Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

My name is Heather MacDonald and I am requesting that the requirement to withdraw for one year be waived. This past school year has been exceptionally difficult; My academic performance was severely impacted during the 2017-2018 school year due to extenuating medical circumstances beyond my control. I was in and out of treatment at the Kingston General Hospital between October 2017 and January 2018 and was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition which had impacted my mobility for several months. Because of this condition, I was unable to attend classes for extended periods of time, which resulted in falling behind and eventually failing the majority of my courses.

My mental health was also severely impacted by these circumstances during this time as I was unable to effectively keep up with my studies due while simultaneously attempting to make a full recovery. I have struggled with my mental health during my five years at Queen¿¿s but this year was especially difficult due to the enormous setback caused by sudden physical illness. I have several notes from Doctors at KGH, one of which I have included. I made the choice to not take time off of school during the duration of my illness as I was hoping to be able to recover sooner and finish the year strong. I have been in physiotherapy for several months as well as on a variety of medications and have made a significant recovery. Additionally, I am seeing a counsellor to help with my anxiety relating to my academic performance, and am hoping to be able to move forward and complete my degree without any more setbacks. I hope you will consider my appeal and allow me to move forward to complete my studies.