Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am asking to drop ASTR 101. Beginning in midst December I entered a severe depressive episode which resulted in the failure of my exam in ASTR 101. Ultimately, this resulted in failing the ATR 101 course. I had been struggling for most of the term fall term but was functional until the middle of December when my psychiatrist changed my medication. This triggered a severe episode, and I was not able to get out of bed and function let alone study. Because of COVID, I decided to defer the exams until after the break and was hoping I would be better in January. Unfortunately, there was a second change in meds in January that made things worse. I attempted to write both exams without having studied at all. I don??t even remember what was on the exam or what I was able to answer or did not answer. As well, when I am in the midst of an episode, I??m unable to make decisions that I would normally make. I should have contacted Monique, my accessibility advisor immediately following the exam but hadn??t even considered that I would be able to appeal my exam marks until now. I did contact her regarding the need to drop down to one course this term while they sort out my medication.

My course work leading up to the ASTR 101 exam was complete and all of my marks were in the 90??s. The exam was only worth 35% of the final mark but a failing grade on the exam meant failing the course. In PSYC 305 I had a take-home written exam that I was able to complete over a two-week period and I thankfully had completed it prior to the onset of my episode. In PSYC 337 I decided to complete the exam in the original time slot while I was feeling slightly better. Prior to the exam I had a mark in the high 70s-low 80s so I knew that receiving a lower mark on the exam wouldn??t have a major impact on my grade.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my circumstances and I hope to hear from you soon.