Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Respected Associate Dean and Committee,

I am formally submitting an appeal and request to drop the course, PSYC 100 - Principles of Psychology, that I was enrolled in this past Summer.

I started the course strong; was very engaged and excited to be part of such a demanding and robust curriculum. The faculty were great This was my first university experience and was overwhelmed but also overjoyed by what was offered and required. I enjoyed the challenging content of the course.

However, my younger sister was rushed to emergency as her pregnancy had become high risk. After a series of doctors' appointments and concerns, she was admitted to Markham Stouffville Hospital on May 2nd, 2017. She was diagnosed with pre-term labour as well as an incompetent cervix; she was 30 weeks, the baby was breech and the umbilical cord was around the neck. This was after having her cervix stitched, weeks before. She was placed on immediate hospital bedrest until her expected due date of July 9th 2017.

With close observation and daily testing, it was found that even with bedrest, she was going through silent labour; there was no pain, no contractions and the only way updates we were receiving were through the tests that they did every day. Looking back, this was a blessing as she continued to dilate over the days. At 6 cms, the doctor on call decided on an emergency c-section. My nephew was delivered on Sunday, May 14th 2017. He was less than 32 weeks and was admitted to the NICU. He was finally released on Sunday, June 4th 2017.

I fell behind in the course, dealing with the physical and emotional demands of caring for her throughout that time, while maintaining my job and managing my own emotional and mental health. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with a condition that compromised my ovaries; I would never be able to have children or carry to term, if I were to get pregnant. Much of what I thought I had made peace with, re-surfaced with caring for my only sister and visiting my nephew in the NICU.

The situation placed immense stress on my family. For me personally, it affected my sleep, my appetite, and my emotional and mental well-being. I had difficulty concentrating and remembering what I had read or finding the motivation or the time to study or visit the course. To add to it, at work, my only support person resigned, tasking me with a dual workload and an unforeseen business trip. During the same time frame, my younger brother was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression. My doctor recommended immediate medication and frequent appointments until we could find the proper resources and support for him. This meant driving him to the appointments and serving as his emotional support as well. The medical course of treatment took several changes until they found the right medication for him, so we also dealt with symptoms of withdrawal and severe side effects. My family environment is not a supportive one when it comes to mental or emotional health, so we chose not to disclose his condition to them. He's part of the reason that I wish to pursue psychology and much of what I learned helped me understand what he was going through. It also helped that I was able to explain what was happening to him so that he didn't feel like he was just damaged goods. However, I did not account for the emotional, mental and physical toll that this would take. My performance in the course further deteriorated; I was putting in minimal effort with just flickers of what I'm truly capable of.

Since the end of the course in July 2017, my sister and nephew are healing and growing well. He's finally on the growth chart now and I'm silently observing his psychological and cognitive development. Work has finally settled down as they've hired support and my workload is back to normal. Through my research, I was able to get my brother enrolled into a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy program as CAMH had almost a two-year wait-list. He's finally on the right medications to manage his symptoms and is doing incredibly well.

Looking back, I should have dropped the course when I failed the mid-term. It was near impossible to catch up on all the material let alone to learn it, not just memorize it. I should have sought out help from my professors and while I did share that my sister was in the hospital with a complicated pregnancy, I should have been more realistic and open about what I was handling at the time and what was at risk. The resources were there; I could have and should have reached out to my Academic Advisor. My first university experience reignited my love for learning and when I was focused, I retained so much of my knowledge. I wanted to do well and really thought that I could pull through despite everything but I poorly calculated the demands of the course, itself. As my first university course, I didn't know what to expect and further to that, what to expect of an esteemed university such as Queen's. I should have been far better prepared and more strategic than I was. I learned an invaluable lesson through the experience.

I have spent the last two months really exploring the university and what it means to be a part of the community and I truly believe that I belong among its esteemed alumni. Queen's University delivers on its promise to deliver high-caliber and quality education. I have spent time reviewing course materials/ textbook as well so that I can continue my learning. In preparation for this appeal, I have sought counsel regarding my own emotional and mental health, taken the time to rest and be grateful that everything worked out. I have also reviewed the document, Preparing an Academic Plan, available on the Queen's Website. I was unable to access the document chart as it seems to redirect to another page. If further documentation is required, please do let me know so that I can attain the appropriate support for this request.

Please find my academic plan below for your review. I am truly sorry for my own ignorance, arrogance and oversight during the course and please know that it was not my intention to be so. I appreciated the opportunity to attend and am hopeful that my request be granted so that I may be given another chance to prove that I am worthy of a Queen's education.

Academic Plan for Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (online) at Queen's University

Previous Challenges:

- Enrolling in a 6-credit course as my first university experience.
- Lack of communication/ request for assistance from the professors and academic advisor
- Situational Circumstances
- Learning Environment

Plan for Success

- Enroll in a 3-credit course in 2018 to gain gradual development and skills required to be successful in the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (online) program at Queen's University. (Will need to adjust this plan accordingly when I plan to enroll in a 6-credit course.) If permitted, I would like to choose an elective course such as Introduction to Women, Gender and Difference or Creative Writing to regain my academic footing and boost my own self efficacy.

- I need to be in constant communication with my professors and academic advisor about my performance/ lack thereof in the course. I also need to ensure that I am aware of and use the resources available to me such as the library, the counselling center, etc.

- The situational circumstances pertaining to my younger siblings have changed dramatically and positively. They now require less of me as a resource; my time and energy can now be focused primarily on my education. My works atmosphere and situation have also significantly improved.

- I have acknowledge and have set about actively practicing the Academic maturity required to be successful. I am an active participant in my own learning and I want to benefit as much as possible from this experience. I need to really own my learning experience. I have improved my study environment as well as researched the best practices for studying, taking notes, balancing work and life, etc. I have adjusted my personal schedule and improved my study area to be a clean, well-lit and a quiet place to allow for the best concentration and absorption of materials. I have also considered tutors for the subjects that I feel may be challenging for me such as the Introduction to Statistics course and the areas of the courses that are specific to neuroscience as that may be confusing.

Thank you for taking the time and for your consideration.