Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

Please accept my request to drop a course after the deadline. I originally applied to and was accepted by Queen's in my final year of high school. I unfortunately suffered a major medical setback and was unable to attend in September. In collaboration with the Faculty of Arts and Science, Admissions and the Office of the Ombudsman, we developed a plan to allow me to de-facto defer my Queen's acceptance for one year while I recovered. I therefore enrolled in the online course, Fundamentals of Effective Writing in an effort to maintain my status as a Queen's student, to keep my academic skills current, and to prepare myself for what I had anticipated would be full-time status in September.

Unfortunately, I suffered another medical setback in January 2017, just before the online course was set to begin. I became suicidal and was again admitted to the hospital. My illness made it impossible for me to continue normal life. I lost my ability to concentrate and absorb information; completing basic tasks was very difficult and sometimes impossible. As a consequence, I did not attend any of the online classes. Amidst the worry and concern for my welfare, my parents neglected to inform Queen's that I would be withdrawing from the course. I have attached letters from my psychiatrist and family doctor, substantiating this timeline and events.

My health has not returned and I am not well enough to continue my post-secondary studies at this time. Due to my current mental state, I ask that all communications regarding this appeal be sent to my mother, Sharon Carpenter (sharonjcarpenter@gmail.com, 613-720-0462). I have authorized her to access my accounts and she will be monitoring my Queen's email on my behalf.

I am very sorry I was unable to attend Queen's. It had been a lifelong ambition of mine to attend this university and I was so excited and grateful when I was accepted, despite the fact that my marks had been negatively affected by my illness. I was very disappointed when I was unable to follow through on my dreams. However, I am focusing on achieving a full recovery and hopefully I will be able to contribute to a post-secondary community in the future.

I would like to thank you in advance for considering my appeal.

Bridget McIvor