Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

New Information: Dear Associate Dean (Academic),

I am petitioning to designate CISC271 (Winter, 2022) with a CR standing and receive an extension of an incomplete grade for CISC497 (Winter, 2022), with the one-term deadline of this extension request waived.

From January 2021, I have experienced linked major psychological and accompanying physical health challenges that have significantly interfered with my ability to concentrate on or study my coursework, resulting in an inability to fulfill some of my academic obligations: namely, submitting assignments by their deadlines and attending exams or completing them to the best of my ability. These challenges primarily consist of intrusive thoughts or obsessive-compulsive thought patterns, periods of prolonged anxiety, and occasional depressive episodes. The intrusive thoughts, i.e., strange, disturbing thoughts that repeatedly occur and cause anxiety and often result in repeated actions to ease such anxiety, are the highlight reason for which I have been unable to contribute toward my academic obligations in the way described. Episodes of these thought cycles have occurred since January 2021 on a regular basis, ranging from every few minutes to an hour daily, and interfered with my sane or general functioning, preventing me from being able to completely engage in any activity requiring meaningful attentiveness. My best analysis of the reason for the onset of these severe intrusive thought patterns is that they are a consequence of the social isolation from the Ontario lockdowns from 2020 to 2022 of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as unprecedented, continuous efforts to work towards academic and extracurricular obligations beyond my strength or capacity at any given time (i.e., a tendency to overwork) over these two years. As the impact of the circumstances became more severe in the fall of 2021, I started to seriously seek assistance in addressing these challenges from Queen's supports such as Student Wellness Services and the Alma Mater Society Peer Support Centre, subsequently registering with Queen's Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) in January 2022 on a temporary basis. Although active efforts were made to manage these difficulties and address underlying factors, the challenges persisted and were particularly acute in April to July 2022. During this period, intrusive thoughts occurred every waking moment and feelings of anxiety persisted every day, with depressive episodes being more common from July to September 2022.

I am strictly appealing CISC271 and CISC497 instead of my full course load from Winter 2022 because, for CISC271, the professor was unable to accommodate to the extent warranted of my situation, and for CISC497, the course was strategically neglected. With exception to CISC271, my professors of all courses generously accommodated for my difficulties by providing as much time as needed and reasonably allowable for having me complete assignments and defer exams. For assignments, these professors allowed me to submit assignments beyond the seven calendar day extension specified by my accommodation. My professor of CISC271 was, however, unable to accommodate as generously: in particular, this professor did not permit deferrals of exams and chose not to accept my final assignment in the course. The inability to accept the final assignment was due to a course policy stating that a further extension beyond an extension specified by an accommodation is not permitted, a policy which was not stated in the syllabus, communicated to the class through the onQ learning system, or applied by the head TA (who managed extensions) in my previous late submissions of assignments. Regarding the reason CISC497 was affected by my impairments, my efforts and time were largely directed towards all courses aside from this one, as this was my least challenging and demanding course. Having notified this professor of my circumstances in March, I was given as much time as needed to complete missing coursework, namely, assignments and short quizzes. However, my circumstances gradually became acute towards the end of the semester in April, and in the process of coping with these acute circumstances while focusing on other courses, I was unable to complete the missing work for CISC497. If my request for an extension of an incomplete grade for CISC497 is granted, I would expect to have the outstanding coursework completed in four weeks following approval of the request. If there is an inclination to grant the CR request for CISC271, I would propose that, to demonstrate the completion of work requirement of Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.3.1.4, a CR standing be granted on condition of acceptance of the completed final assignment within a week following notification of the petition decision.

In terms of potential impact of the challenges on future studies, for the current term, i.e., Fall 2022, I have reduced my course load to three and am working with professors and QSAS to ensure that my ongoing circumstances do not impact my ability to fulfill academic obligations. For Winter 2023, I plan to continue having a light course load and maintain regular meetings with personal counsellors at SWS. These circumstances are gradually moving to an improved state in which I am able to successfully manage them. This improvement is in part due to application of strategies developed from many previous sessions with counsellors, personal learnings from my experiences with these difficulties, and the University's resumption of in-person studies, i.e., a lack of the social isolation referenced previously.

Included in the attached documentation is a letter of support from my personal counsellor at Student Wellness Services, Roger Davidson, and a note indicating a visit to the emergency department at Kingston General Hospital during the acute period. With respect to CISC271, documentation consists of email communications with its professor indicating a lack of ability to accommodate for tests and the final assignment, submission records of three late assignments to the head TA, and records of internal grades and all onQ announcements. Two additional CISC271 email communications are also provided to support a more comprehensive understanding of its request. Regarding CISC497, documentation consists of email communications with its professor conveying my circumstances and IN request. Also included is a collated, chronological set of email communications and records of meetings with academic advisors and the Academic Appeals Resource Centre (AARC) throughout Fall 2022. These communications and records document the process of familiarizing myself with Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulations, Academic Regulations, and the steps of drafting a petition letter, prompting me to file this petition late in the fall semester, in addition to the aforementioned gradual improvement of circumstances. All documentation is appropriately titled.

Best regards,
Anshul Pattoo