Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter:
1. I am submitting this request to waive the one-year deadline for submission of CR
standing petitions. As I attended Queens University for a single course on permission from the
Royal Military College (RMCC) in Winter 2012, I am clearly past the usual deadline.

2. I am making this request for the following reasons:

a. As an RMCC student, I was not fully knowledgeable about QueensU’s academic
policies and procedures. Moreover, I was generally unsavvy about navigating
civilian academic institutions. I likely did not acquaint myself sufficiently at the
time, but it seemed unnecessary, past major portions such as academic integrity,
for a single course. I regret this oversight. Additionally, the uniquely regimented
nature of RMCC’s academics did not foster a deep understanding of supporting
policy and it was unusual for students of the institution to seek it out. Overall, I
was unaware that I could make such a request at all and similarly unaware of the
associated deadline;

b. As the reason for my diminished performance was related to anhedonia (see Ref.
A), I was not in a mental state to take the positive steps to educate myself on
academic policies at the time. I had trouble picturing a future at all, let alone one
where my academic performance would matter. This was in stark contrast to my
attitude towards the subject in all my preceding and subsequent years of life. I
understand that it is the individual’s responsibility to educate themselves, but I
hope that discretion can be applied in this case, considering my situation;
c. I would have never felt comfortable seeking special consideration for my
circumstances at the time. In 2012, the stigma surrounding mental health concerns
in the military was much worse than it is in 2024. Following effective treatment
of my mental health difficulties, which was already very difficult for me to admit
I required, my focus was on forgetting and moving on from what I perceived to be
an embarrassing deficiency in my own character. I wish that I knew then at 22
years old what I know now at 33 – that mental health challenges are not to be
ashamed of and that I was worthy of asking for assistance from my educational
institutions to prevent temporary poor performance from impacting my future
professional endeavours. I have grown a great deal since that time as a military
leader and person, clearly recognizing that the support systems exist for a reason
and measures such as that which I am seeking can help people who experienced
my circumstances.

3. Thank you for considering my request to waive the one-year submission deadline for
academic petitions. I appreciate your understanding of my situation and kindly request your
favorable review of my request. Should you require any additional information or wish to discuss
this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me