Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am requesting that my grade in STATS263 be altered from a D+ to CR.

My Grandfather, the cornerstone of my mother's family, had been struggling with his health for the past couple months; physically he seemed to be okay but mentally he was deteriorating quickly. However, he passed away rather unexpectedly on March 4. I've been battling issues of depression, self-harm and an eating disorder since I was 13, and my Grandfather's passing instigated a downward spiral where I was falling deeper into those things again. As a male it's rather difficult to openly admit these issues and ask for any sort of help, so I tried to keep things together at least until the end of the semester. I ended up losing so much weight that people around me became deeply concerned, and by the time I got to the stats exam I had so little energy that I could barely think, much less finish the exam on time. I am submitting an appeal for STATS263 in particular because my ability to perform in the high-stress exam environment under a strict time limit was severely affected, and due to the heavy weighting it has had a disproportionately negative effect on my grade.

This has been a big wake-up call for me and I've now scheduled an appointment with my family doctor to get a referral to a specialist for my issues, and to start finally taking steps forward instead of backward. I plan to have ongoing meetings with said specialist to ensure that I do not fall back into the same dysfunctional behaviours.

Thank you for your consideration,
Dean Wilkins-Reeves