Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
My name is Michelle Nyamekye. My student number is 10188766 and my netid is 14mn42. I am emailing you because I am appealing to drop MUTH 111 (Winter, 2018).
The reason for this appeal is that I had a number of health issues that lasted throughout the term, preventing me from completing the course to the best of my normal abilities. My problems surfaced in the third week of classes, in which I experienced a loss in energy to do most of my normal responsibilities. I lacked the motivation to get out of bed, not just for class, but also eating and self-care. The lack of motivation my low mood caused resulted in missed classes, an inability to do my textbook readings, and trouble doing assignments. The missed classes and inability to do my readings had an impact on my overall motivation to go, as I began to experience anxiety around the thought of going to class. I had difficulties with all my courses, and I had to work with a number of accommodations to receive extensions to get my work done. While I was able to work with my professors and TA to get through my other two courses, I could not do so with MUTH. This was not due to a lack of cooperation with the professors for this course, it was because my motivation was inhibited. This absence in desire was not because I was lazy, but because I felt that I had fallen so far behind, that there was no way to catch up.
I was a late addition to this course, and so when I got in the class, I was already behind. Then, I felt a large drop in energy and I was unable to go to any of my classes. This course had participation as a large component of the grades, and because I could not go to the classes, I fell behind very quickly. From the beginning of the term, I had been seeing Whitney Babcock, a counsellor for the Faculty of Ed, as well as Dr. Borins, so I was proactively working on the issues I faced in the previous semester, with feeling overwhelmed and ill-equipped to do school. However, this semester I faced an additional problem that took 3 months to work through, which was that I had low iron, meaning that on top of my mental health struggles that caused low mood, my body had no energy. Those two things combined became so crippling, that just the thought of trying to catch up in MUTH111 caused me to have panic. I would have dropped the course earlier, however, because I use OSAP, leaving would have made me as a part-time student, which would affect the loan I was granted. Therefore, I decided fairly early on that my best bet to ensure my health and overall GPA does not suffer, was to drop the course late.
I am seeing both a doctor to monitor the medication I am taking to help with my mood and motivation problems, as well as a counsellor and accommodations worker to help with the academic and mental health issues. I will continue doing so in the new school year, and I have resources that I can use to work specifically on motivation with school work so that I am less likely to fall behind as I did this year.