Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 1987
Submitted: March 30, 2016 at 5:12:49 PM
First Name: Allison
Last Name: Hammond
Student Number: 10018720
Email: 0aah6@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BSH
Plan: BIOL-PSYC SSP
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Studies,
I am appealing to waive the 21-day appeal deadlines for the Summer term of 2014 and the Summer term of 2015.
I am appealing because I have been experiencing psychological challenges that are beyond my control. I was formally diagnosed with depression in 2011, and continue to be heavily affected by it. I began seeing a psychologist in Kingston by the name of Dr. Catherine Leblanc during second semester of first year, and have been seeing her consistently since in an attempt to prevent my illness from impairing my ability to function. My symptoms include a low mood, constant fatigue, disordered sleep, low motivation, and problems concentrating. My illness has had a negative impact on my studies because it makes it extremely difficult to focus on any readings and assignments that need to be done, and also interferes with my ability to study for tests, midterms and final exams. My disordered sleep continues to make attending and being alert in classes difficult as well. I have not taken a full course load in the past three years of my studies in order to try to mitigate the negative impact of my illness on my academics. However, as a result it has been necessary for me to take courses in the summer terms in an attempt to keep up with the credits necessary for graduation.
In the summer of 2014, I tried to retake PSYC 370 online after being forced to drop it during the winter term due to my illness. However, I entered the summer term being extremely depressed and my condition deteriorated throughout the summer. This made completing my coursework nearly impossible and as a result of being unable to hand in important assignments, I received an F in the course despite my passing the exams. At this point it was late in the summer and I was extremely discouraged and overwhelmed. I was unable to address my academics until I was in a better state. This continued well into the next school year, and I spent the Fall term of 2014 struggling to keep up with my new courses and barely functioning. Ideally I would have been able to submit my appeal in the subsequent winter term, however I ended up having a fairly major hip surgery extremely early in the term and spent over 6 weeks on heavy painkillers recovering. My energy at that point was spent attempting to keep up with my winter courses, and I was still unable to file my appeal.
This brought me to the summer term of 2015; I once again felt like I had no option but to take a course in the summer in order to stay on track with graduating within 5 years. I chose to take BIOL 321 online. At the beginning of the summer I felt that I was in a slightly better state mentally and was hoping that I would be able to complete the course and earn the credit. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I learned that I needed a second hip surgery on my other hip, and spent the summer in a great deal of pain. The pain contributed to making my depressive symptoms worse, and my condition once again quickly deteriorated. Luckily, I was able to complete and pass all of my course work except for the final lab and two small discussion assignments before having my second hip surgery in August. I spent another 6 weeks rehabilitating, which cut into my fall term of studies.
Therefore, I am submitting a separate appeal for each summer term now, as it is the first time in an almost 2 year span where I have felt mentally capable and have not been recovering from a major surgery. Living with the effects of my depression, recovering from surgeries, and trying to keep up with current classes has been extremely difficult. I also still struggle to accept that idea that I need (and should accept) help regarding my academics as a result of my illness. In combination, these factors are the reason that I was not able to submit my appeals for a DR in PSYC 370 or for aegrotat standing in BIOL 321 within the 21-day deadlines.
Although I have had an extremely difficult time with my depression throughout my undergraduate studies, I continue to do my best to pursue treatment. I am currently taking medication and continue to go to psychotherapy. I have changed to a new antidepressant medication and am feeling much more myself, which luckily was reflected in my Fall term marks this year. I continue to be proactive and ask for help when I need it, and I remain optimistic that I will be able to graduate at the end of this year. I am committed to improving my well-being and I hope that this will ensure that I continue to function at a higher level in my current and future academic pursuits.
Sincerely,
Allison Hammond
I am appealing to waive the 21-day appeal deadlines for the Summer term of 2014 and the Summer term of 2015.
