Petition Letter
To the Associate Dean (Studies),
My name is Madeline Zarb and I am currently in my third year at Queen¿¿s. I am appealing to late drop CHEM 112 (Winter, 2019) and PSYC 236 (Winter, 2019). Due to extenuating circumstances, I received a failing grade in these courses and feel this is not representative of my academic ability.
In May of 2018, I experienced a traumatic event that resulted in severe PTSD as well as an increase in severity in pre-existing mental health conditions including depression and insomnia. After this, throughout my second year, I struggled to stay on top of my schoolwork due to feeling unable to cope with all the stress. I found it increasingly difficult to leave my home to attend lectures and to time manage in a way that would allow me to meet deadlines and feel prepared for evaluations. Consequently, I performed poorly on the first of two exams for CHEM 112. In second semester, my mental health issues became very difficult to manage and continued to have a negative impact on my academics. During the exam period of April 2019, I was experiencing high levels of stress while also approaching the anniversary of the traumatic event I experienced. As a result, I began to experience frequent panic attacks making it nearly impossible to focus and study efficiently. Realizing my inability to complete my exams, I submitted a request for Academic Consideration for Extenuating Circumstances (9510) and had my remaining two exams, PSYC 236 and CHEM 112, deferred until September 6th and 5th respectively. Over the course of the summer, I began seeing a psychologist and worked to implement better coping mechanisms and sleep hygiene. By the end of the summer, my mental health was in a significantly better state. Unfortunately, my grades going into the exams in September were fairly low due to the impact of my mental health issues prior. Although I feel I completed the exams to the best of my ability, my overall grades reflected the previous struggles I had and ultimately resulted in my failing both courses. Therefore, I feel due to extenuating circumstances, I was unable to complete the courses to my true ability and would like a chance to have the failing grades removed from my transcript.
If my appeal is granted, I will retake the courses as I now feel better equipped to manage stress and academic deadlines. Since seeing a psychologist, I have seen an increase in all of my grades and have found it much easier to stay on top of my work. Additionally, I am now registered with QSAS and have been working with them to ensure these circumstances do not occur again. I plan to continue working with a psychologist to better my mental health and feel that, if given the opportunity, I will be able to excel in the courses as well as in the rest of my university career.
Thank you for your consideration,
Madeline Zarb
My name is Madeline Zarb and I am currently in my third year at Queen¿¿s. I am appealing to late drop CHEM 112 (Winter, 2019) and PSYC 236 (Winter, 2019). Due to extenuating circumstances, I received a failing grade in these courses and feel this is not representative of my academic ability.
In May of 2018, I experienced a traumatic event that resulted in severe PTSD as well as an increase in severity in pre-existing mental health conditions including depression and insomnia. After this, throughout my second year, I struggled to stay on top of my schoolwork due to feeling unable to cope with all the stress. I found it increasingly difficult to leave my home to attend lectures and to time manage in a way that would allow me to meet deadlines and feel prepared for evaluations. Consequently, I performed poorly on the first of two exams for CHEM 112. In second semester, my mental health issues became very difficult to manage and continued to have a negative impact on my academics. During the exam period of April 2019, I was experiencing high levels of stress while also approaching the anniversary of the traumatic event I experienced. As a result, I began to experience frequent panic attacks making it nearly impossible to focus and study efficiently. Realizing my inability to complete my exams, I submitted a request for Academic Consideration for Extenuating Circumstances (9510) and had my remaining two exams, PSYC 236 and CHEM 112, deferred until September 6th and 5th respectively. Over the course of the summer, I began seeing a psychologist and worked to implement better coping mechanisms and sleep hygiene. By the end of the summer, my mental health was in a significantly better state. Unfortunately, my grades going into the exams in September were fairly low due to the impact of my mental health issues prior. Although I feel I completed the exams to the best of my ability, my overall grades reflected the previous struggles I had and ultimately resulted in my failing both courses. Therefore, I feel due to extenuating circumstances, I was unable to complete the courses to my true ability and would like a chance to have the failing grades removed from my transcript.
If my appeal is granted, I will retake the courses as I now feel better equipped to manage stress and academic deadlines. Since seeing a psychologist, I have seen an increase in all of my grades and have found it much easier to stay on top of my work. Additionally, I am now registered with QSAS and have been working with them to ensure these circumstances do not occur again. I plan to continue working with a psychologist to better my mental health and feel that, if given the opportunity, I will be able to excel in the courses as well as in the rest of my university career.
Thank you for your consideration,
Madeline Zarb