Health with Tess: Maintaining your academic health

Columns July 10, 2019

Life is unpredictable, and things out of your control can happen during your time studying at Camosun, but this does not have to determine your future opportunities. Grades matter, and they get looked at when you apply for future schooling or even for some jobs. When personal illness, affliction, or family problems arise and they are impacting your ability to perform in school, you have options. Here are some resources at Camosun that can help you navigate the academic world when things hit the fan in real life.

Health with Tess is a column about health issues; it appears in every issue of Nexus.

Different types of challenges faced by students result in different types of services offered at Camosun. For students facing very serious and challenging life events, a Request for Medical or Compassionate Withdrawal may be appropriate. The Counselling Centre has free counselling for students and may be able to help by providing resources or a listening ear. They also offer assistance with issues that do not fall within the Request for Medical or Compassionate Withdrawal, including assistance with motivation, procrastination, and time management, as well as career counselling. For more information on these services, check out camosun.ca/services/counselling-centre/personal.html

A Request for Medical or Compassionate Withdrawal is a form designed for students who are experiencing “sudden/serious illness or [have had an] accident, health or mental health issues, or death in the immediate family.” All post-secondary institutions have forms similar to this one, designed to help students through extenuating circumstances. At Camosun, this form needs to be submitted after the last day to drop classes without academic penalty and before the last instructional day of the class a student is withdrawing from. 

If you are struggling with your academic studies, or with other issues that arise in life, there are resources for you. Problems in life now do not have to limit your opportunities down the line.