Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 5217
Submitted: December 18, 2018 at 12:56:57 PM
First Name: Iain
Last Name: Sherriff-Scott
Student Number: 10194681
Email: 15ifss@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: HIST
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: HIST400
Term: Fall
Year: 2018
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: HIST405
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2018
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I'm writing today to inform you of my appeal to drop two classes after the deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Regrettably, I'm appealing to drop HIST400 (Topics in History) and HIST405 (U.S. Public policy and Society). The former is a half-year Fall term seminar and the latter, a full-year seminar.
The circumstances which have led to this appeal involve my struggle with depression over the last six months. Throughout the Fall semester, my condition made it extremely difficult for me to fulfil obligations to my academics, and unfortunately, have the potential to damage my overall academic standing. Despite my challenges this year, I believe I am a good student and have contributed positively to the Queen's community during my time here. Because of this, I am actively seeking to remedy my situation in hopes of making my final semester at Queen's a positive one.
Since my second year at Queen's, I've worked as a reporter for The Queen's Journal. After working diligently for two years, I secured a senior editorial role for the 2018-2019 academic year. Though I enjoyed the work hugely, the role came with immense responsibility and commitment. As a result, I opted to enroll in three 400-level seminars each semester this year, putting me on track to graduate with my full B.A.H at the end of the year. However, as the semester got underway, the difficulties I faced with my mental health became more severe and I began struggling to cope with my responsibilities, both academic and extracurricular. At the end of October, I dropped one of my three seminars, believing I couldn't adequately perform in the class. I remained in the other two courses because, at the time, I believed I could turn them around and improve my condition. However, at this time, I began experiencing severe anxiety and panic attacks, which greatly impacted my ability to attend seminars. Shortly after, I chose to take a step back from my work at the newspaper and began counselling with Student Wellness Services in an attempt to improve my condition.
Despite persistent efforts to improve my condition during the month of November, I was not able to do so, and, with immense sadness, decided to resign my position at The Journal effective Nov. 30. I cannot emphasize enough how much I loved working at the newspaper and how devastating it was to leave it behind. I'm extremely proud of the work I did there, and truly believe I impacted our community for the better. I resigned, however, in the hopes of being able to heal and put myself back on track to graduate. I chose this course of action because, above all, I am committed to fulfilling my academic responsibilities and completing my degree.
This semester, I sparsely attended seminars as a result of my condition, and for the first time in my academic career, failed to submit assignments. This saddens me because I achieved good marks in both prerequisites for HIST400 and HIST405 and admire the professors a great deal. I am appealing to drop these courses because I wouldn't feel honest attempting to remedy them by requesting to submit assignments late. I haven't had the ability to engage with the course material in a meaningful way, and as a result, wouldn't feel confident attempting to finish these courses. Alternatively, I plan to enroll in new courses next semester and re-focus my efforts on completing my B.A. this year, without the Honours component. After this, I hope to return for the 2019-2020 school year to complete my the Honours component of my degree.
Over the course of the last month, I have taken several important, but difficult, steps in the interest of my future academic success, including stepping away from my extra-curricular responsibilities and attending regular counselling. As the Winter semester gets underway, I plan to attend counselling on a weekly basis to address my mental health challenges. By doing so, I hope to complete three courses during the Winter semester and graduate in the Spring. I believe being able to drop these two seminars is an important part of re-orienting my efforts towards graduation, and I hope I have made the case for why that is true.
Additionally, if documentation is required, I can provide it once I'm able to reach my counsellor.
Sincerely,
Iain Sherriff-Scott
I'm writing today to inform you of my appeal to drop two classes after the deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Regrettably, I'm appealing to drop HIST400 (Topics in History) and HIST405 (U.S. Public policy and Society). The former is a half-year Fall term seminar and the latter, a full-year seminar.
The circumstances which have led to this appeal involve my struggle with depression over the last six months. Throughout the Fall semester, my condition made it extremely difficult for me to fulfil obligations to my academics, and unfortunately, have the potential to damage my overall academic standing. Despite my challenges this year, I believe I am a good student and have contributed positively to the Queen's community during my time here. Because of this, I am actively seeking to remedy my situation in hopes of making my final semester at Queen's a positive one.
Since my second year at Queen's, I've worked as a reporter for The Queen's Journal. After working diligently for two years, I secured a senior editorial role for the 2018-2019 academic year. Though I enjoyed the work hugely, the role came with immense responsibility and commitment. As a result, I opted to enroll in three 400-level seminars each semester this year, putting me on track to graduate with my full B.A.H at the end of the year. However, as the semester got underway, the difficulties I faced with my mental health became more severe and I began struggling to cope with my responsibilities, both academic and extracurricular. At the end of October, I dropped one of my three seminars, believing I couldn't adequately perform in the class. I remained in the other two courses because, at the time, I believed I could turn them around and improve my condition. However, at this time, I began experiencing severe anxiety and panic attacks, which greatly impacted my ability to attend seminars. Shortly after, I chose to take a step back from my work at the newspaper and began counselling with Student Wellness Services in an attempt to improve my condition.
Despite persistent efforts to improve my condition during the month of November, I was not able to do so, and, with immense sadness, decided to resign my position at The Journal effective Nov. 30. I cannot emphasize enough how much I loved working at the newspaper and how devastating it was to leave it behind. I'm extremely proud of the work I did there, and truly believe I impacted our community for the better. I resigned, however, in the hopes of being able to heal and put myself back on track to graduate. I chose this course of action because, above all, I am committed to fulfilling my academic responsibilities and completing my degree.
This semester, I sparsely attended seminars as a result of my condition, and for the first time in my academic career, failed to submit assignments. This saddens me because I achieved good marks in both prerequisites for HIST400 and HIST405 and admire the professors a great deal. I am appealing to drop these courses because I wouldn't feel honest attempting to remedy them by requesting to submit assignments late. I haven't had the ability to engage with the course material in a meaningful way, and as a result, wouldn't feel confident attempting to finish these courses. Alternatively, I plan to enroll in new courses next semester and re-focus my efforts on completing my B.A. this year, without the Honours component. After this, I hope to return for the 2019-2020 school year to complete my the Honours component of my degree.
Over the course of the last month, I have taken several important, but difficult, steps in the interest of my future academic success, including stepping away from my extra-curricular responsibilities and attending regular counselling. As the Winter semester gets underway, I plan to attend counselling on a weekly basis to address my mental health challenges. By doing so, I hope to complete three courses during the Winter semester and graduate in the Spring. I believe being able to drop these two seminars is an important part of re-orienting my efforts towards graduation, and I hope I have made the case for why that is true.
Additionally, if documentation is required, I can provide it once I'm able to reach my counsellor.
Sincerely,
Iain Sherriff-Scott
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: NO DOC