I am appealing because I have been experiencing psychological challenges that are beyond my control. I was formally diagnosed with depression in 2011, and continue to be heavily affected by it. I began seeing a psychologist in Kingston by the name of Dr. Catherine Leblanc during second semester of first year, and have been seeing her consistently since in an attempt to prevent my illness from impairing my ability to function. My symptoms include a low mood, constant fatigue, disordered sleep, low motivation, and problems concentrating. My illness has had a negative impact on my studies because it makes it extremely difficult to focus on any readings and assignments that need to be done, and also interferes with my ability to study for tests, midterms and final exams. My disordered sleep continues to make attending and being alert in classes difficult as well. I have not taken a full course load in the past three years of my studies in order to try to mitigate the negative impact of my illness on my academics. However, as a result it has been necessary for me to take courses in the summer terms in an attempt to keep up with the credits necessary for graduation.
In the summer of 2014, I tried to retake PSYC 370 online after being forced to drop it during the winter term due to my illness. However, I entered the summer term being extremely depressed and my condition deteriorated throughout the summer. This made completing my coursework nearly impossible and as a result of being unable to hand in important assignments, I received an F in the course despite my passing the exams. At this point it was late in the summer and I was extremely discouraged and overwhelmed. I was unable to address my academics until I was in a better state. This continued well into the next school year, and I spent the Fall term of 2014 struggling to keep up with my new courses and barely functioning. Ideally I would have been able to submit my appeal in the subsequent winter term, however I ended up having a fairly major hip surgery extremely early in the term and spent over 6 weeks on heavy painkillers recovering. My energy at that point was spent attempting to keep up with my winter courses, and I was still unable to file my appeal.
This brought me to the summer term of 2015; I once again felt like I had no option but to take a course in the summer in order to stay on track with graduating within 5 years. I chose to take BIOL 321 online. At the beginning of the summer I felt that I was in a slightly better state mentally and was hoping that I would be able to complete the course and earn the credit. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I learned that I needed a second hip surgery on my other hip, and spent the summer in a great deal of pain. The pain contributed to making my depressive symptoms worse, and my condition once again quickly deteriorated. Luckily, I was able to complete and pass all of my course work except for the final lab and two small discussion assignments before having my second hip surgery in August. I spent another 6 weeks rehabilitating, which cut into my fall term of studies.
Therefore, I am submitting a separate appeal for each summer term now, as it is the first time in an almost 2 year span where I have felt mentally capable and have not been recovering from a major surgery. Living with the effects of my depression, recovering from surgeries, and trying to keep up with current classes has been extremely difficult. I also still struggle to accept that idea that I need (and should accept) help regarding my academics as a result of my illness. In combination, these factors are the reason that I was not able to submit my appeals for a DR in PSYC 370 or for aegrotat standing in BIOL 321 within the 21-day deadlines.
Although I have had an extremely difficult time with my depression throughout my undergraduate studies, I continue to do my best to pursue treatment. I am currently taking medication and continue to go to psychotherapy. I have changed to a new antidepressant medication and am feeling much more myself, which luckily was reflected in my Fall term marks this year. I continue to be proactive and ask for help when I need it, and I remain optimistic that I will be able to graduate at the end of this year. I am committed to improving my well-being and I hope that this will ensure that I continue to function at a higher level in my current and future academic pursuits.
Sincerely,
Allison Hammond
Documentation
Professional Letter: appeal letter 2016.pdf
Decision Letters
Amendments to Appeal 1987
Relevant Petition: 1987
Student Number: 10018720
Documentation
Professional Letter: surgery letter aug 2015-1.pdf
Relevant Petition: 1987
First Name: Allison
Last Name: Hammond
Student Number: 10018720
Email: 0aah6@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BSH
Plan: BIOL-PSYC SSP
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline, Request aegrotat (AG) standing in a course or courses
Code: PSYC 370
Term: Summer
Year: 2014
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: BIOL 321
Term: Summer
Year: 2015
Petition Category: Request aegrotat (AG) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Laura Nagel
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Studies,
I am appealing to drop PSYC 370 after the academic deadline (Summer 2014) and for aegrotat standing in BIOL 321 (Summer 2015).
