Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: The following appeal is regarding an extension on my fall term courses 2016:
Bio 102
Chem 112A
Psychology 205
Astronomy 100
Psychology 100 (summer course)

And an extension on my winter term courses:

Bio 103
Chem 112B
Spanish

As well as to appeal to remove my Right to Withdraw Ruling.


To whom it may concern,

My name is Sharon Waldman, I am a second-year student with a first-year student standing in the Faculty of Arts and Science. This appeal letter serves as a request for an extension on my fall and winter semesters, an extension on my psychology 100 summer course and the removal of my Right to Withdraw Ruling, so that I may resume my studies in the Winter Term of 2018 if my health allows. The last 2 years of my life have been extremely difficult due to extenuating circumstances beyond my control. In first year, coming to the end of my first semester and during exam time (December 2015), I was hospitalized due to severe abdominal pain, high fevers and many other symptoms (December 9, 2015). I spent my whole second semester either in a hospital room, bed rested, or at a doctor¿¿s office. This situation prevented me from finishing my credits or writing any of my exams. After countless tests, I was diagnosed with Crohn¿¿s Disease, a chronic condition. My hope that year was to write my exams when I came back to school, however in getting better and taking time off school, I got worse. I found myself having to drop my courses and being unable to write my exams, therefore losing all credits and my year of studies with the exception to Spanish P10. As summer moved along I began to get better with a new treatment in place, so I decided to take Psychology 100 as a summer course. Unfortunately, the medications I was on started failing midway through the course and after the drop date. By then I had finished all components except for my final exam, which I was unable to write due to complications with my health. Once again on a new medication and treatment plan I felt confident in coming back to school in the fall term of 2016. However, I had a horrible relapse. I started off the year with a concussion during the first week of school after fainting on the street from a burst of pain due to a Crohn¿¿s flare. As I worked through the semester I did as much as I could, but apart from the restrictions from the concussion, my new treatment started to fail once again bringing my exhaustion, nausea, pain and many other symptoms I had managed to overcome back tenth fold. I was struggling but managed to get most of my courses done, but once exam time came I fell extremely ill. I was once again hospitalized and therefore unable to write the exams of the year. My professors and I had been in constant contact and even had a plan in place to write the exams a later time. As winter term rolled around I dropped two courses to lessen my course load as I was already struggling to balance my health and school. I kept the 2 courses that were full year and that I did not want to lose and Spanish. Once again most of those courses were completed aside from finals and some projects. At that time, my doctors came to realize that the cold weather makes me worse, as this is when the chronic fevers began. I would have severely high fevers for weeks on end, ones that I could not bring down by myself and would end up hospitalized for. These fevers would then trigger a Crohn¿¿s flare that once again brought back all my symptoms. Once stabilized with a new treatment after my last hospitalization, I immediately reached out to all my professors and worked on a plan of action. I would stay over the summer and work on the components of the courses I was missing in order to complete my credits. I am writing this appeal to ask to be authorized to continue with my plan and finish my year and my credits, as well as for an extension on both my semesters. I plan to take the fall 2017 semester off to deal whole heartedly with my health issues and be 100 sure I can return to my studies. Furthermore, I would be taking a lighter course load when I resume my studies to ensure that even during times when I am unwell I can successfully finish my courses. I would like to return for the winter semester of 2018 if my health is stable, and would appreciate if I was granted the extension to finish the courses I have already started. My Professors all know my circumstances and are willing to accommodate. It is important for me to share that being actively engaged in studies keeps me mentally and emotionally healthy, which is vital to individuals with Crohns Disease, as we are more susceptible to suffering from depression, therefore, my doctors encourage me to stay in school as it is something that makes me happy.


Thanking you in advance for your consideration to my appeal.

Sincerely,

Sharon Waldman