Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Letter: To the Members of the Board of Studies,

I am appealing the Associate Dean’s decision to deny my appeal for Credit Standing (CR) for BCHM 315 (2024-2025) and BCHM 316 (2024-2025) on the grounds that rules of procedural fairness were not met, specifically that it was not a reasonable decision.

My appeal was denied as these petitions are granted only where there are significantly extenuating circumstances involving a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student's control and debilitating to their academic performance. I would like to reiterate and provide further documentation supporting that my circumstances during the 2024-2025 academic year make me eligible for the appeal.

After my grandfather’s passing in 2023, which I consider a significant psychological event as it greatly affected my mental health, I struggled with severe symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia that were exacerbated during periods of high stress. Without adequate intervention, I struggled with the same symptoms during the 2024-2025 school year. My performance in the above courses was impacted greatly because of how much they differed in terms of assessment weighting compared to the rest of my courses in the academic year. My other courses consisted of numerous tutorials/labs, quizzes, assignments, and a lower exam weighting. The nature of these courses allowed for a distributed workload throughout the semester where I was able to perform well due to reduced stress, thus fewer periods of heightened anxiety. This allowed for me to perform well overall, as midterms and final exams were weighted lower and a poor exam grade had less of an effect on my overall grade.

However, BCHM 315 and 316 relied on heavily weighted exams (midterms and finals) that would fall in periods of high stress, exacerbating my insomnia and anxiety, resulting in poor performance. In addition to my poor attendance, my mental health and response to stress during these periods severely debilitated my academic performance. I have included in my appeal a letter from my psychiatrist to support that my mental health, which worsened due to not receiving proper intervention and care after my grandfather’s passing, would have heavily impacted my performance in exam intensive courses. As indicated in my original appeal, I also had numerous infections throughout the year that required antibiotics and had impacted my ability to participate in my courses.

I am currently receiving mental health support from a psychotherapist and an occupational therapist with Student Wellness Services. I have also gotten a diagnosis (primary anxiety disorder) and am working on a treatment plan for insomnia with my family physician. I am slowly building a reliable team that will help me improve my mental health and overcome those challenges. I hope I have provided sufficient information regarding my circumstances over the last year and hope that this letter and the supporting documents provide clarity regarding my appeal.

Sincerely,
Keerat Dhothar