Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,
I wish to appeal to drop ARTH 310 after the deadline due to circumstances that have impeded my performance in this course. Last November I began experiencing an escalation of ongoing mental health difficulties, which affected my coursework. As a result, my ability to complete my assignments in full and on time was affected. I met with my professors and explained my situation, and they allowed me to extend the deadlines of some of my final assignments that were due at the end of last semester. I was able to complete all of my assignments in full and achieved passing grades in all of my courses. I began the current semester knowing that my ability to function academically had become increasingly impaired, but I was determined to complete all of my courses. I registered with Queen¿¿s Accessibility Services, in order to facilitate the extension of any deadlines I might require for my coursework this semester. I sought out psychiatric counseling at Providence Care in Kingston, and met regularly with Dr. Yang, with whom I addressed the factors impacting my mental health and therefore my ability to complete my courses successfully. A few weeks ago, an incident occurred when I arrived for a scheduled appointment with Dr. Yang that indicated to me that our doctor-patient relationship was not a good fit. I then pursued counseling at Queen¿¿s Wellness Services, and I have been meeting regularly with Pam Reines since last month. Even though I made these attempts to manage my mood to better serve my academic goals, the deterioration of my mental health continued and I became overwhelmed by my academic responsibilities this semester. The symptoms of depression and anxiety that I have experienced in the last two months have been more severe than any such symptoms I have experienced in the past two years. Prior to this semester, my course attendance rate was excellent, and with focused effort I attended all of my classes on a regular basis. This semester, my sleeping pattern has been seriously affected by symptoms of depression and anxiety. The course that I wish to drop, ARTH 310, was a course that was scheduled in an early morning time slot (8:30 am and 10:00 am). This semester, while my attendance in afternoon classes has also been negatively affected, I have had serious difficulty rising in the morning and attending class, to the point where I became unable to attend ARTH 310 courses altogether. An incident occurred in February during which I had studied comprehensively for an ARTH 310 test the night before it was scheduled, but was unable to leave my house the next morning due to apprehensions about the test. I have experienced exam anxiety before, but since returning to Queen¿¿s in 2013 I have effectively managed this stress and have successfully sat every test and exam I have been assigned. The level of depression, anxiety, and disordered sleeping I am currently experiencing is similar in intensity to that which I experienced prior to leaving my degree uncompleted in 2010. I am determined to finish my degree this semester, but I know that being able to drop ARTH 310 would alleviate a great deal of the distress I am attempting to manage, and would allow me to focus on the successful completion of the courses that I require to graduate.
Thank you very much for your consideration,
Rachel Kelleher