Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am petitioning to add classes after the add deadline for the winter 2025 semester, as two major extenuating circumstances impeded my ability to register for courses in the allotted time frame. First being a requirement to withdraw from studies for the 2024-2025 academic year, which I am currently in the process of petitioning, and second being that I registered for two online highschool credit courses in October of 2024 which lasted until January 24, 2025.
From September 2022 - April 2024 I experienced incapacitating mental health struggles related to depression, social anxiety, and disordered eating, none of which I received professional help for until September 2024 due to familial and culturally placed stigma surrounding these struggles. While I could have fought to resume my studies in the fall 2024 semester, I decided the best course of action in improving my mental health and academic performance would be to adhere to the withdrawal request. I booked my first counseling sessions with Brooke McLatchie through Queen’s mental health services on September 5th and October 10th of 2024, and I am in the process of saving money to see a regular therapist outside of Queen’s, as I have been made aware that the services offered through Queen’s are not meant to be used long term. Along with seeking professional help I changed living arrangements, as I realized several factors regarding my previous living space and the dynamic between me and my roommate were triggers for the mental struggles listed above.
I understand that after being in such a fragile mental state and feeling so apathetic towards my studies for nearly two years, that it would take time for me to become the kind of passionate, high achieving student I was before beginning my studies at Queen’s, even with the internal and external support I have secured to manage my mental health. I know that such an adjustment period would not reflect who I am and what I am capable of as a student, nor would it be an accurate representation of the type of student Queen’s fosters, and so I decided to enroll in online highschool credit courses through Gary Allan Learning Center in my hometown of Halton Hills instead. My registration was completed in October 2024, placing me a month behind the rest of the class, despite my coursework still having the same deadline of January 24, 2025. I completed both classes just before the deadline with high 80s and 90s.
My online semester, in which I was enrolled in grade 11 university level biology and chemistry, provided a low-stakes environment in which I could learn how to integrate the interpersonal skills I was developing to aid my mental health into a successful academic performance. I understand that two online high school courses are in no way comparable to the courses offered here at Queen’s in terms of difficulty and significance, however this semester provided an environment in which I was forced to acknowledge, reconcile with and alter the poor habits I developed related to academic performance during my time of severe struggle. I am immensely thankful to the interpersonal skills I developed throughout this semester. From learning how to create realistic schedules and develop the mental endurance necessary to adhere to these on good days and bad, to acknowledging my fear of failure and imposter syndrome which caused me to become paralysed in academic settings such as Queen’s, amd to simply falling back in love with learning and understanding what a privilege it is to be part of any educational system, I will forever be grateful that I dedicated the past four months of my life to these classes. Even if the commitment of finishing these classes by January 24, 2025, despite starting the semester a month late, meant that I did not have time to submit these petitions and enroll in Queen’s classes during the allotted time, risking the chance that I will not return to Queen’s until September.
While I am confident in my mental health and academic capabilities currently and going forwards, I believe my decision to gradually re-enter academics as a means of ensuring a successful integration of my newly developed mental coping strategies is the best course of action going forwards. That is why I ask that you grant me permission for delayed enrollment into just three first-year arts/sci courses for the winter 2025 semester before I resume studies full time in the fall 2025 semester. I will use this part-time semester to further develop the interpersonal skills needed to manage academic performance with positive mental health, while also ensuring I have time for regular therapy appointments and appointments with academic services such as ASUS peer tutors and PASS. I understand that my track record will make the school hesitant to grant me late admission into any classes, but I can guarantee that the grades present on my transcript are from a complete lack of trying and care on my part, and not at all indicative of what I can accomplish with my newfound mental strength.
If this petition is denied I will accept that as I take full responsibility for the actions that led me to this moment. However this past year has given me the strength to finally stand up for myself and my needs, and while I know this petition has a long-shot of being granted, I also know that I deserve my place at this school as much as any student. I can and will spend every day proving this fact if you choose to take a chance on me in return. I will no longer sit idly and watch as my life passes me, which is why I ask again that you grant my petition for delayed course admission, and allow me the chance to take back my future on my timeline, rather than the timeline given by the school to a version of me who, after months of hard work, no longer exists.
Thank you for taking the time to read my petition, regardless of your future decision.
Alyssa Kozulic