Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,
I am appealing to drop late CHEM 281 (Fall, 2017/Summer, 2018), and CHEM 222 (Winter, 2018), In addition, I am appealing to receive credit standing in BIOL 201 (Fall, 2017), BIOL 205 (Fall, 2017), BIOL 243 (Fall, 2017), BIOL 206 (Winter, 2018), BIOL 339 (Fall, 2018), BIOL 341 (Winter, 2019), and BIOL 202 (Winter, 2019). If this is not possible, at minimum I am appealing to waive the required withdrawal from the Faculty of Arts and Science for a year.
My poor performance academically over my three years of study in the Faculty of Arts and Science can be linked to a serious medical issue that began in December 2016 of my first year of study. This issue appeared with no signs or prior symptoms and currently no cause has been found. This medical issue causes me to have random seizures that vary in severity, leave me debilitated for a few hours to few days in some cases. As a result, it has negatively impacted my ability to study, finish work on time, and attend lectures (thus missing out on vital information). I did not seek to appeal these courses earlier as seizures rarely occurred, and I was optimistic that I could work my way through it by myself and overcome this obstacle. Unfortunately, this has not been the case as the number of incidences has increased, along with the dosage of the drug I have to take to combat them, which I believe had a negative effect on my mindset as well. As stated above, I wish to appeal majority of the courses from my second year of study (2017-2018). This is when the issue was at its most severe, so much that in the winter term I missed out on many lectures, simply not having the energy or drive to do so, leading to the low and failing grades. In the case of higher marks, some of these were online, or did not have many lectures, giving more time at home to study and catch up if necessary. As of now, I am still dealing with this medical issue, but further increases in my drug dosage have led to fewer incidents and negative impacts physically and mentally.
I am currently working with my doctors to find changes in my lifestyle I can make to aid in experiencing fewer seizures, such as better sleeping habits and food choices. Over the summer of 2019, I am having an unrelated surgery as well that may have some positive effects on this issue. Academically, I have been informed of the different resources Queen's University offers to aid students in situations such as mine. I plan to make my medical issue known to QSAS so they can aid me in further years of study. As well, I recently found out about the Learning Strategies course offered by SASS at Stauffer Library and I believe this will be a great tool to improve my academic ability and results as well. Finally, I will continue with a lighter course load as I did in my third year of study, in addition to repeating courses such as BIOL 334 and PHGY214, that I believe I could have done well in, if not for my medical issue. Thank you for understanding and consideration in this matter.
Attached are some of the medical records from my doctors.
Sincerely,
Franklin Turkson (ST 20014943)