I am appealing because I have been experiencing psychological challenges that are beyond my control. I was formally diagnosed with depression in 2012, and continue to be affected by it. I began seeing a psychologist in Kingston by the name of Dr. Catherine Leblanc during second term of my first year at Queen¿¿s, and have been seeing her consistently since in an attempt to prevent my illness from impairing my ability to function. My symptoms include a low mood, constant fatigue, disordered sleep, and problems concentrating. My illness has had a negative impact on my studies because it makes it extremely difficult to focus on any readings and assignments that need to be done, and also interferes with my ability to study for tests, midterms and final exams.
Throughout my 5 years as an undergrad student I have tried my best to mitigate the effects of my illness on my studies. However my depression is not something that goes away and it continues to have an adverse impact on my academics. I have been taking a reduced courseload since the Winter term of 2014 in order to try to make my academics more manageable. Although my depression continued to be significant in the Winter of 2014, I felt that in order to fulfill my degree credit requirements within 5 years I would need to take a course in the summer (even though I would be away from Kingston and my psychologist).
I therefore chose to take PSYC 370, however my depression was still significantly affecting my ability to function. I was unable to complete the readings as a result of my concentration issues and inability to focus. Since online courses are heavily based on readings, this made completing the course in a timely manner nearly impossible. I quickly became overwhelmingly behind, which contributed to my worsening depression. Although I tried my best to keep up with the coursework, there were also assignments that I was unable to complete and this caused me to fail the course. Since I was unable to do my readings, I also did poorly on the final exam. This was extremely discouraging for me, as when I am healthy I am an excellent student and it was frustrating to be doing so poorly for reasons out of my control.
In order to try to prevent these issues from reoccurring, I began seeing my psychologist again as soon as I was back in Kingston for the Fall of 2014. Upon her recommendation I registered with disability services and received accommodations (the ability to negotiate extensions on assignments, and to have at least 24 hours between tests). This helped a bit, but I continued to struggle with my mood and ability to concentrate and be productive.
My disability accommodations expired before the Summer of 2015, but in order to graduate on time I needed to take another summer course. I therefore enrolled in BIOL 321 even though I would not receive accommodations during the term.
I suffered similar difficulties as the previous summer regarding my concentration and low mood. I found it almost impossible to complete my readings and assignments on time due to my depression and overall feeling of helplessness. At this time I was also suffering from an extreme amount of pain in my left hip, which required surgery at the end of the summer (in August 2015). Combined with the depression, my pain made it even more difficult to focus on and complete my coursework. Despite this I managed to complete and pass 60 of the work in the course, however I was unable to hand in the final assignment and therefore received an F. Again, his was extremely frustrating for me because I was unable to perform to my potential for reasons that I could not control.
Living with the effects of my depression, being in pain, recovering from surgeries, and trying to keep up with classes has been extremely difficult. Although I have had an extremely harrowing time with my depression throughout my undergraduate studies, I continue to do my best to pursue treatment. I am currently taking medication and continue to go to psychotherapy. I re-registered with disability services this year in order to receive my accommodations again. I have changed to a new antidepressant medication and am feeling much more myself, which luckily was reflected in my marks this year. I continue to be proactive and ask for help when I need it, and I remain optimistic that I will be able to graduate this spring. I am committed to improving my well-being and I hope that this will ensure that I continue to function at a higher level in my future academic pursuits.
Sincerely,
Allison Hammond
I am appealing to drop PSYC 370 after the academic deadline (Summer 2014) and for aegrotat standing in BIOL 321 (Summer 2015).
