Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I have just completed my 3rd year of a Bachelor of Computing (Hons.) Specialization in Software Design with Professional Internship. I began my 12 month internship with Statistics Canada on May 2nd, 2018. I am pleased to say it is going very well. As I will shortly explain, this past year has been very difficult for me. I am writing this appeal to request being granted Aegrotat/Credit Standing or Late Drop for the following courses:
CISC 324. I earned a C- (Credit Standing or Aegrotat)
CISC 352. I earned a C- (Credit Standing or Aegrotat)
CISC 332. I earned an F (Aegrotat)
CISC 454. I earned an F (Aegrotat or late drop)
I will speak to each Individual Course briefly:
CISC 324. I received A/A+ on Assignments 1,2 & 3 but was unable to complete Assignments 4,5, and 6. I received A/A+ on Labs 1,2 and 3 and a B on Lab 4. I was unable to submit Labs 5 & 6. I received 65 on the Midyear and 64 on the Final. I wonder if a C grade may be more reflective of my understanding of the course
CISC 352. The clear pattern of deteriorating grades through the term is evident. I did poorly on 2 assignments , both of which are counting. I did earn a A on the final which I do believe is a better reflection of my understanding of the course.
CISC 332. I did relatively well on the work I was able to submit but only completed 53 of the course work. I have asked Professor Powley to re-evaluate the work I did and, possibly, allow me to take a quiz I missed during the course.
CISC 454. In this course I only completed the first half of the work. A1 (7/12), T1(12/20) and A2 (12/13) were completed. T2, A3 and T3 were not done.
Early this past fall (September 2017) I began having some difficulties with my mental health. I was finding it very difficult to sleep. Insomnia gradually led to increasing difficulties, including but not limited to hallucinations, depression, anxiety, self-injury and deteriorating self-care. At first my difficulties were episodic. I would be fine for days at a time (except for the insomnia) and took solace in working hard on my academics. During these fine days I would convince myself that all was well and did not need help. Over time, however, the dark days slowly increased in frequency and by the end of December I was clearly in significant difficulty.
At home, over the December holidays, with my parent's support, I was able to see a doctor and I started on a small dose of antidepressant medication. This seemed to help and I returned after 2 weeks at home rested and feeling hopeful. I was able to complete my fall course work with satisfactory results given my difficulties. I was followed closely by the physician and home and the dosage of antidepressant was increased and, finally in March, a sleep aid was added.
While the medication was helping I still was suffering considerably. I had the attitude that pushing through was the answer. It would all be over by the end of April and I would be able to go home. No individual course felt in such bad shape that I should drop it. I was regularly unable to get out of bed to attend my classes. On 3 occasions I emailed my professors to request extensions in the deadlines of projects. I believe now, in retrospect, that things were much worse than I was able to admit at the time. Part of my mental illness is an inability to have much real insight in-the-moment.
As for the future I am optimistic. I am able, in Ottawa, to see my doctor regularly. I have been referred to a therapist. I am enjoying my Internship. The structure of these days is very good for me. When I return in the fall of 2019 for my final year I hope to be able to take a slightly lighter course load. I am considering taking an online course this Fall and another in the Winter. I will have had a full year of support and am hopeful I will be in a much better place mentally, physically and emotionally.
I thank you for consideration.
Regards,
Clark Hodgins
I have just completed my 3rd year of a Bachelor of Computing (Hons.) Specialization in Software Design with Professional Internship. I began my 12 month internship with Statistics Canada on May 2nd, 2018. I am pleased to say it is going very well. As I will shortly explain, this past year has been very difficult for me. I am writing this appeal to request being granted Aegrotat/Credit Standing or Late Drop for the following courses:
CISC 324. I earned a C- (Credit Standing or Aegrotat)
CISC 352. I earned a C- (Credit Standing or Aegrotat)
CISC 332. I earned an F (Aegrotat)
CISC 454. I earned an F (Aegrotat or late drop)
I will speak to each Individual Course briefly:
CISC 324. I received A/A+ on Assignments 1,2 & 3 but was unable to complete Assignments 4,5, and 6. I received A/A+ on Labs 1,2 and 3 and a B on Lab 4. I was unable to submit Labs 5 & 6. I received 65 on the Midyear and 64 on the Final. I wonder if a C grade may be more reflective of my understanding of the course
CISC 352. The clear pattern of deteriorating grades through the term is evident. I did poorly on 2 assignments , both of which are counting. I did earn a A on the final which I do believe is a better reflection of my understanding of the course.
CISC 332. I did relatively well on the work I was able to submit but only completed 53 of the course work. I have asked Professor Powley to re-evaluate the work I did and, possibly, allow me to take a quiz I missed during the course.
CISC 454. In this course I only completed the first half of the work. A1 (7/12), T1(12/20) and A2 (12/13) were completed. T2, A3 and T3 were not done.
Early this past fall (September 2017) I began having some difficulties with my mental health. I was finding it very difficult to sleep. Insomnia gradually led to increasing difficulties, including but not limited to hallucinations, depression, anxiety, self-injury and deteriorating self-care. At first my difficulties were episodic. I would be fine for days at a time (except for the insomnia) and took solace in working hard on my academics. During these fine days I would convince myself that all was well and did not need help. Over time, however, the dark days slowly increased in frequency and by the end of December I was clearly in significant difficulty.
At home, over the December holidays, with my parent's support, I was able to see a doctor and I started on a small dose of antidepressant medication. This seemed to help and I returned after 2 weeks at home rested and feeling hopeful. I was able to complete my fall course work with satisfactory results given my difficulties. I was followed closely by the physician and home and the dosage of antidepressant was increased and, finally in March, a sleep aid was added.
While the medication was helping I still was suffering considerably. I had the attitude that pushing through was the answer. It would all be over by the end of April and I would be able to go home. No individual course felt in such bad shape that I should drop it. I was regularly unable to get out of bed to attend my classes. On 3 occasions I emailed my professors to request extensions in the deadlines of projects. I believe now, in retrospect, that things were much worse than I was able to admit at the time. Part of my mental illness is an inability to have much real insight in-the-moment.
As for the future I am optimistic. I am able, in Ottawa, to see my doctor regularly. I have been referred to a therapist. I am enjoying my Internship. The structure of these days is very good for me. When I return in the fall of 2019 for my final year I hope to be able to take a slightly lighter course load. I am considering taking an online course this Fall and another in the Winter. I will have had a full year of support and am hopeful I will be in a much better place mentally, physically and emotionally.
I thank you for consideration.
Regards,
Clark Hodgins