Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Associate Deans:

I am appealing to drop RELS 266 and COMM 200 (Fall, 2018) from my transcript.

On September 23, 2018, I suffered a very bad fall. I went to the Kingston General Hospital soon after and was diagnosed with a concussion and told to rest and minimize my time that required focusing on anything, especially anytime on a computer. The brain injury I have sustained has significantly impacted my overall mental health and work ethic. I have maintained regular visits with my family doctor, personal counsellor and Occupational Therapist, all who are monitoring my wellbeing. My progress has been very slow and limited as it has been very difficult for me to concentrate and focus for long periods of time, especially when I work on a computer. Reading and writing are very difficult as I have to focus and concentrate which tires me out and brings on very bad headaches. For these courses, RELS 266 and COMM 200, I tried to keep up with the weekly assignments as I could spend short pockets of time here and there to complete the assignments. However, when it came time to writing the midterm for RELS 266, I struggled to remember the course information as it was very difficult for me to focus during the concentrated period of time, even though I had extra time allotted to write the midterm. At the same time that this was going on, I developed a very bad headache. Needless to say I did not pass the midterm. The lasting effects of the concussion have prevented me from performing my academic school work at an optimal level during the Fall 2018 Semester. My family doctor has recommended that I take long rests in order to heal properly.

On December 5, 2018, I suffered a further impact to my physical wellbeing. I was in a very bad car accident with my family where we were hit by a drunk driver. I suffered very bad whiplash, bruising and a broken right wrist on my writing hand. I have had to wear a cast for 5 weeks, which has made it very difficult to write or type on a computer, and as such I have not been able to write and complete the outstanding assignments. Once my cast is off I will require physiotherapy in order to strengthen my hand and wrist as it is has been weakened from the break.

I request that RELS 266 be dropped, as the F grade I received for it is not an accurate representation of my academic performance that I have achieved throughout my undergraduate career at Queen's University. Approximately 75 percent of the coursework for RELS 266 is outstanding and I will be unable to complete it with the current courses I am enrolled in for the Winter 2019 Semester. I also request that COMM 200 be dropped as the course was online and I was never able to focus and complete the coursework to the best of my ability as it required a lot of computer usage. As a result, my concussion has impacted my academic performance during the Fall 2018 Semester.

With the rest that I have been taking I have made progress with my concussion even though it has been slow. I am able to focus on coursework for longer periods of time, and headaches due to the concussion have reduced significantly. On January 14, 2019 my cast was removed, and I will be receiving ongoing physiotherapy treatment for my wrist so that I will be able to complete upcoming coursework for the Winter 2019 Semester. I am only enrolled in three courses this winter semester and I intend to seek counseling and follow ups with my doctor and my Occupational Therapist to help get me back on track. I am also working with my doctor to enroll in the Queen's Student Accessibility Services for the Winter 2019 Semester in order to seek any further accommodations I may require.

Sincerely,

Nicole Zablocki
Student Number: 10154680