Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing for a credit standing to be put into place for PSYC 350 (Fall, 2016). I am subsequently requesting to appeal the removal of a failing mark for PSYC 271 (Summer, 2016) even though the one term period of time has passed.
The reasoning behind these appeals stems from some mental health issues that have been present for all of university, but that got significantly worse in the past year. In late October I came to terms with my disordered eating behaviors, and started receiving treatment in the beginning of December.
With regards to PSYC 350, I completed all of the assignments, however the majority of the mark for the course came from a take home exam completed in December. I had just gotten home for the pre-examination break and was working on the final exam while also seeking help for my eating disorder for the first time. In this time, I also was put on medication for depression, something I was not aware of even having until then. All of these changes made for quite a challenging time to focus on the take home exam, something that I believe I could have done significantly better on in other circumstances.
With regards to PSYC 271, the course consisted of assignments, as well as a final exam. However, regardless of the marks on the assignments, not passing the final resulted in not passing the class. This exam took place at the same time as when my eating disordered thoughts began getting even more significant. Specifically on the day of the exam, I panicked and couldn¿¿t get myself to eat ahead of time and remember thinking about food/hunger throughout the exam, and with eating disorders these thoughts are consuming. Had my eating disorder been under control at the time of the exam, I feel as though I would have passed the exam, and with the combination of my other marks for the course, I would have a passing grade. I did not submit an appeal before the due date because I am just now coming to the realization of the impact of my mental health issues on my academics now.
In terms of future plans, I now have a support team in place. I live in New Jersey while not at Queen¿¿s and have a team consisting of a psychiatrist, therapist and nutritionist working together with me. Additionally, I have weekly weigh-ins set up at the Queen¿¿s Health Center to monitor me. My depression is under control via medication as of recent and my eating disorder is being supported via food planning with my nutritionist and coping strategies discussed with my therapist. My focus is making this my best semester yet at Queen¿¿s (to make up for how my issues have affected my marks throughout my time at Queen¿¿s) and finishing my studies strongly.

Thank you,
Courtney Lailey