Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Studies),

I am appealing to have both HLTH 101 and BIOL 102 appear as dropped courses rather than failures on my student transcript.

In late October of 2014, I began to experience extremely low energy levels and overwhelming bouts of sadness. While I have a history of depression, these were significantly more severe than anything I had previously dealt with. I had little to no motivation to do anything, and felt lonely and hopeless during this time. I possessed no appetite and would sleep in excess of 14 hours a day when things were at their worst. Occasionally, I did have thoughts of committing suicide. My hope at the time was that I would be able to overcome these challenges moving forward. Unfortunately, this did not prove to be the case. As the semester progressed, my ability to cope with the academic demands of my courses continued to worsen. By mid-November, it was obvious that I was in no mental position to continue my studies at Queen's. In collaboration with my psychiatrist, Dr. Marilyn Thorpe, it was decided that the wisest course of action would be to withdraw completely.

My results in both BIOL 102 and HLTH 101 were reasonable to exceptional over the course of the first two months of the semester. I received an A- on the BIOL 102 mid-term, and an A on the first essay submitted for HLTH 101. Unfortunately, being profoundly depressed made it impossible to continue producing results like these. When you have no motivation to do anything, and you're seriously contemplating committing suicide, it's exceptionally challenging to write a coherent paper or lab report. Specifically, the 2nd essay for HLTH 101 and the final lab report for BIOL 102 were not submitted as a direct result of the impact my depression had on my academic abilities. Additionally, the final exam was never attempted for either course. Overall, the wide array of debilitating symptoms mentioned earlier made it too challenging to maintain my academic responsibilities. Dr. Thorpe, who I was in consistent contact with throughout this entire process, largely concurs with this assessment in her letter that will follow.

I used my time away from school to thoroughly re-evaluate both my mental health, and my academic plan for the future. Moving forward, I will continue to receive on-going psychiatric care in order to monitor the status of my depression. In the interest of honesty, I must disclose that I have returned home to London, Ontario, and that I am currently enrolled as a part-time student at Western University. The courses I am enrolled in are significantly different than those I explored while at Queen¿¿s. Additionally, the course load is reduced and far more manageable. Perhaps most importantly, having a support system of friends and family in London has significantly improved my ability to cope with my depression. While I am thankful that Western decided to give me an opportunity despite the current status of my transcript, I would greatly appreciate it if my transcript could reflect the extenuating circumstances that occurred. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Dylan MacMillan