Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

My name is Serena James, and I am appealing to receive a Credit Standing in MUSC 104 with Graham Freeman, ANAT 100 with Dr. Leslie Mackenzie, and an Aegrotat Grade in PHGY 170 with Dr. Cynthia Pruss. (Fall, 2021). The reason I am appealing these grades is because of a few extenuating circumstances out of my control that occurred during the time frame of mid-late October to the end of the fall term. These circumstances range from mental health problems to financial concerns/work that caused me to receive a substantially lower grade than I would have without the same circumstances.

The extenuating circumstances that I was dealing with at the time (mid-late October), and in all courses listed (MUSC 104, ANAT 100 AND PHGY 170) till now are moderate-severe mental health problems. At the time, I did not feel like life was meaningful, and I was more or less just existing day-to-day. I would also stay up for hours at night because I was unable to sleep, but also too exhausted to do any work. I found that I was dealing with too many different things that caused me consistent stress, as well as having mental health concerns. I had to juggle work, as I had to take as many hours as possible to make up for paying utilities, food, etc. because I was not being supported by my parents at the time. Then I had school work, which caused me to have every week full of work, and no time for anything else. I had a difficult time completing coursework because I felt exhausted, no matter how much I slept, I could not focus for more than minutes at a time on any task, and I found that I was not eating too often. At the time I did not have a mental health professional help me, however I did seek help through TAs and friends with the coursework during a couple of instances. I have attached the emails/images as proof. At the end of each of these courses I received a D in both MUSC 104 and ANAT 100, and a F in PHGY 170. As stated in my introduction, the outcome from this appeal that I am looking for is a Credit Standing in MUSC 104/ANAT 100, and an Aegrotat Grade in PHGY 170.

The reason I am appealing to ANAT 100, PHGY 170 and MUSC 104, but not the others was more so because of how the course was structured. I do understand that it was my responsibility to drop the course before the deadline, however I did not because I spent years in music/music theory and took Biology throughout high school. The difference in my other courses, DRAM 211 and HLTH 200, which were relatively new subjects to me, was that there were large windows to hand in projects, and the initial deadlines were not always concrete. I honestly just could not focus enough to hand in anything on time or study for tests. Reading modules and writing notes took an extreme amount of effort to complete. I find this frustrating as this deviates from what I am normally able to achieve, as the previous year I was able to spend hours on studying, notes and projects.

During this past term, I have sought out mental health counselling outside campus. I have been researching different types of mental health support to find a professional that fits best with me. I have found a clinic in Kingston where I had a session with a psychotherapist on January 20th, 2022. During the session we figured out some events that have been troubling me, and figuring out why that has had such an effect on my productivity in regards to school. I am planning on finding a different mental health counsellor, as I require one that is covered by insurance to attend enough sessions. I am in the process of finding another counsellor, as by September of this year I will have one person to help me work through anything impeding my ability to succeed, as well as help me through the steps of a diagnosis if they believe that I require one. This past term I have also dropped a course, LAW 203 as a preemptive measure as I quickly realized that I would be unable to study enough to receive a mark that indicates what I am able to achieve.

Sincerely,
Serena James