Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 10406
Submitted: April 30, 2023 at 9:26:15 PM
First Name: Myriam
Last Name: Oliver
Pronoun: she/her
Student Number: 20102302
Email: 17mao2@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BSH
Plan: LISC
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Code: PATH499
Term: Winter
Year: 2022
Petition Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To Whom it May Concern,
I am writing to please request a Late Drop in PATH499 from Winter of 2022, in which I currently have a standing of F(0) due to course incompletion.
In late Fall and early Winter of 2022, I started to struggle balancing mental health issues, school, and full-time work including overnight shifts. My work at the time was financially necessary, but also presented chronic COVID close contact exposure concerns that limited my lab attendance for this project, which then became a remote self-directed literature review for the year.
There was a significant death in my family in February of 2022 which further impaired my mental health, overall functioning, and engagement with my studies, which had begun to overwhelm me. I consulted and broached the idea of withdrawing to complete my thesis the following Fall semester with my project Supervisor, who continued to offer delivery/project adaptations. There was discussion of an extension for the final paper submission. This arrangement was not finalized properly due to lack of responsiveness from my part (which was functionally impairing at the time), leading me to attempt to submit my paper in May only to read an email from my Academic Accommodations support that this extension may not be possible. With my emotional state and everything I was juggling at the time, I was disappointed but also apathetic and resigned myself to the fact that there was nothing to be done about it then. I took the summer to improve other areas of my life that had been compounding stress and anxiety, such as my living situation, employment, and mindfulness.
I am currently in the process of making up these 12 missed credits in online electives as this experience prevented me from fulfilling degree requirements and graduating last Spring. It is worth noting that I received a grade of A in the first half of this course and paper, and am capable of quality work and dedicated studies with my full faculties. I recently connected with a psychologist seeking diagnostic assessment related to issues with focus and procrastination, beyond the depression and anxiety that qualified me for accommodations with SWS, as I would very much like to continue my lifelong pursuit of studying health and health promotion as smoothly as possible. Through trial and error, my two years of full-time work in community services while taking classes has taught me about stress management styles, identifying warning signals, time management and accountability. I am confident that I now have the skills, boundaries, and ability to seek out effective help to succeed in post-graduate studies, and ask that you please consider my Late Drop request as I complete my undergraduate requirements.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Myriam Oliver (she/her)
20102302
I am writing to please request a Late Drop in PATH499 from Winter of 2022, in which I currently have a standing of F(0) due to course incompletion.
In late Fall and early Winter of 2022, I started to struggle balancing mental health issues, school, and full-time work including overnight shifts. My work at the time was financially necessary, but also presented chronic COVID close contact exposure concerns that limited my lab attendance for this project, which then became a remote self-directed literature review for the year.
There was a significant death in my family in February of 2022 which further impaired my mental health, overall functioning, and engagement with my studies, which had begun to overwhelm me. I consulted and broached the idea of withdrawing to complete my thesis the following Fall semester with my project Supervisor, who continued to offer delivery/project adaptations. There was discussion of an extension for the final paper submission. This arrangement was not finalized properly due to lack of responsiveness from my part (which was functionally impairing at the time), leading me to attempt to submit my paper in May only to read an email from my Academic Accommodations support that this extension may not be possible. With my emotional state and everything I was juggling at the time, I was disappointed but also apathetic and resigned myself to the fact that there was nothing to be done about it then. I took the summer to improve other areas of my life that had been compounding stress and anxiety, such as my living situation, employment, and mindfulness.
I am currently in the process of making up these 12 missed credits in online electives as this experience prevented me from fulfilling degree requirements and graduating last Spring. It is worth noting that I received a grade of A in the first half of this course and paper, and am capable of quality work and dedicated studies with my full faculties. I recently connected with a psychologist seeking diagnostic assessment related to issues with focus and procrastination, beyond the depression and anxiety that qualified me for accommodations with SWS, as I would very much like to continue my lifelong pursuit of studying health and health promotion as smoothly as possible. Through trial and error, my two years of full-time work in community services while taking classes has taught me about stress management styles, identifying warning signals, time management and accountability. I am confident that I now have the skills, boundaries, and ability to seek out effective help to succeed in post-graduate studies, and ask that you please consider my Late Drop request as I complete my undergraduate requirements.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Myriam Oliver (she/her)
20102302
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: NO DOC
Documentation Detail: Death certificate
Decision Letters
Level 1 Status
Status: DeniedLevel 2
Appeal Type: Level 2
ID: 201
Submitted: June 26, 2023 at 2:45:50 PM
Relevant Petition: 10406
Decision(s) Being Appealed: Drop a course after the academic deadline: PATH499, Winter 2022
Appeal Grounds
Appeals to the Board of Studies must include a letter based on one or more of the Grounds for Appeal (Appeal Regulation 3.4). What are the grounds you are basing your appeal on?
- The Associate Dean's decision did not follow the rules of procedural fairness. A breach of procedural fairness includes such things as the Associate Dean failed to:
- Follow the university rules and regulations in a way that supported your right to a fair process.
