Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to request an appeal for Credit (CR) standing in the following courses that I completed in the Winter 2019 term: CHEM112, MATH121, and PHYS117. I received grades of C-, C, and C, respectively, and I do not think these are indicative of my abilities as a student. Although it is well past the deadline to appeal for these courses, the circumstances I encountered have been ongoing and have just recently cleared up. I also just found out about this process and I have been preoccupied dealing with those circumstances. After receiving my marks for this year, it became apparent to me how much my performance was affected last year due to the challenges I faced.

In the 2018/2019 school year, my ability to participate in my courses was significantly impacted by my mental health. Transitioning from high school to university was a bigger challenge than anticipated and my mental health declined rapidly. Being far from home with no support system, I did not utilize the resources available to me on campus and my performance suffered for it. I managed to do alright in courses that come more naturally to me, such as biology and psychology, but the three mentioned suffered significantly due to my mental health. In the summer term, things got worse and I ended up dropping the course I was taking and sought out professional help. The medication I started taking did not improve things as much as I had hoped it would, and when I returned to school in the fall my situation began to deteriorate quickly. This time I handled things differently and got the help I needed. I partook in the ITTP program that runs at KGH and attended regular appointments with an occupational therapist at Student Wellness Services (SWS). While in the ITTP program I received short term accommodations through SWS, and I now have a much better understanding of the mental health and accommodation resources available to me at Queen¿¿s, and in Kingston. I regret not taking these steps earlier and I recognize that this was my mistake, but I fear these marks will impact my overall GPA in a way that will impair my eligibility for competitive post-graduate programs. The drastic improvement I have shown from first to the second year indicates how much my abilities were impaired last year, especially since I faced a heavier, faster-paced course load this year. In terms of documentation, I have included an unofficial transcript, which shows the improvement in performance that I attribute to an improvement in my mental health. I have also included the accommodations I have received from Queen's to date and a note from my social worker at KGH. I can also obtain more documentation from my counsellors if requested.

As my mental health has gotten better, my performance in school has improved drastically. I have continued to work on my health and have since been able to succeed in my program. I don¿¿t believe the marks I received last year truly reflect my abilities as a student, and they will harm my future. For the coming fall term, I plan on meeting with QSAS to set up some more permanent accommodations so that going forward I can be proactive with these issues. I will also continue to practice the things I have learned in therapy and from my doctors as mental health is an ongoing struggle. As long as I maintain healthy habits I can thrive in my classes and this is what I plan on doing for the rest of my university career. I am much more well versed in the resources available to me and I am comfortable using them if at any point I start to face similar struggles. I have a better support system than I did as well, so I do not anticipate my marks suffering in the way they did last year for similar issues. I hope you can agree that the marks I got last year do not reflect my capabilities as a student and were severely impaired by the extenuating circumstances outlined. This appeal gives me the chance to rectify the mistakes I made last year and excel, as I now know I can, as a member of this university.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Mia Wilkinson