I am appealing because I have been experiencing psychological challenges that are beyond my control. I was formally diagnosed with depression in 2012, and continue to be affected by it. I began seeing a psychologist in Kingston by the name of Dr. Catherine Leblanc during second term of my first year at Queen¿¿s, and have been seeing her consistently since in an attempt to prevent my illness from impairing my ability to function. My symptoms include a low mood, constant fatigue, disordered sleep, and problems concentrating. My illness has had a negative impact on my studies because it makes it extremely difficult to focus on any readings and assignments that need to be done, and also interferes with my ability to study for tests, midterms and final exams.
Throughout my 5 years as an undergrad student I have tried my best to mitigate the effects of my illness on my studies. However my depression is not something that goes away and it continues to have an adverse impact on my academics. I have been taking a reduced courseload since the Winter term of 2014 in order to try to make my academics more manageable. Although my depression continued to be significant in the Winter of 2014, I felt that in order to fulfill my degree credit requirements within 5 years I would need to take a course in the summer (even though I would be away from Kingston and my psychologist).
I therefore chose to take PSYC 370, however my depression was still significantly affecting my ability to function. I was unable to complete the readings as a result of my concentration issues and inability to focus. Since online courses are heavily based on readings, this made completing the course in a timely manner nearly impossible. I quickly became overwhelmingly behind, which contributed to my worsening depression. Although I tried my best to keep up with the coursework, there were also assignments that I was unable to complete and this caused me to fail the course. Since I was unable to do my readings, I also did poorly on the final exam. This was extremely discouraging for me, as when I am healthy I am an excellent student and it was frustrating to be doing so poorly for reasons out of my control.
In order to try to prevent these issues from reoccurring, I began seeing my psychologist again as soon as I was back in Kingston for the Fall of 2014. Upon her recommendation I registered with disability services and received accommodations (the ability to negotiate extensions on assignments, and to have at least 24 hours between tests). This helped a bit, but I continued to struggle with my mood and ability to concentrate and be productive.
My disability accommodations expired before the Summer of 2015, but in order to graduate on time I needed to take another summer course. I therefore enrolled in BIOL 321 even though I would not receive accommodations during the term.
I suffered similar difficulties as the previous summer regarding my concentration and low mood. I found it almost impossible to complete my readings and assignments on time due to my depression and overall feeling of helplessness. At this time I was also suffering from an extreme amount of pain in my left hip, which required surgery at the end of the summer (in August 2015). Combined with the depression, my pain made it even more difficult to focus on and complete my coursework. Despite this I managed to complete and pass 60 of the work in the course, however I was unable to hand in the final assignment and therefore received an F. Again, his was extremely frustrating for me because I was unable to perform to my potential for reasons that I could not control.
Living with the effects of my depression, being in pain, recovering from surgeries, and trying to keep up with classes has been extremely difficult. Although I have had an extremely harrowing time with my depression throughout my undergraduate studies, I continue to do my best to pursue treatment. I am currently taking medication and continue to go to psychotherapy. I re-registered with disability services this year in order to receive my accommodations again. I have changed to a new antidepressant medication and am feeling much more myself, which luckily was reflected in my marks this year. I continue to be proactive and ask for help when I need it, and I remain optimistic that I will be able to graduate this spring. I am committed to improving my well-being and I hope that this will ensure that I continue to function at a higher level in my future academic pursuits.
Sincerely,
Allison Hammond
Documentation
Professional Letter: appeal letter 2016-1.pdf
Document: surgery letter aug 2015-3.pdf
History
Originally submitted March 30, 2016 at 5:12:49 PM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Prepared for Review | Carrie Roosenmaalen | 2016-03-31 9:30:19 AM | |
| status | N/A | Prepared for Review | In Review | Spring Forsberg | 2016-03-31 4:09:18 PM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Granted | Haley Everson | 2016-04-14 1:50:05 PM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Sue Blake | Haley Everson | 2016-04-14 1:50:05 PM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Haley Everson | 2016-04-14 1:50:26 PM |