Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to respectfully petition for the late drop of the following courses taken during the 2024-2025 academic year and for these courses to be excluded from the calculation of my GPA:
-POLS 211
-CISC 121
-CISC 102
-BIOL 102
-BIOL 103
-PSYC 221


I am requesting this consideration due to serious extenuating circumstances beyond my control that directly and significantly affected my academic performance during this period.

During the 2024 academic year, I experienced an abrupt and severe breakdown in my personal, financial, and emotional stability. I was suddenly and completely financially and emotionally abandoned by my parents and was left to support myself independently for the first time in my life. This included managing rent, food, tuition-related expenses, and my overall well-being while maintaining a full-time course load.
To meet basic living needs, I worked approximately 25 hours per week in a high-pressure and emotionally unhealthy work environment. At the same time, I was dealing with significant mental and physical health decline. I was frequently ill, chronically exhausted, emotionally withdrawn, and overwhelmed to the point where day-to-day functioning became extremely difficult. I required hospital care on one occasion during this period.
A major contributing factor to the severity of my situation was that I did not reach out for help. I internalized my distress and believed I had to manage everything alone. As a result, I did not seek medical or academic support early, nor did I document my condition at the time. In hindsight, I recognize that this lack of action was not due to indifference or poor judgment, but rather the result of being in a state of unmanaged crisis and survival mode.
These circumstances directly affected my ability to engage academically across the courses listed above. The workload, combined with my deteriorating health and financial stress, became unmanageable. My academic performance during this time does not reflect my true capabilities, but rather the cumulative impact of sustained distress.

The courses listed above represent the term in which my circumstances were at their most severe and unmanageable. Although I remained enrolled, my ability to meaningfully participate, complete assessments, and perform to my usual academic standard was significantly compromised. As a result, I failed these courses. These failures do not reflect a lack of effort or academic ability, but rather the impact of sustained and unmanaged extenuating circumstances that directly interfered with my capacity to function academically at that time.

The courses listed above represent the year in which my circumstances were at their most severe and unmanageable.
These failed courses have had a significant and ongoing impact on my GPA and have placed me in an academic standing that does not reflect my true academic potential. Under the Faculty’s academic regulations, I am required to achieve and maintain a minimum GPA in order to remain registered, and failure to do so may result in a renewed requirement to withdraw. This is a risk I am actively working to prevent.
Because the failed courses are clustered within the same period of documented crisis, their cumulative effect disproportionately weighs down my GPA and places me at continued academic risk, despite my current improvement. I am therefore requesting late drops so that my academic standing and GPA more accurately reflect my present capacity, effort, and performance, rather than a resolved period of severe extenuating circumstances.

Since the end of that academic year, I have taken concrete steps to stabilize my situation. I reduced and then ended my employment, reconnected with extended family members who are now providing emotional support, and have worked toward re-establishing structure and stability in my life. I am currently employed in a healthier environment and am preparing to return to my studies with significantly improved circumstances.
I now have a clearer understanding of my limits and the importance of seeking support when needed. The circumstances that affected my academic performance have been addressed and are being actively managed.

Since returning to my studies, I have already begun actively rebuilding my academic success. I am currently enrolled and performing significantly better than in the period under petition. I now have the emotional, financial and personal support that I lacked previously, and I am no longer managing my studies in isolation.
Moving forward, I am fully committed to improving my GPA and maintaining good academic standing. I am prioritizing consistent attendance, structured study routines, and proactive use of academic resources. I will continue to monitor my course load carefully and seek advising support early if challenges arise. My goal is to ensure steady academic progress and to demonstrate, through sustained performance, that the difficulties reflected in these failed courses were temporary and exceptional.
Granting this late drop would allow me to rebuild my GPA on the basis of my current and future performance, rather than remain anchored to a period of crisis that has now been resolved.

Thank you very much for taking the time to review my petition and for considering the context of my circumstances. I am grateful for your time and thoughtful consideration.
Sincerely,
Camille Gomis-Pepin