Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am writing to formally request permission to withdraw from my courses for the past winter 2026 semester, as I was unable to meet the official course drop deadline due to significant and ongoing mental health issues. This past winter semester, I experienced a substantial decline in my mental health that progressively impacted my ability to function academically. It initially began as increased stress and difficulty concentrating and eventually developed into more persistent challenges, including low motivation, difficulty managing daily responsibilities, and an inability to keep up with course work. As the term continued, these difficulties continued to worsen and began to interfere with my ability to attend class and complete assignments. As you can likely see in my academic file, I have managed these mental health challenges in the past and have made efforts to work through them while maintaining my academic responsibilities. While I’ve always done my best to manage this problem, the past five months presented a level of difficulty, academically and in my personal life, that exceeded what I have been able to manage.
Despite recognizing that I was struggling, I initially believed I would be able to manage and recover while continuing my course work. Because of this, I did not pursue withdrawal earlier in the term. However, my situation worsened in a way that made it difficult to make clear, timely decisions about my academic situation. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to believe that withdrawing for the semester was what I had to do, and continued to procrastinate and deny that reality, despite the obvious nature of my situation. Although I was aware that I was struggling academically, during the period leading up to the deadline I was not in a position to fully process the extent of the situation or take the appropriate administrative steps. By the time I was able to actually engage with what was happening and take action (in the past few weeks), the deadline to drop courses had already passed. In the days following the deadline, I came to recognize that it had passed and have since been seeking support to better understand how to move forward, address the situation, and send this request.
As the semester has concluded and my courses are not dropped, I will receive failing grades across my courses due to my inability to complete required work during this past term. I believe that these outcomes would not be reflective of my academic abilities, but rather the extent to which my mental health challenges significantly disrupted my ability to engage with my coursework. If these grades remain on my record, they would have a substantial and lasting impact on my academic standing. Of course I understand that I am responsible for managing my own commitments and personal issues, but I really hope to convey through this petition the nature of my mindset and challenges throughout the semester, and ask for the opportunity to be considered for another chance to make this up. For these reasons, I am requesting permission for a late withdrawal from the five courses I took during the winter 2026 semester, so that my transcript more accurately reflects my academic capabilities, and so that I can take the necessary time to address my mental health and return to my studies in a stable and productive state. I really do want to emphasize that I take my academic responsibilities seriously and that this request is not made lightly. I fully understand that it is my responsibility to manage both my personal circumstances and academic commitments, not that of the university’s, and I take accountability for not having done so in this instance. My intention is to return to my studies once I am in a better position to fully engage and succeed. With my parents’ support, I’ve been getting help and have recently taken some meaningful steps in doing so, including seeking support from my doctors and therapist, receiving some updated diagnoses, and beginning treatment for depression, anxiety, OCD, and ADHD. During the short period of time of which I missed the course drop deadline, my mental health symptoms were particularly severe and were significantly impacting my ability to tend to my academic and administrative responsibilities. I do take full responsibility for missing the deadline and I regret that I was not able to take the appropriate steps at the time. I sincerely apologize for the timing and understand that this request falls outside of standard deadlines. I would be extremely grateful for your understanding and consideration of my situation, and I am happy to provide any additional information or documentation that may assist in reviewing this request.

Ruby Benrubi-Morris