Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Office of the Dean
Dunning Hall - First Floor,
94 University Avenue
Queen's University
Kingston, ON Canada
K7L 3N6

June 6, 2016

Jordan Coccimiglio
231 University Avenue
Kingston, Ontario


Dear Associate Dean (Studies)
I am submitting to wave the 21- day appeal deadline. It took me a couple weeks to get myself grounded after exams, in which this time period involved rest and relaxation so that I could regain focus. In addition to this, I wanted to speak to the Economics department to ensure if I appealed my grade in Econ 351 I would be able to still graduate on time as well as move on to the fourth year course. Lastly, I wanted to verify with the school¿¿s ombudsman to ensure that I had a case to appeal my grade.
I am appealing my grade of C in the course ECON 351 (Winter) due to extenuating circumstances. I would like to receive CR standing for this course on my transcript. My ECON 351 exam was written on April 16th,2016. On April 12, 2016, I experienced a severe anxiety attack after my COMM 323 exam. In the days leading up to the anxiety attack, I had attempted to seek support from on campus resources, but could not because of my exam schedule, the resource hours of operations and waiting lists. On April 13th, I was able to obtain a crisis appointment through Student Wellness Services and I spoke with one of the counsellors on campus to talk through my current state of mind. Through this meeting, I was able to get my ECON 240 next exam moved, which I had been scheduled to write that afternoon. I had thought by taking a day off from my studies that I would be able to refocus myself for my ECON 351 exam on April 16, 2016. Unfortunately, this was not the case for me as I was burned out from the anxiety attack, and could neither focus during my studies nor during the exam. Going into the exam, I had a 73 in the class, yet I ended the term with a C.
This is not the first time I have experienced an anxiety attack; I also experienced a severe attack last year during an exam. Since then, I have been very proactive in managing my anxiety. I have seen a doctor and I have obtained medication, which seemed to help during my first exam period. The major difference this semester was that I had 3 exams in a 3-day period, which I could not co-manage with my anxiety. Writing a number of exams in a row did not allow me the time to refocus and reground myself (a strategy I use to manage my anxiety) after each exam.
After talking to the counsellor on campus, we formed a plan to help me with my anxiety attacks. However, given the time constraints of the exam season and the nature of the crisis appointment, we were unable to meet again and review these methods. Instead, she suggested that I sign up for accommodations for the upcoming school year. These accommodations will include extra time on exams to help me manage my anxiety and the ability to reschedule my exams, in the case that I have several exams in a row. After my exam, I immediately reached out to my professor and went to go discuss my situation with him. Unfortunately, there were no additional steps I could take to increase my grade and/or prove my knowledge of the course content. After talking to both Professor Jaworski and Professor Ian Keay (Undergraduate Chair, Economics), we determined that it was best I apply for a credit standing in Econ 351.
Since I have been home and around my family, my mental health has greatly approved. I credit this improvement to my family¿¿s support and being able to access support from my family doctor. I have always taken a great degree of pride in my grades and believe that my final mark in ECON 351 is not reflective of the quality of work that I have produced in the past and will continue to produce in my fourth year at Queen¿¿s. Thank you for taking my appeal into consideration.

Sincerely,
Jordan Coccimiglio