Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Office of the Associate Dean,
I am writing to appeal to drop HIST 242 (The Canadian Challenge II, 1950-2016) and HIST 224 (Religion in Canadian Francophone Communities) past the deadline, and therefore have their failing grades removed from my transcript. My failure to complete the courses successfully was due to my longstanding anxiety, depression, and Attention Deficit Disorder. My mental health has frequently affected my academics, but was not a challenge that I found insurmountable until it was compacted by my grandmother¿¿s death on March 15th of this year.
The first blow to my studies fell when she became gravely ill two weeks before her death, and as it quickly became apparent that she would not recover I was compelled to return home to Toronto not only to be with her, to whom I was close, but also to support my family. My studies began to suffer then, when I could no longer attend class, nor keep up with my assignments, the number of which increased with the approaching end of the term. Though I returned to school immediately after my grandmother passed away, my poor state of mental health prevented me from adequately catching up with my studies and reaching out to my professors in a timely manner. My issues with anxiety, which have frequently made my academics a particular challenge, had been worsened not only by my ongoing family issues, but the decision to stop taking the medication I had been on for anxiety in the final week of February. Despite this, I remained certain that I would still be able to complete my courses successfully, until I was obliged to return home once again for my grandmother¿¿s memorial service on the 8th of April. As I¿¿m sure you know the beginning of the exam season is a particularly inconvenient time for a student to be away from school, and when I felt comfortable leaving my family and returning to school, I was again unable to adequately catch up on the material and assignments I had missed, let alone tackle the exams and final course assignments.
Since the end of the school term I have been supporting my family, who were all as close to my grandmother as I was, and for many of whom was their first experience with such a major loss, as well as attending to my own mental health, and seeking employment. I had intended to graduate with a General degree in history in the past term, but with my academic year ending as it did, I clearly have not, though I intend to return and complete it in the coming school year.
I have submitted with this appeal a letter from my doctor attesting to the anxiety, depression and Attention Deficit Disorder, as well as my grandmother¿¿s obituary, and the cover of her memorial service¿¿s program.
With kind regards,
Austin MacDonald