Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Rachel Hodgett and I am requesting to appeal the following courses: PHIL 115 (drop) and ENGL 160 (credit standing). Due to my extenuating circumstances involving the presence of my learning disability (Attention Deficit Disorder) I was unable to perform to my best ability in the two courses listed above. Upon my arrival to Queen¿¿s I was aware of my learning disability however was not aware that the university provided accommodations. The appeal process was brought to my attention this year when I spoke to an academic counsellor, prior to this conversation I did not understand that I could appeal these courses. I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in my early teens. The process of understanding my disorder has been very difficult since my diagnoses, because the disability has unfortunately become more prominent with time. I was consistently on medication (Concerta 18 mg) for most of my high school career, at the time I did excel on the dosage provided. Keeping this in mind I came to Queens with the impression that my disability would no longer effect my academic success, however after discussions with my physician it is clear that a higher dosage was long overdue. Unfortunately during first year I was on medication but, it wasn¿¿t providing me with the focus I needed to succeed. I struggled a lot with organizing my thoughts and maintaining focus in a classroom environment which caused a lot of stress and anxiety. This was troubling in particular in regard to course PHIL 115, my professor Mark Smith was a consistent lecturer and I often got lost in his confusing explanations. Without anything visual aid to learn from such as PowerPoints, I was completely lost ninety-percent of the time. His teaching style and lecturing style honestly did not accommodate my style of learning and disability what so ever. Without accommodations in the course and accommodations in general I was unable to perform well. Going through first year I struggled a lot in every course I took (including ENGL 160), not being able to understand why I could never finish exams on time and why my professors constantly called my work ¿¿unorganized and scattered.¿ This was a very big obstacles for me in ENGL 160, my professor Robert May was a great teacher, however my inability to perform in essay writing and testing led to almost failing the course. My essays were often referred to as ¿¿distracted and off topic,¿ I did not see this as a result of ADD at the time but, after reading over my essays from the course I see issues that I struggled with before taking medication. I am very prone to leaving words out of sentences and skipping from one point to the next. My thoughts and ideas were often scattered and unrecognizable to anyone but me, which was often seen in my essay writing. In first year I also lived on West campus which honestly made me feel completely isolated and for this reason I didn¿¿t realize that accommodations could be provided for learning disabilities at Queens. I was under the impression that even though I received accommodations in high school that universities did not really provide help with that. I continuously received marks that were very low and I became discouraged in my abilities and even with the help and support from friends and family I was unable to excel. This year due to my grades from first year I am on academic probation. With the granting of this request to appeal I will be able to continue my studies at Queens with accommodations from disability services and a change in my medication (Concerta 36 mg currently). After speaking to Michael Beganyi from Disability Services, I am now aware of the actual severity of my anxiety and ADD. After speaking with him I have realized that I was not paying enough attention to the disorder. Mr. Beganyi and I have made accommodations for my upcoming exams and are going to make more to plans in the near future to determine a plan to ensure my academic success. With the granting of this appeal I believe I will be able to come back to Queen¿¿s next year better prepared. I am making it my goal to better my weaknesses and not let my learning disability detour me from my future.
Thank you very much for your time
Sincerely,
Rachel Hodgett