Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Mark Sinclair
10193876
Mark.sinclair@queensu.ca

Dr Jill Atkinson
Associate Dean, Studies
Student Services, Dunning Hall
Queen¿¿s University, Kingston

Dear Dr Atkinson,
I am writing to request that the University retroactively remove me from the courses in which I was enrolled in the WINTER 2018 Semester. I believe that the circumstances outlined below show that there were sufficient factors preventing me from succeeding in these courses, such that it is reasonable to remove them from my academic record.

Beginning in the middle of the Fall 2017 term, I began to struggle with the onset of mental health issues, specifically anxiety and depression. These conditions made it extremely difficult for me to attend class, in addition to lessening my motivation and ability to complete coursework. I subsequently failed 2 courses, and scraped by in the remaining 2, having dropped 1 from a full course load. I appealed these grades in February of 2018, with a letter similar to this one. I went through Student Wellness Services to begin treatment for my issues, and obtained a letter from a physician indicating that I had a legitimate concern leading to my failings. Upon receipt of the letter, I found that it contained only 2 sentences, neither of which I felt spoke to the severity of my experiences. I subsequently experienced crippling anxiety pertaining to the appeal, did not submit the application, and it was denied thereafter.

Following my appeal of February 11, and a reading week which included some extremely stressful confrontations at home, I was extraordinarily unsuccessful at overcoming my issues and attending class during the remainder of the Winter semester. I was functionally unable to leave my bed or room most days, going so far as to entirely remove myself from my friends and family for upwards of 2 weeks. Although I was seeking treatment at the time, the course of medication on which I was placed was slow acting enough that I was not able to salvage the semester. Additionally, medication serves only to lessen the effects of my depression, and my therapist noted that it would not be a panacea to the issues remaining in my life. I felt that prior to reading week I had set myself up for success in the semester by attending all of my classes and beginning a course of medication through Student Wellness Services. Despite these preparations, I still experienced drastically reduced functionality as an impact of my poor mental health, leading to a semester in which I failed all my courses.

Since recognizing the decline of my functionality, I have received an increased dosage, and am now attending bi-weekly therapy sessions to work through my ongoing anxiety issues. In addition to taking some courses this summer to work in a lower stress environment, I have enrolled in only 4 courses this semester and now plan on taking an additional year to complete my degree. Furthermore, I have stepped down from executive positions with both a club on campus and a national organization to remove extracurricular stress from my life. I believe that both my increased attentiveness to my wellbeing and the removal of many other stressful variables in my life will allow me to return to my prior academic successes. I hope that these courses might be removed so that I am better able to pursue further education beyond my undergraduate degree.
Thank you for your time and consideration,

Mark Sinclair