Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Academic),

I am appealing to drop BCHM 310A/B (Fall/Winter, 2021/2022). I am writing to both request this course drop as well as provide reasoning for the circumstances that have led me to this appeal.

Towards the end of fall semester, around November and the start of December, I began to struggle with my mental health. As someone who has never struggled with their mental health, this was sudden and unplanned. I began to get overwhelmed with the uncertainty of how to properly navigate this scenario which then negatively affected my academic performance in two fall term courses. I struggled with completion of assignments and overdue assignments began to accumulate, all the while my mental health continued to deteriorate. Due to the unforeseen characteristic of this personal event, especially so close to the end of the semester, I struggled to rectify the situation completely, as the week 8 drop date had passed. I reached out to a professional for help as well as my professors, and was able to catch up on assessments in one course, ensuring completion. However, BCHM 310, due to its full year nature, required for catch up on larger assessments that I had fallen behind in. I believed that my circumstances were being controlled and was confident that I would be able to catch up in this full year course in the following semester, therefore did not take action to drop it at the time.

The beginning of the winter semester proved to be more challenging than I expected, as I started 4 new courses in addition to continuing BCHM 310. At this point I was aiming to catch up in the full year course as well as learn the new material that was being introduced, both from the second semester component of BCHM 310 and the new courses I had begun. Even at this point I believed I would be able to successfully navigate this situation, as my mental health had seemingly gotten better without the ongoing help of a professional. Towards the middle of winter semester, around the beginning of March, I struggled with my physical health which caused me to fall behind on another course in addition to BCHM 310. This caused my mental health to worsen considerably from then until now and I found myself in a position more distressing than that in the fall semester. This was not conducive to my aim in rectifying my performance in BCHM 310 and after consultation with another professional, it was clear that I needed to search for greater and more consistent help than I had previously gotten as well as what I was currently receiving. In addition, upon discussion with my professor, it was apparent that my grades had suffered considerably as my mental health worsened. It was not possible so close towards the end of the course for me to do as well as I had hoped. Though I was able to acquire academic accommodation, it would have proved much more helpful had I contacted and acquired consistent support earlier in the academic year. Unfortunately, due to the unforeseen nature of my personal condition as well as the sudden severity of it, I struggled with both my performance in BCHM 310 and in obtaining support in a timely manner, thus why I am appealing to drop the course.

I believe that my recent acquisition of academic accommodation will be a great tool for myself to achieve academic success from this moment moving forward. I hope to retake this course the following year, now with the necessary tools available to me, and demonstrate my abilities better than I was able to this academic year. In addition, as this issue is one that is ongoing, I plan to meet regularly with a mental health professional such as a counsellor or a therapist. This will ensure that I have the necessary support on a consistent basis, which will allow for success in my coming year.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for considering my request.

Sincerely,

Ansu Karki