Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Beginning in late October, I started experiencing serious medical complications related to psychiatric medication that had been prescribed in an effort to improve my mental health. The side effects became severe very quickly and included intense dizziness, fainting, physical weakness, and difficulty functioning on a day-to-day basis. At times, I struggled to leave my bed or complete basic tasks independently. Because of this, I began missing classes and quickly fell behind in my coursework. Throughout this period, I remained in regular contact with my doctor in an effort to manage these complications and improve my condition. However, despite ongoing medical consultations, my symptoms persisted throughout the Fall semester. In November, my medication was changed in an attempt to stabilize my condition and reduce the severity of the side effects.

As the semester continued, the stress and anxiety of falling behind academically significantly worsened my mental health. What initially began as physical complications from medication gradually developed into a much more serious decline in my overall mental well-being. Throughout the Fall semester (and continuing into the Winter semester), I experienced increasing difficulty attending classes, completing assignments, concentrating, and managing everyday responsibilities. I became overwhelmed to the point where I was no longer functioning normally or able to effectively manage my academic responsibilities.

During the Fall semester, particularly around the Christmas period, I experienced what I believed at the time to be an improvement in my condition following changes to my medication. Because I genuinely believed I was beginning to recover and would be able to catch up academically, I reached out to my professors to explain my situation and ask whether it would be possible to make up for missed work. My professors were understanding and granted extensions and opportunities to complete outstanding coursework. However, despite these accommodations, my mental health continued to decline, and I was ultimately unable to complete the work within the extended timeframe due to the severity of my condition at the time.

My condition continued to deteriorate into the Winter semester, and in February I experienced a mental health crisis that resulted in hospitalization. Following my hospitalization, I was referred to a psychiatrist, and I have been receiving ongoing psychiatric treatment and support since that time. During this period, I was also undergoing multiple medication changes in an attempt to stabilize my condition, which created additional physical and emotional difficulties. Due to the severity of these circumstances, I was unable to meaningfully participate in my courses for a significant portion of the academic year. I missed a substantial amount of class attendance, coursework, and important course material. At the time, I was not in a stable enough condition to properly manage academic decisions, including withdrawing from courses within the required deadlines. My focus during this period was primarily on trying to recover and regain basic day-to-day functioning. Once my condition began to improve and I was in a better state to address my academics, I reached out to my professors to discuss my situation and possible options moving forward. After reviewing the extent of the missed coursework and missed class content, my professors advised that pursuing a late course drop would be more appropriate than attempting to recover the semester given how much had been missed.

I am therefore respectfully requesting consideration for a late course drop based on the documented medical and psychological circumstances that significantly impaired my ability to participate academically throughout this period.