Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whomever it may concern,

My name is Cassidy McMackon, and I am a third year philosophy student at Queen's University. Last year, I was nominated by the Queen's International Programs Office to participate in a bilateral exchange to the University of Manchester for the Winter 2019 semester. I initially accepted my offer to continue my studies at the University of Manchester and did not enroll in any courses at Queen's for the Winter 2019 semester. Unfortunately, I have been experiencing a significant amount of anxiety since the beginning of 2018, which has had minor detrimental effects on my academic performances in the time that I have been experiencing this anxiety.

I arrived in Manchester on January 17th, and upon my arrival I began to experience severe anxiety that resulted in my inability to sleep or eat for eight days I spent in the city, which I felt would ultimately present significant hindrances on my academic performances over the course of the semester, as well as presenting significant hindrances to my own physical and mental wellbeing. I withdrew from my exchange program and returned to Canada on January 25th to preserve my own wellbeing, as well as to pursue counselling to better assist me in managing my anxiety. I would like to note that I departed from Manchester prior to the beginning of my courses, and therefore did not attend any of the courses I was enrolled in for the semester.

Upon my return to Canada, I have felt a substantial sense of relief in the severity of my anxiety. I am still pursuing counselling to help manage my anxiety, and in the meantime, I would like to enroll in a few courses on Queen¿¿s campus this term to prevent falling behind in my studies. I would like to note that I am only appealing to be enrolled in two courses for the semester to ensure that I will be able to dedicate a sufficient amount of time to catching up in each course this late in the semester.

Best regards,

Cassidy McMackon