Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am writing this letter in hopes to appeal ANAT 315. This course is mandatory in order to get my Physical Health and Education degree at Queen's and is usually taken in second year by PHE students. I was enrolled in the course last year but unfortunately I was unsuccessful in passing. My initial thought was to switch programs since I needed not only ANAT 315 to get my degree, but another anatomy course as well. Just thinking about redoing this course during the summer would cause me to shake and cry uncontrollably and quite frankly, while writing this at the moment I can feel my stress levels increasing. The overwhelming anxious thoughts that surround this course began in the summer and continue to this day. I have taken a several steps to discuss my circumstances with Student Wellness as well as my Undergraduate Chair, Michelle Gallant, who has been extremely helpful and supportive during this challenging and traumatic time and completely supports this appeal.

After summer ended, I decided I would give the course another chance during this fall semester, out of pride and determination, but I am now realizing that this course continues to be a challenge to me in more ways than academic. Since this was my second time taking the course, I wanted to do everything I possibly could in order to be successful this time around. Attending extra help sessions, studying weeks in advanced for tests, working with learning strategies, attending extra lab hours and even working with a tutor. Throughout the progression of this course, not only could I slowly feel my anxiety flaring up more and more often but those closest to me could also recognize a change. It got to a point where I was losing hours of sleep because I was so anxious and when I did manage to get to sleep, I found myself waking up countless times a night in a panic and out of breath because of the stress this class was giving me. I found my mental health slowly deteriorating as well. I would find myself crying randomly when I thought of the course. Not to mention that even with all of the proactive steps I was taking, I was still failing tests. When attending lectures and sitting in class I would often fight back tears or have to physically leave the room because I could feel a panic attack coming on. A feeling of being completely overwhelmed would come over me as soon as I stepped into the lecture hall where classes were held. My hands would begin to sweat profusely, I could feel my heart rate increasing and the terrible thoughts rushing through my head were loud and clear. I would find myself missing other classes due to the fact that I could not bring myself to get out of bed, almost as if I was frozen and unable to move. My anxiety had completely taken over my life.

It has gotten to a point where I am realizing that my mental health is more important than a passing mark in this course. I have been in contact with Student Wellness and they have supported my decision to appeal the class because after our initial meeting, they were able to see how this course was giving me extreme anxiety and worry. I have follow up appointments with Student Wellness in hopes to manage my anxiety and encourage a better head space and safer thinking pattern. They should be submitting the supporting documents shortly. I have also visited Career Services and discussed some possible degree options that would not require these anatomy courses and I plan to switch into a program that fits me better. I really did take every step to succeed in this course but seeing the effects it's having on my mental health, I have realized that it is not worth it. I truly hope that you are able to understand that despite my efforts and determination to succeed in this course it has negatively effected my mental health to a point that I can no longer bear.

Thank you,

Maggie Morton