- Make a reasonable decision in your appeal. A “reasonable” decision is one that is based on evidence, thought out and supported by facts and logical inferences from the facts. To be reasonable, the decision must contain adequate reasons for the conclusions.
Appeal Grounds Details: To the Members of the Board of Studies,
I am appealing the Associate Dean’s decision to deny my petition to late drop PATH 499 (W22) after the academic deadline on the grounds of departure from Procedural Fairness 1.2.2.3 and 1.2.2.5, as I do not believe the decision maker gave meaningful reason for the decision nor did I receive meaningful opportunity to have my opinion heard.
In the absence of my impending documentation, a decision was made which was not based on evidence or supported by facts. Furthermore, I do not state employment as a direct reason for my reduced academic performance and subsequent petition, yet the Associate Dean commented that competing demands such as work and school do not constitute extenuating circumstance. I found this statement not only illogical and suggestive of the possibility that my letter was not read carefully, but extremely minimizing of the actual extenuating circumstances which impacted my life, were described in my initial letter, and elaborated on in my appeal below. I will thank you for also allowing me to now present my documentation, which had not yet been submitted before this decision was made.
I am appealing the Associate Dean’s decision to deny my petition to late drop PATH 499 (W22) after the academic deadline on the grounds of departure from Procedural Fairness 1.2.2.3 and 1.2.2.5, as I do not believe the decision maker gave meaningful reason for the decision nor did I receive meaningful opportunity to have my opinion heard.
In the absence of my impending documentation, a decision was made which was not based on evidence or supported by facts. Furthermore, I do not state employment as a direct reason for my reduced academic performance and subsequent petition, yet the Associate Dean commented that competing demands such as work and school do not constitute extenuating circumstance. I found this statement not only illogical and suggestive of the possibility that my letter was not read carefully, but extremely minimizing of the actual extenuating circumstances which impacted my life, were described in my initial letter, and elaborated on in my appeal below. I will thank you for also allowing me to now present my documentation, which had not yet been submitted before this decision was made.
Appeal Letter
Appeal Letter: Dear Board of Studies,
Please receive the following information in appealing the Associate Dean’s decision to deny my petition to late drop PATH 499 (W22) after the academic deadline on the grounds of departure from Procedural Fairness 1.2.2.3 and 1.2.2.5. I do not believe the decision maker gave meaningful reason for this denied petition nor did I receive meaningful opportunity to have my experience heard.
In responding to specific reasons the petition was denied, I am quoting the Associate Dean stated that “…competing demands such as work and school, is not considered an extenuating circumstance”. This statement was not thought out or supported in fact, as my initial appeal letter does not indicate work as a direct reason for my diminished academic performance during the term in question, clearly describing extenuating circumstances beyond my control of family death, personal trauma and mental health-related stressors, as per Appeal Regulation 3.3.1.2. These circumstances were, in fact, beyond my control and debilitating to my overall academic performance. My letter’s focus on work merely outlined the additional (but mandatory) stress this caused to my already dysregulated emotional state during the events outlined above.
The Associate Dean also stated, “…without documentation to support the circumstances you
outline in your petition letter […] I am unable to grant this petition”. I do not believe I was given meaningful or fair opportunity to provide my documentation. I outlined in my petition letter the potential to provide documentation from a psychologist and confirmation of family death. Upon submission of my petition, I immediately received a student email from Faculty of Arts and Science Petitions that firstly stated: “We have received your academic petition request and will pass it along to the Associate Dean for a decision once you supply documentation to support it”. It is clearly stated that my request would not be forwarded to the Associate Dean until I supply documentation, yet it was sent along anyway without hearing from me via further email prompting in the coming weeks, and a decision was passed before my supporting documentation could be heard. Respectfully, I read during my initial petition process on the online portal that up to 3 months are allowed to build documentation after submitting request. I further recall that my phone number was provided and could have been used as alternate method of contacting me for an update, and I also explained directly in my letter that I am no longer a full-time student and do not regularly monitor my Queen’s email.
Having received confirmation of receipt and assurance that my request is on hold until my documentation could be provided (and under the impression that I had 3 months to do so), I set out to gather relevant information, engage meaningfully with my psychologist and mental health helpers, and finalize my work contract in preparation for Summer courses, enrolling in which is actually why I monitored my student email last week to be made aware of this disappointing decision. Ordering a death certificate from the government takes time and building rapport with a therapist takes time.
I am now forwarding a letter of support from my clinical psychologist, Jane Mizevich, PhD, which details and explains the loss and personal hardship that I experienced during W22 Term. I am forwarding an additional session receipt as proof that I connected with a younger associate at the clinic for support during the earlier time that Dr. Mizevich was unavailable, but I did transition to Dr. Mizevich as a registered psychologist since I am seeking diagnostic assessment with genuine intent to resolve trauma and ongoing regulation difficulties, resulting from the circumstances explained in my letter and collateral, which may impact my performance in future studies, which are important to me. I am also forwarding my grandmother’s certificate of death, documenting a painful event that I was not tolerating well. I am forwarding additional hospital documentation that speaks to some relevant issues described in Dr. Mizevich’s letter, which I have personally decided not to detail in full.
