Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Grounds Details: Dear Members of the Board of Studies,

I am writing to appeal the decision denying my petition to waive the requirement to
withdraw from school for a minimum of three years. I respectfully request that the Board can
reconsider this outcome on the grounds of unreasonable decision. Specifically, the decision
failed to consider the specificity of the impact that directly affected my mental health condition
alongside my academic results during the term of Fall 2025, and the documented improvement in
my academic functioning in the terms that followed. So, I want to appeal the decision on which it
didn’t meet the standard for making reasonable decisions that are defined by the principles of
natural justice that said the decisions must be made based on all relevant facts, logical inferences,
and adequate reasoning.

Firstly, the documentation I submitted regarding my mental health condition during the
Fall 2025 term establishes that the poor academic outcomes from that term were not the product
of insufficient academic ability or of my own choices. They were the pathological result of a
condition I could neither predict nor control. It confirms that my emotional state was destabilized
mostly due to an external event that can’t be predicted and avoided. Although this event truly
caused symptoms like inattention, reduced learning efficiency, and an inability to complete
coursework and assessments. But it’s not a general statement about stress that will always remain
and can’t be managed later. This relapse it’s more like an unexpected event happened with its
own timing, mechanism, and causes that truly happened during the time that I had my first time
dealing with such an important petition process regarding my academic standing rather than a
start point of another failing term. The Faculty has already accepted this evidence in granting the
late drop of ANAT 315, BIOL 335 and PHGY 215 before, so I think this has also contributed a
bit to my cGPA. Thus, my documentation and the situation happened has sufficiently confirmed
that the failing during 25 Fall it’s more like an unexpected event caused by multiple factors than
a intended result happened due to continuous losing in studying and managing. It is not logical to
accept that outcome as confirmed evidence that I am unable to manage my studies and health
condition going forward.

Secondly, the Winter 2026 grade records I have attached further approved that the
difficulties happened in 25 Fall isn’t the start point of another failing cycle but an endpoint of
bad situations, as some obvious improvements were shown in these records. In BIOL 334, I
received 95% on the poster proposal, 89.17% on the poster presentation, 95% on peer review,
and full marks on both conference discussion components. In BIOL 341, I received 88% on
Assignment 1, 81% on Assignment 2, 100% on the research article quiz, 100% on quality of peer
reviews, and 93.33% across the online quizzes. In PATH 310, my TBL work ranged from 85%
to 100%, including 94% on TBL #2.4. These are not the results of a student who has lost the
ability to study, and I think these can be one of the toughest evidence for that the effect caused
by unexpected event didn’t last for a long time and I have totally regained my ability to submit
works in good quality. It’s not logical to stop a student’s learning process when she already
regained her ability to manage and finish her study tasks well.

Thirdly, the documentations I attached that related to the three outstanding exams from
26 Winter have also proved the success for me to regain my ability for study but in another side,
the ability to solve problems. Not like the previous situations caused by uncontrollable mental
health issues, each deferral arose from an acute, documented health event. Meaning that this
absence from exams isn’t caused by any decline in ability or any cause that’s not manageable.
When I became ill during the exam period, I contacted DBMS Exam Coordinator and my
professors immediately before the exam when I felt that the unexpected event might affect the
exams. I kept contacting with them actively and got help timely with a supply from CDK walk-in
clinic on May 19 rather than being overwhelmed by the difficulty faced. I think this thing
happened can be one of the most reliable pieces of evidence for that I have regained my ability to
seek professional help timely while solving difficulties calmly.

Just like what I have also attached, the Exams Office have successfully scheduled BIOL 334’s
exam on August 11, BIOL 341’s exam on August 12 and PATH 310’s exam on August 27.
These three exams are the only things left to do in the three classes, and some of them weights
relatively heavier. Thus, I think the decision didn’t make based on all relevant facts as these
exams haven’t been finished yet while the results haven’t been posted as well. It’s not logical to
give a denied result when a student has regained both of her study and manage ability while not
all relevant facts are included in the consideration.

Besides this, the email record I have with DBMS exam team for GLPH 271 also have
proved my ability further and tougher from another side. That is, I have not only regained my
ability to manage study when difficulties happened, but I also never treat deferral as a default.
May 15 was the first day I felt unwell and it then developed to later symptoms happened during
the three classes’ exam period. On the morning of May 15 before my GLPH 271 exam, I wrote
to DBMS Exam Assistance to ask whether I could sit it the following day. But then, after taking
some medicine and started to feel better, I decided I was able to proceed. I travelled to campus,
wrote the exam as originally scheduled, and emailed the office afterwards to confirm it had been
completed and had gone well. It was only a small thing happened, but it toughly proved that I
never treat deferral as a default. I have regained my ability to not only finish assessments but also
can put all my efforts in learning even if some difficulties have happened.

For Summer, I have also submitted some results of my assessments, and they have
successfully proved that my current study condition is still in a good standard and my capacity is
sufficient to carry coursework while producing good academic results. Although some
difficulties appeared recently for the term, but I am still in the process to actively communicating
with the teaching team and pursuing a resolution. If the best outcome cannot be reached, I will
try my best to complete the remaining courses well and withdraw from the affected course within
the deadline before returning to them later in better condition. That’s also the suggestion my
professor gave to me.

Regarding all these reasons, I think the decision that I have received didn’t adequately
account for the uncontrollable circumstances I experienced or for the significant and evidenced
improvement in my current academic condition. A reasonable process would not require a
student to pause her studies for three years based on past circumstances that were documented as
beyond her control, at a point when her capacity, stability and decision-making have
demonstrably improved. A reasonable process also wouldn’t finalize an assessment of a
student’s academic standing when the results of at least four courses remain undetermined and
are scheduled to be determined within weeks. I want respectfully to request the Board to
reconsider about the decision based on this statement in a more comprehensive way.

Sincerely,
Lingjie (Jasmine) Kong