Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,

I am writing this petition letter to request the ability to drop my fall courses of 2024, ECON 112, ENGL 259, and ENGL 281, after the drop deadline, due to extenuating circumstances. In early September of 2024 a close family member had greatly worsening health issues and this negatively impacted my mental health. I have struggled with mental health for many years after the passing of a family member, and this greatly worsened the mental health conditions I’ve struggled with in the past.

I was impacted by Major Depression Disorder from early September until around early November. During this period, I was unable to complete almost any work for nearly the entire two first months of the term. The reason I did not drop the courses during the term was that I was still hoping to complete them so I could graduate in the fall. Unfortunately, it was too much work to ever hope to catch up with. Also, I was completely unaware that you were able to drop courses until the final day of classes, until this winter semester, when I was informed of this by academic advising. On the official Queen’s Registrar website, the key dates page states that October 28th was the final drop date for Fall courses, so I had assumed I was unable to drop my courses as it was now mid-November.

During this time, I was in the process of getting a new family doctor, so I was not able to see a physician who could now accurately comment on my health. However, my new family doctor is excellent and will be providing me with supporting documentation confirming my diagnosis, medication, and current mental health status. My mental health is currently the best it has been in years. My current family doctor has been a phenomenal help and has made a huge difference with my mental health. I have even successfully stopped my medication for many months now and am doing very well.

I am currently doing much better and had a successful Winter semester. I did have to drop some courses, but I was much healthier, so I was able to identify my need to drop them and did so within the proper timeframe. I was also able to complete my first course in many years. I am enrolled in a few summer courses and plan to take full-time courses next year, and I am confident that I will be able to graduate at the end of the next academic year.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter,

Austin Stadel