Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean (Academic),
I am petitioning to waive the deadline to petition to late drop courses for the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semester. I would have had to petition to late drop the courses by the Fall 2021 and winter 2022 semesters, however, I was significantly struggling with my mental health and wellness that school year. These struggles made it deeply difficult to complete and pass my courses those semesters, but also prevented me from going forward with completing and submitting a petition at that time.
During the fall of 2021 I began struggling significantly with substance abuse and suicidality. At this point I had been off my prescribed medication for about 5 months and was not actively receiving any care or support as my psychiatrist had discharged me earlier in the summer. Throughout the semester, I was struggling with basic everyday functioning and was not able to complete my courses to the best of my abilities, let alone begin the process of submitting a petition. I had yet to receive any consistent care regarding my mental health issues and found myself spiraling downward.Toward the end of the semester I made my way over to student wellness, scared I may hurt myself. Here I was provided with resources such as a regular counselor to meet with weekly, a referral to a Psychiatrist, and a Letter of Accommodation to help me get accommodations and/or extensions for the semester to help my grades. I was able to begin my path to healing, but only toward the end of the semester. With everything else I had on my plate such as completing late and missing work as well as working on treatment, I could not give the time to submit a petition.
After the winter break I continued with my courses in Winter 2022 hoping I would be able to quickly bounce back, however, I was still struggling significantly and unable to cope or keep up with school. With the help of my counselor and my partner, I decided to drop my courses late in the semester in order to take time to focus on working on coping skills and healing myself. I decide it's best for me to take time off and come back better, rather than fail yet another semester worth of courses. It is here that I began seriously thinking and talking about my substance use with my therapist and doctors (who I now truly feel comfortable with and that I can trust) and began practicing harm reduction in order to reduce my use. Once again, I was consumed with my treatment and how to proceed with my academic career and therefore was not yet ready or able to begin the petitions process. I have set myself up with all the resources I need to begin taking this step for myself and my schooling.
I am deeply appreciative of you taking out the time to consider my circumstances and requests.
Thank you,
Haneen Saleem