Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,

My name is Grace Cutaia and I am a second year Politics student. I am writing to petition for a late withdrawal from my elective, HLTH 230 due to extenuating circumstances that have significantly affected my academic performance this semester.

Since October, I have been managing severe symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), specifically intrusive thoughts. These obsessions, which manifest as recurring, unwanted thoughts, urges, or images, have intruded on my daily life and caused persistent distress and anxiety. Despite my efforts to ignore or neutralize them through coping mechanisms, they often overwhelm me, particularly when I am trying to focus on academic responsibilities.

This ongoing mental health challenge has made me feel extremely isolated, with no one immediately available to turn to for support. To manage my symptoms, I have had to take the bus home to Burlington every weekend, where I can access the environment and support I need to function. While these trips have been necessary for my mental health, they have also disrupted my academic schedule, leaving me with limited time and energy to engage with coursework. In addition, the medication prescribed to manage my condition has caused side effects that has led to extreme nausea.

HLTH 230, in particular, has been difficult to prioritize. With only one lecture per week and minimal material to submit or deadlines to meet, the course structure has made it challenging to stay engaged, especially while managing my mental health struggles. Lacking regular assignments or tasks to hand in, this course often fell behind others with more pressing demands, even though I fully intended to stay on top of the material and still have been consistently trying to take notes on the lecture slides. Additionally, HLTH 230 is an elective course that is not mandatory for my politics degree, which further influenced its lower priority compared to my core courses.

HLTH 230, relies heavily on memorization for the midterm and final exam, which together accounts for 65% of the course grade. Unfortunately, I failed the midterm due to the challenges I faced in the days leading up to it. The obsessive thoughts constantly interrupt my study sessions, causing me to lose focus and requiring repeated attempts to absorb the material. As a result, I have struggled to retain key concepts.


I have been actively seeking help from a healthcare professional to address my OCD over the past 3 years, but the persistent impact of these symptoms on my life and academic performance has been unavoidable. When speaking to my Doctor about what’s been going on, she recommended requesting a withdrawal from HLTH 230 and consider taking it again when I can fully devote my time to thoroughly understanding the course content, instead of finishing the class and retaining no information from it.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and I'm happy to provide further details or documentation if required. I greatly appreciate your time and consideration of my request.

Thank You,

Grace Cutaia