Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing for an extension of a deferral period for four courses from the fall term of the academic year 2015-2016 due to medical extenuating circumstances. Unfortunately these courses have reverted to failures as I thought I had more time to appeal for an extension The incomplete courses I am appealing to extend are SOCY 210, SOCY 284, SOCY 352 and SOCY 309. I am also appealing to drop a course from the winter semester, SOCY 362, past the drop deadline.

Throughout my undergraduate career at Queen's, I have experienced a significant amount of clinically recognized anxiety. Initially it revolved around social anxiety, however last year it transitioned into a significant amount of avoidance behavior. My fear of rejection from important aspects of my life caused this pattern of behavior. The thought of being rejected, or in the case of academics, failing is extremely nauseating for me. Essentially this means anything I consider important in my life I revert from. Coming into what I believed was my final year at Queen's, made me perceive every upcoming mark with greater significance than ever before. I knew how important it was for me to do well, which ironically made it a lot harder to perform up to the standards I had expected for myself. Subconsciously my brain had decided that limiting my efforts was more effective than actually trying and potentially doing poorly.

Fortunately I had seen my counselor a few times during the fall term and was given the option of extending my deadlines until the end of the winter term. I was able to write one pending exam from the fall term, however the rest of the assignments became difficult to complete on top of the full course load I had for the winter term. The increased pressure from the winter term increased my anxiety immensely, making it almost impossible to complete my schoolwork.

In the past it has been difficult to motivate myself to realize these shortcomings and seek consistent guidance. As a personal improvement, this past academic year I sought guidance from Queen¿¿s Counseling Services, Queen¿¿s Disability Services and my family doctor.

My counselor helped me confront aspects of my academics that I had previously neglected; such as my overall GPA, my completed credits and my academic plan for the future. This was one of the most anxiety provoking experiences I have yet to experience in my life, however, it also brought more clarity to me than ever before. I have never felt more motivated to be in control of my life and complete my academic career according to the academic plan I developed with Michelle.

Before an introduction to my academic plan, I would like to explain the reason for appealing to drop SOCY 362 past the drop deadline. The format of the course was based on a lot of group work and participation, which generally causes a lot of discomfort for me. However, in the past I have received accommodations for similar course structures and finished the course successfully. Thus, I assumed things would progress in a similar manner, however I was incorrect. I had e-mailed the professor at the beginning of the semester to inform her of my insecurities and mental health situation and she seemed quite open to accommodation, however as the semester progressed she did not reciprocate according to plan. I tried to communicate with the group I was assigned, and even opened up about my struggles so we could come to some sort of agreement. I actually did contribute to the group work, however the weekly participation is where my efforts lacked and the professor would not assist me in accommodations for that portion of the course. As a result I was unable to successfully complete the course and would accordingly like to drop it. As discussed with Michelle, this course is not required in order to complete my credits for graduation, thus dropping it causes me no academic harm.

My academic plan is set out in manageable stages, which, will result in the completion of my degree. I intend to begin with the completion of the four incomplete courses from the fall semester of 2015. The required exams for these courses are complete; therefore I am left with remaining assignments and papers. I intend on having the courses complete by the end of June 2016. I have completed a significant amount of the work required for these courses, and a full course load of work is not required to be completed for each course. Please refer to the table below for a more specific outline of the coursework remaining for each course. As noted in the e-mail attached, in one course I can pass even if I do not do the paper, however, I would like my transcript to reflect my academic ability.

SOCY 352 SOCY 210 SOCY 309 SOCY 284
- Paper - Paper - Paper - Reading Response, paper and paper proposal

Once these courses are completed I will focus my attention on the courses from the winter semester of 2016. I attended lectures and kept in contact with the professors throughout the semester, and I have confidence that I will be able to complete the course work before the end of the deferral period.

In order to complete my degree, I also need to enroll in an Athabasca course for statistics as I have been informed that my statistics mark did not meet the minimum passing requirement, therefore I must retake it. I will hire a tutor to assist me in completing this course in the fall. I understand that in order to enroll in a course from another institution, I require a letter of permission, for which I am currently not eligible. My goal is to complete my remaining course load and increase my academic standing in order to complete the statistics course on a letter of permission.

By following this plan, I will have all required courses completed in order for me to complete my BA. I have been in contact with all my professors from the fall term and they are up to date with the status of my work. I have attached e-mail conversations to provide background. Along with these e-mail conversations, I have attached documentation from both my counselor and family doctor whom were both actively involved with my mental health during this time.

Thank you for consideration of this appeal.

Sincerely,


Garathi Khanna