Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: March 27th, 2015
To whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter to appeal to waive the 21-day deadline that if granted will lead to a subsequent appeal for ¿credit standing¿¿ in two courses I took during my first year of study. The reason that I did not appeal for credit standing back in first year is due to a mental health issue. I went through a period of severe depression during my first year. This was not only played a role in my not requesting credit standing back then, but was also the reason for my poor performance in the two courses I wish to be given credit standing in.
The deepest my depression got was in second term of first year, which is also when I received the two grades I wish to appeal. I was in no mental state to be seeking out remedies to grades I thought were unreflective of my abilities, nor was I thinking about the future implications of my poor performance in two first year courses. My main goal then was simply to finish my first year to the best of my abilities and focus on getting better. I was simply not thinking about how these two grades might affect my overall GPA moving forward, and subsequently the impact they would have on my graduation.
As is evident in not only the other courses I took in first year, but also my overall academic achievement, the two grades I received during that time were very uncharacteristic of my overall abilities and now have the potential to hold me back from graduating with distinction in June. While one may question why I was able to do so well in my other courses and not the ones I am asking to be given credit standing, the answer is quite straightforward. Both courses share a similar feature; they are very outside of my field of study and or concentrations. The first is German 101, the second Philosophy 158 (Intro to logic). Both are essentially language classes, German is obviously more explicitly so, but logic requires learning Boolean language and truth tabling. They both require immense practice and study, and this was simply not something I could do given my depression. I would spend most of my days sleeping, and what little working time I was able to muster I was focusing on keeping my head above water in terms of assignments. The other courses I was in were things that either came naturally to me (Politics), or were subjects that I had a high degree of familiarity with thanks to my high school education (Economics and Canadian History). The level of dedication required for the courses I wish to be given credit standing was something I was unfortunately not able to give due to my mental illness, and now they have the potential to keep me from getting the academic credit I think I deserve given my perseverance and resilience in not only overcoming depression, but also achieving good grades over the course of my four years at Queen¿¿s. I was simply unaware that these courses would weigh down my GPA to such a degree, and now I am hoping that you give me the opportunity to appeal for credit standing so that I may fulfill a dream of graduating with distinction. In the supporting documentation I will include my transcripts along with medical documentation when it becomes available to me. I have been in contact with LaSalle about releasing documentation required for this process and that application is currently working its way through their system. If you require any further documentation or information please don¿¿t hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Stefan Pagura

Stefan.pagura@queensu.ca
10006438