I will reiterate my request to please late drop PATH 499, as I believe I have provided adequate evidence speaking to why my performance was impacted by reduced concentration, ability, and motivation to engage in my studies at the time in question.
I appreciate your time and careful consideration.
Thank you very kindly.
Best regards,
Myriam Oliver (she/her)
20102302
Please receive the following information in appealing the Associate Dean’s decision to deny my petition to late drop PATH 499 (W22) after the academic deadline on the grounds of departure from Procedural Fairness 1.2.2.3 and 1.2.2.5. I do not believe the decision maker gave meaningful reason for this denied petition nor did I receive meaningful opportunity to have my experience heard.
In responding to specific reasons the petition was denied, I am quoting the Associate Dean stated that “…competing demands such as work and school, is not considered an extenuating circumstance”. This statement was not thought out or supported in fact, as my initial appeal letter does not indicate work as a direct reason for my diminished academic performance during the term in question, clearly describing extenuating circumstances beyond my control of family death, personal trauma and mental health-related stressors, as per Appeal Regulation 3.3.1.2. These circumstances were, in fact, beyond my control and debilitating to my overall academic performance. My letter’s focus on work merely outlined the additional (but mandatory) stress this caused to my already dysregulated emotional state during the events outlined above.
The Associate Dean also stated, “…without documentation to support the circumstances you
outline in your petition letter […] I am unable to grant this petition”. I do not believe I was given meaningful or fair opportunity to provide my documentation. I outlined in my petition letter the potential to provide documentation from a psychologist and confirmation of family death. Upon submission of my petition, I immediately received a student email from Faculty of Arts and Science Petitions that firstly stated: “We have received your academic petition request and will pass it along to the Associate Dean for a decision once you supply documentation to support it”. It is clearly stated that my request would not be forwarded to the Associate Dean until I supply documentation, yet it was sent along anyway without hearing from me via further email prompting in the coming weeks, and a decision was passed before my supporting documentation could be heard. Respectfully, I read during my initial petition process on the online portal that up to 3 months are allowed to build documentation after submitting request. I further recall that my phone number was provided and could have been used as alternate method of contacting me for an update, and I also explained directly in my letter that I am no longer a full-time student and do not regularly monitor my Queen’s email.
Having received confirmation of receipt and assurance that my request is on hold until my documentation could be provided (and under the impression that I had 3 months to do so), I set out to gather relevant information, engage meaningfully with my psychologist and mental health helpers, and finalize my work contract in preparation for Summer courses, enrolling in which is actually why I monitored my student email last week to be made aware of this disappointing decision. Ordering a death certificate from the government takes time and building rapport with a therapist takes time.
I am now forwarding a letter of support from my clinical psychologist, Jane Mizevich, PhD, which details and explains the loss and personal hardship that I experienced during W22 Term. I am forwarding an additional session receipt as proof that I connected with a younger associate at the clinic for support during the earlier time that Dr. Mizevich was unavailable, but I did transition to Dr. Mizevich as a registered psychologist since I am seeking diagnostic assessment with genuine intent to resolve trauma and ongoing regulation difficulties, resulting from the circumstances explained in my letter and collateral, which may impact my performance in future studies, which are important to me. I am also forwarding my grandmother’s certificate of death, documenting a painful event that I was not tolerating well. I am forwarding additional hospital documentation that speaks to some relevant issues described in Dr. Mizevich’s letter, which I have personally decided not to detail in full.
I will reiterate my request to please late drop PATH 499, as I believe I have provided adequate evidence speaking to why my performance was impacted by reduced concentration, ability, and motivation to engage in my studies at the time in question.
I appreciate your time and careful consideration.
Thank you very kindly.
Best regards,
Myriam Oliver (she/her)
20102302
Documentation
Document: IMG_8898.jpg
Document: IMG_9438.jpg
Document: EO Certificate.pdf
Document: Letter of support_Password_cbt.pdf
Decision Letters
History
Originally submitted April 30, 2023 at 9:26:15 PM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Incomplete | Spring Forsberg | 2023-05-01 1:40:22 PM | |
| status | N/A | Incomplete | In Review | Spring Forsberg | 2023-05-31 9:49:20 AM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Denied | Spring Forsberg | 2023-06-12 8:54:57 AM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D. | Spring Forsberg | 2023-06-12 8:54:57 AM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Spring Forsberg | 2023-06-12 8:55:39 AM | |
| new_appeal_level_2 | N/A | Level 2 | Level 2 Appeal ID: 201 | 17mao2 | 2023-06-26 2:45:50 PM | |
| status | N/A | Received | ADA Amended Decision | Pamela Briand | 2023-07-10 3:00:40 PM | |
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Pamela Briand | 2023-07-10 3:01:33 PM |