temporary illness have become a detriment in my daily life. My condition affects my immune system and my joints. I frequently experience pain, fatigue, reduced mobility and malaise which have had an impact on my mental health and academic performance. Prior to the start of the fall semester, my physician and I began to build and follow a treatment plan that included medications and changes to lifestyle aiming to improve my physical health. This treatment plan has changed over the course of several months and has now reached a place that my physician and I are happy with and will continue to improve in the future.

The other major factor impacting my academic performance has been my mental health. I have been diagnosed with and am currently being treated for mental health ailments by my physician and a psychotherapist. My mental health conditions predate my enrolment at Queen’s although my formal diagnosis came in 2020. My condition has been exacerbated by my physical health, familial issues, and by traumatic events I have experienced prior to and during my time at Queen’s University. The state of my mental health prior to seeking help had reached a point where I was experiencing significant executive dysfunction and completing task became very difficult. My mental health became very poor during the 2023 - 2024 school year, and I realized I couldn’t improve things on my own, so I began seeing a psychotherapist in late February/early March 2024. After beginning therapy, I started to work through what I was experiencing and noticed my mental health improving. I also contacted my physician in late April 2024 to make changes in treatment/medications which, in tandem with therapy, has genuinely improved my wellbeing.

I understand that during this past academic year and prior I’ve failed to advocate for myself and effectively utilise the resources available to me here at Queen’s and with my care team. I have taken a passive approach to addressing this situation and allowed my academic performance to fall by the wayside. I am truly disappointed with myself, with my efforts and with the subsequent results of this past year. I was embarrassed and afraid to be honest with my doctor, therapist, and Queens administration about the severity of my struggles. Since beginning to consistently rely on my care network, I have been able to adopt a more direct approach and more active stance within my own life. We have been working diligently to improve my quality of life, identify and address areas and habits I need to improve, as well as building the skills and tools I need to find success personally and academically.

I am at a school, in a degree plan that I truly love but due to these circumstances I was unable to thrive and succeed in the ways I needed to. Looking towards the future, my care providers and I are working to find ways I can achieve my goals and find success to build the life and career I want and identify what that looks like for me.

I feel that reducing my course load to part time studies for the foreseeable future would be beneficial and would allow me to regain my footing academically. I plan on continuing to build my support network by working with academic advisors and ensuring to establish and maintain clear and consistent communication with professors and TA’s. I also plan on applying for academic accommodations through QSAS, utilising academic support resources, including tutoring, that are available at the university. Maintaining regular contact with those in my care/support network, setting realistic and achievable goals, being proactive and being accountable to my team and myself will be key to finding academic success.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Most sincerely,

Payton C. Ford | 20180605