Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Studies)

I am writing to appeal the course (GNDS 335, Fall 2019) drop deadline due to extenuating circumstances affecting my academic performance and judgement. At the beginning of the semester I was experiencing some issues with my mental health that I did not think were going to interfere with my studies nor develop throughout the year, however; I was wrong. I am fully aware that it is the student's responsibility to assess their progress in a course by week eight of the term and if they have not kept up, the course is to be dropped. However, by this time in the semester I believed I would be able to meet and complete GNDS 335 requirements, despite the circumstances I found myself in. As the weeks continued I found myself having more and more difficulty to keep these circumstances from affecting my academic performance and began to see it reflect in my participation and grades. I also began experiencing some physical effects as well such as extreme changes in appetite, unusual exhaustion, difficulty concentrating on simple tasks (e.g. writing notes in class, completing assignments on time) and frequent migraines. In order to try to fight this I tried going to see a crisis counsellor on campus and an academic advisor to see if there were any other options besides dropping the course. I continued my efforts to try to push myself in completing the course, however; given that I was not in the right mindset to make that decision, I have realized now that it is too late to try to pass this course. After some reflecting, I believed I should have seeked help prior to these circumstances worsening but that is not true, I had no control over the aforementioned set of conditions.
I believe dropping GNDS 335 will help me focus on completing my other course requirements while still being able to achieve decent grades. I will also be able to put more time into taking care of my mental health as I need to still finish the rest of the semester. I have made the decision to drop GNDS 335 specifically because of two reasons: I have fallen far too behind to recover from my current mark, and after having an unpleasant interaction with the professor, I do not feel motivated to finish the course as it has significantly affected my self-confidence in completing the tasks required of me. I am not blaming the professor or the workload, I am just at a point in the semester with my mental health where seeing her express her dissatisfaction made me feel as if I was undeserving of my place in the class and worsened my self-esteem.
To account for the loss of this course, I am planning on taking another course to fulfill my GNDS medial requirement in either next semester or during the summer as I plan to graduate next year. As for taking care of my mental health and avoiding situations like this, I am actively trying to find a counsellor suitable for my needs that will support me for the rest of the year. I am also in contact with my family doctor to try to see if there are any other underlying issues. Furthermore, I will be more aware of the drop deadlines in my upcoming semesters and act sooner rather than later if I see that there is a possibility of not meeting course requirements. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best Regards,
Gabriela Cruz
20013802