Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Bénard,
I am appealing to drop CHEM 211, 212, 213 (Fall 2018) and to receive credit standing in BIOL 103 and MATH 121B (Winter 2018).
The reason for this appeal is due to unforeseen acute physical and mental illness. The official timeline begins initially on February 11th, 2018, which can be seen in the verification of records from Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston. Unfortunately, this incident impeded my ability to regularly attend classes due to my overall capacity to perform to the best of my abilities in the courses being appealed. This circumstance was unfortunately not taken care of properly and has since continued from the winter term of 2018 to the fall term of 2018. The severity of this circumstance has since increased and led to a second, repeated, incident more recently on Monday, October 30th, 2018, this incident can be confirmed with the documentation provided from Kinston General Hospital. This documentation also acknowledges the previous admittance to psych from the previous incident. It is due to this specific incident of acute personal injury and mental illness that the fall deadline for dropping classes (November 5th, 2018) was missed. This has led to the inability to perform day to day tasks successfully and to perform academically Specifically, I had become unable to mentally commit to assignments and thus have failed to reach an adequate level of academic performance, which only increased the severity of the disclosed mental state.
I am appealing for these courses specifically on account of the nature of the illness, the most severe impact being my inability to attend lectures and keep on top of my studies and overall lack of mental stability in maintaining adequate academic standing. The severity of the illness can be seen in Dr.Borin¿¿s assessment in the ¿¿Verification of Personal Health Condition.¿ The consequence of this circumstance was the rash and poor decision of majoring in Chemistry, as it was one of the only areas that I had previously studied that allowed acceptance with the existing low standing GPA. This rash and misguided decision on my behalf has led to an increase in the severity of this condition. I had attempted to work my way through this semester of courses, but the intensity of the overall situation grew to beyond my own control. This led to an unexpected extreme incident which has created a large mental obstacle I must face within my day to day studies. I do not believe that finishing these courses will lead to an accurate representation of my academic ability on my transcript as the circumstance affecting the study of these subjects has caused impairment in judgement, general level of motivation and overall mental awareness.
I am appealing to yourself and the faculty now, as there is a plan in place to better my academic performance and mental health at Queen¿¿s University. In addressing the physical and mental trauma that have occurred there are currently several appointments laid out in advance for immediate physical evaluation and plan for future care here at Queen¿¿s. It is through these appointments that strides have already been made in diagnoses and forms of treatment and aid. There are also several appointments being made with both counselling services at Queen¿¿s University and through a family healthcare professional. In terms of moving towards a better academic environment for myself, I have spoken with academic advising and I am working hand-in-hand with advising services in order to change my line of study based on courses that fit my needs and desired plan. The immediate goal in this plan however, is the need to first take a step away from my studies in order to recover as much as possible and in the best way possible so I may fully commit myself to my studies, and this starts with acknowledging the flaws that have occurred through this illness, both past and present. I believe that in order to set in motion this plan of recovery and success I need to begin by removing a large source of anxiety and stress in order to fully commit myself to bettering my mental state. It is in this sense that I am appealing to drop CHEM 211, 212 and 213 (Fall 2018) and for credit standing in both BIOL 103 and MATH 121B (Winter 2018).

I greatly appreciate you taking the time to assess my appeal.
Thank you,

Arianne Petch Gotuzzo (20047755)