Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am writing to request a reevaluation of my academic suspension from Queens University for 1 year and reinstate me for the fall of 2022.

I would like to explain the reasoning and circumstances that led to my poor academic performance. I have been continuously struggling with depression and anxiety since 2019 and have been on different types of anti-depressants ever since. The onset of COVID-19 worsened my mental health as I was scared of the uncertainties of the pandemic as well as my future. I struggled with learning online as I am a hands-on learner that learns better in person, in a classroom setting, and with other students. Poor academic performance was never of my character as I was an honour roll student all throughout high school. Going into my second year, I moved down to Kingston for the first time and struggled with readjusting to a new location by myself that is 10 hours away from my home while still battling with depression which worsened more this year. I was embarrassed and ashamed to seek out help while away at school.

I have spoken with my family doctor and am now on new medication and I am seeing a psychiatrist as well as a psychotherapist to strengthen my mental health and to bring me on a journey of success in my studies at Queens University.

In terms of my academic plan, I would like to declare a Major in English in which I am taking ENGL 100 this summer in hopes to take the required 200 courses in this upcoming school year as a full-time student and then declare my major in 2023. To prevent my past academic struggles from happening again this upcoming year, I have identified skills I am going to build and created strategies for success. Skills I need to build moving forward is time-management, organization, seeking academic assistance, getting involved in campus life by visiting the Student Academic Success Service and participating in the workshops provided, and joining study groups. To improve my time management, I will create a daily schedule for myself which will state what assignments I will work on, how long I will work on them and my goal time to have it finished; by means of breaking the projects down into manageable chunks. Also, I will remove all distractions and time myself to study for 1 hour and then take a 10-minute break in between to prepare myself for quizzes, tests, and exams. For organization, I will take note of all required textbooks and purchase them right away, I will document quizzes, tests, exams and assignment due dates right at the beginning of the semester and post them on a bulletin board in my room. Moreover, I am going to make appointments with SASS to work on my writing skills and attend writing group events to communicate with other students. Furthermore, I will have therapy sessions with my therapist online while away at school as well as I will reach out to a counsellor at the Student Wellness Center and/or a Chaplain in the Office of Faith and Spiritual Life.

I hope that I will be able to return to Queens University in the fall of 2022 and I look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you for reading my letter and for considering this appeal.

Sincerely,


Kelsey Carter