Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To: Associate Academic Dean

I am appealing to drop PHIL 273, ARTH234, and HIST254 and receive credit standing for HIST 246 and PHIL 316

Due to unforeseen extenuating circumstances, my academic performance has been greatly affected this year. For this reason, I am appealing to the Associate Academic Dean to lessen the impact of this underperformance on my overall record. I have been dealing with an intense mental health illness this year that has affected my academic ability. This has affected how I study, communicate, and live in general. I started facing such mental challenges in November of last year (2020). I felt stretched beyond my means and as a result I lacked the ability to handle multiple classes at a time. I faced difficulties in attending classes and communicating with teachers. This also impacted my ability to coordinate with fellow students in and outside of class. These are important tools that have enabled me to maintain a good academic standing over my first two years. In the first semester, I was still able to perform relatively well in my classes, but I could only do this for a few of them. This explains my performance in PHIL 273. Mental illness is a new situation to me and I was thus unaware of the extent of my issue and how to deal with it. I did not consult Student Wellness Services or seek any form of help until March of this year (2021) because until then I was not convinced that I actually had a problem. By the time I did seek help, my situation had become much worse. I could not attend a single class, complete any assignment, or follow through on any of the accommodation plans I had tried to arrange. No one was aware of my problem and so I was struggling to get by on my own. I failed to leave my bed, speak to people, or maintain a schedule on most days. My general trajectory consisted of my attempting to ignore my problems and tackle my studies (first semester November, second semester January-March) and ultimately being overwhelmed and failing to keep up with all of them, and in certain cases (second semester) any of them. Most of my arts classes involved few chances for grade boosts and so I was also thwarted by my inability to complete an important assignment or two. There were only two assignments, each 50 percent, for PHIL 273. Therefore, my circumstances only allowed me to get to one of them and in this I could not perform at my best. ARTH234 had a similar setup. 2 assignments and participation grades, I only managed to achieve one of them and this consequently determined my grade. Other classes such as HIST 400-002, HIST 246, PHIL 316 and most of my first semester classes had several grade opportunities so I was able to perform well enough while I was still okay. Eventually, I began to take significant steps towards dealing with my situation. I got in touch with Student Wellness services in March, I registered with Empower Me, and even contacted one of my professors about getting an incomplete grade so I could finish the course later on. However, my situation was so serious that I was not able to recognize it in time, communicate it to others, or act on it in an effective manner. Therefore, most of my attempts did not do much to prevent the academic outcome. Since the end of the semester, I have improved greatly in tackling my mental issues and I anticipate that I will be in a position to resume my studies this fall. Even as I am still working on my health, I believe that I am making enough progress to be able to return to a good academic standing in the future. I hope for a favorable decision to enable me to make such a challenge more effectively.

Sincerely,

Erick Malimi

20130145.