Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 12771
Submitted: February 7, 2025 at 9:24:27 PM
First Name: Edward
Last Name: Boyle
Pronoun: he/him
Preferred Name: Ted
Student Number: 10141740
Email: 13ejwb@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: ENGL
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
Level 1 Status
Status: DeniedLevel 2
Appeal Type: Level 2
ID: 312
Submitted: March 10, 2025 at 8:30:57 PM
Relevant Petition: 12771
Decision(s) Being Appealed: Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
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:
- 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: I am appealing on the grounds that the Associate Dean's decision was not reasonable. I was given misinformation by the Associate Dean at the time of my previous appeal. I was also not provided with the appropriate information which would allow me to appeal the Associate Dean’s initial decision. As well, my condition has been dismissed as inconsequential following the onset of treatment, though it was still greatly affecting in the years following my recovery from addiction.
Appeal Letter
Appeal Letter: To the Board of Studies,
I am appealing the decision by the Associate Dean on the grounds that the decision was not reasonable. The decision letter implies that I should have been capable of petitioning my courses before my graduation date in 2017. As my supplementing documentation can attest to, a severe and enduring substance use disorder in tandem with severe social anxiety disorder and dysthymia with possible superimposed major depression “brought about significant impairment in all major domains of [my] life.” The Associate Dean’s decision suggests that these effects disappeared after my treatment began. Due to the chronic nature of my alcoholism and mental health disorders, I was incapable providing an appeal for the Associate Dean’s decision in 2019. This initial factor is exacerbated by the fact that I had not been provided with appropriate information regarding my right to appeal the Associate Dean’s decision in 2019. The Associate Dean also stated, “The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to student’s records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student’s performance was significantly compromised by circumstances beyond their control.” I believe that I have provided clear and compelling documentation which outlines the nature of my condition (for which I continue to receive treatment), and the reasons why it prevented me from performing my academic duties and submitting petitions for appealing courses within the timeframe given. As well, I was told by the Associate Dean, “let me assure you that a grade of C+ is considered a good grade. In the future, you can certainly explain that there were extenuating circumstances during this year that led to those grades and that that they are not indicative of your abilities if you believe these grades are impeding your progress.” This has, unfortunately, proved not to be the case. Electronic systems have mathematically eliminated me from applying to graduate programs and medical schools because of my undergraduate GPA. As I was given misinformation at the time of my initial appeal, I think it is only reasonable and responsible of this board to grant my petition to waive the deadline for appealing these courses, so that I may submit a petition to appeal these grades. In the decision letter, the Associate Dean stated, 'it is unclear why you didn't petition these courses before your graduation date,' as well as, 'As your petition request did not speak to a new diagnosis of a disability or contain documentation to suggest that you were not able to petition your 2015 Winter and 2016 Winter term courses prior to your graduation date, I cannot grant your request.' I disagree that my letter and documentation did not provide any new information, as my condition made it impossible for me to submit these appeals at the time. As well, I had not been given the appropriate information which would have allowed me to submit an appeal on time. I understand that there are policies and procedures which must be followed to ensure the integrity of this process and fair grades given for fair work. It has been almost 8 years since the grades I am appealing were given. The challenges I faced during and following the onset of my condition made me diagnostically incapable of performing to the degree that I could have otherwise. Despite this, I have successfully completed a Master’s degree, started a business, and become a mentor and guide to hundreds of young people who are or were struggling with substance use and addictions. The Associate Dean stated that she is sympathetic to my situation and has taken my circumstances into account as part of this decision. It does not seem reasonable that an appeal that would otherwise be granted has been denied due to circumstances which prevented me from acting rationally when I was not in my right mind. I ask again that this board please reconsider this decision and allow me to waive the deadline, which in turn will allow me to appeal these grades which were unreasonably denied in the past due to a false assumption that they were good enough for my future endeavours. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to review this petition, and I humbly ask that in the spirit of fairness, you consider my request with amenability.
Sincerely, Edward Boyle
I am appealing the decision by the Associate Dean on the grounds that the decision was not reasonable. The decision letter implies that I should have been capable of petitioning my courses before my graduation date in 2017. As my supplementing documentation can attest to, a severe and enduring substance use disorder in tandem with severe social anxiety disorder and dysthymia with possible superimposed major depression “brought about significant impairment in all major domains of [my] life.” The Associate Dean’s decision suggests that these effects disappeared after my treatment began. Due to the chronic nature of my alcoholism and mental health disorders, I was incapable providing an appeal for the Associate Dean’s decision in 2019. This initial factor is exacerbated by the fact that I had not been provided with appropriate information regarding my right to appeal the Associate Dean’s decision in 2019. The Associate Dean also stated, “The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to student’s records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student’s performance was significantly compromised by circumstances beyond their control.” I believe that I have provided clear and compelling documentation which outlines the nature of my condition (for which I continue to receive treatment), and the reasons why it prevented me from performing my academic duties and submitting petitions for appealing courses within the timeframe given. As well, I was told by the Associate Dean, “let me assure you that a grade of C+ is considered a good grade. In the future, you can certainly explain that there were extenuating circumstances during this year that led to those grades and that that they are not indicative of your abilities if you believe these grades are impeding your progress.” This has, unfortunately, proved not to be the case. Electronic systems have mathematically eliminated me from applying to graduate programs and medical schools because of my undergraduate GPA. As I was given misinformation at the time of my initial appeal, I think it is only reasonable and responsible of this board to grant my petition to waive the deadline for appealing these courses, so that I may submit a petition to appeal these grades. In the decision letter, the Associate Dean stated, 'it is unclear why you didn't petition these courses before your graduation date,' as well as, 'As your petition request did not speak to a new diagnosis of a disability or contain documentation to suggest that you were not able to petition your 2015 Winter and 2016 Winter term courses prior to your graduation date, I cannot grant your request.' I disagree that my letter and documentation did not provide any new information, as my condition made it impossible for me to submit these appeals at the time. As well, I had not been given the appropriate information which would have allowed me to submit an appeal on time. I understand that there are policies and procedures which must be followed to ensure the integrity of this process and fair grades given for fair work. It has been almost 8 years since the grades I am appealing were given. The challenges I faced during and following the onset of my condition made me diagnostically incapable of performing to the degree that I could have otherwise. Despite this, I have successfully completed a Master’s degree, started a business, and become a mentor and guide to hundreds of young people who are or were struggling with substance use and addictions. The Associate Dean stated that she is sympathetic to my situation and has taken my circumstances into account as part of this decision. It does not seem reasonable that an appeal that would otherwise be granted has been denied due to circumstances which prevented me from acting rationally when I was not in my right mind. I ask again that this board please reconsider this decision and allow me to waive the deadline, which in turn will allow me to appeal these grades which were unreasonably denied in the past due to a false assumption that they were good enough for my future endeavours. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to review this petition, and I humbly ask that in the spirit of fairness, you consider my request with amenability.
Sincerely, Edward Boyle