Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Dorit Naaman,

I am writing to petition to write the second deferred exam for PSYC 271 W'25 and to request a waiver of the petition deadline. I initially contacted Tara Karasewichon, Psychology Accommodations and Learning Management Systems Assistant, on Tuesday May 13th, two days prior to the scheduled deferred exam on May 15th, and she advised me to submit a formal petition to write the 2nd deferred exam the last week of August.

The extenuating circumstance beyond my control was due to a relapse of significant symptoms related to a chronic mental illness. Unfortunately, the end of the winter semester coincided with a difficult transition, moving out of my house in Kingston permanently and back to the difficult living environment in my hometown. This loss of key support systems and strategies that I had built and relied on in Kingston to manage my condition during my studies, caused an unforeseen significant deterioration in my mental health and led to a relapse in significant symptoms. More specifically, beginning at the end of April, I was struggling with persistent suicidal ideations and was mentally unwell to the extent that, despite my best efforts, I could not effectively study or sit for the exam. These symptoms also made it impossible to write a strong petition letter before the deferred exam date. This decrease in mood, concentration, motivation and energy carried on throughout May, and lingered throughout the summer. The effect of these symptoms are also reflected in the work of my Summer courses, as I had to request extensions for multiple assignments from May into July.

I acknowledge that the petition system is not designed to compensate for circumstances that are chronic or ongoing in nature for which the student is unable or unwilling to effectively resolve or manage. I recognize that I have submitted petitions in the past as a result of the same chronic condition. Throughout my undergraduate studies, particularly during the first three years, I faced significant academic challenges due to this mental illness, including debilitating depressive symptoms, significant weight loss and suicide attempts, despite receiving care and treatment. However, since May 2024 I have worked incredibly hard to manage this condition, and I made substantial progress reflected in my academics, raising my sub-GPA from a range of C’s and D’s to consistent A’s. I have worked extremely hard to manage both my academics and mental health during this time, and I am finally able to graduate this fall after starting my degree in September 2020.

After this recent relapse of significant symptoms that lingered throughout the summer, I have since developed a new plan: I reconnected with mental health services and my psychotherapist, implemented a new support routine at home, and used my QSAS accommodations accordingly throughout the summer term. I am now in a more stable place and confident in my ability to complete the deferred exam scheduled at the end of August.

I would also like to express that this recent relapse in symptoms has been incredibly discouraging, especially after the effort I have invested over the past year and specifically in PSYC271. I was in strong academic standing throughout the term, which allowed me to pass the course with a D- despite not writing the 50% final exam. However, my ability to meet the application requirements for Master’s of Physiotherapy programs heavily depends on improving this grade through the 50% deferred exam. It would be deeply disheartening if this relapse in symptoms jeopardized the progress that I have worked so hard to achieve over the past 3 semesters.

With this new support plan and my future goals in mind, I am fully committed to completing the requirements for PSYC 271 and would like to respectfully request to waive the petition deadline and write the second deferred exam scheduled at the end of August.

I greatly appreciate both your time and consideration with this request, and I am willing to provide additional documentation or connect further to discuss my circumstances and this petition.

Thank you,

Hannah Seckler