Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing to drop the courses ECON 110 and ENGL 100. As a result of previously diagnosed mental illnesses, which are detailed within VENTUS, I have been unable to maintain an acceptable academic performance. The impacts of my mental illness combined with personal issues and a loss of professional aides has caused significant repercussions. My mental illnesses can cause a loss of day to day functionality which impedes my ability to attend classes, complete assigned work and study. Consequently, I have fallen behind on much of the content and many assignments within my classes. While this does not always occur, flare ups within my illnesses can cause these problems. These problems are also further exacerbated when I reach a certain point of being overwhelmed. Dropping these two courses is the most logical course of action for this situation in my opinion. It would allow me to get back on track and focus on the courses which are prerequisites of prospective choices for my degree plan. More importantly, it would be the best option for my journey into recovery and my academic success. Becoming a part time student would allow me to focus on my recovery more while stimulating my mind and granting me credits which will further my academic career. I realize that is quite late to be requesting to drop courses. I did anticipate that this might occur and as a result tried to set up supports within the school upon arrival, but I found it incredibly difficult to do so. I was immediately informed that accessing a psychiatrist would be very difficult and attempted to do so with no success. What I did not anticipate however, was the loss of my professional aides outside of the school. I also overestimated the extent of the recovery I had made over my gap year and underestimated its fragility. Despite this I would deeply appreciate the opportunity to adjust my course load to suit my current predicament. My mental illness is chronic and I do not believe that taking a full course load for the remainder of the year would be conducive to either my mental state or academic success. I do hope to be able to ease myself into a full course load over the next few years however, the current circumstances call for an adjustment in my approach. I hope that my request can be granted. Thank you for your time.