Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 7711
Submitted: May 17, 2021 at 2:05:34 PM
First Name: Charles
Last Name: Madeira-Shapiro
Student Number: 20026370
Email: 16cdms@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BS
Plan: GEO
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Code: BIOL206
Term: Winter
Year: 2021
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Dr. Jannice Friedman
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to appeal for a Credit Standing for BIOL206 which I completed in Winter 2021. At the time of the final exam, I was struggling with health issues related to the stress of COVID-19 circumstances during the relevant time period, as per the attached documentation. The circumstances related to COVID-19 severely hampered my ability to perform well on the BIOL206 final exam. Over the exam period, I struggled with performing in all my courses (except BMED373 - no final exam). For example, I did not submit the final assignment for CHEM222, and I did not do well on the final for CLST201 (compared to my average for the course). Despite the fact that the other courses' final exams were also negatively impacted, I am content with the final grades in my other courses, as they did not reflect such a significant drop in performance. I am only appealing for a Credit Standing in BIOL206 because my performance in this exam severely lowered my final grade. Further, the BIOL206 final was mainly multiple choice, which tends to be a relative weakness for me due to my learning disability, and this prospect added to the difficulties I was having due to COVID-19-related stress. It is worth noting that at the Week 8 drop deadline, I was passing BIOL206, and I felt as though I had just completed a successful midterm (which turned out to be quite true). Therefore I did okay at meeting the expectations in the course throughout the bulk of the semester, but the disappointing final exam result was mainly due to COVID-19-related issues which in turn, impacted my overall health, resulting in a final grade which does not reflect the knowledge that I gained or the effort that I put into the course over the term as a whole. It is my hope that once in-person learning begins again, I will be better able to rely on my support systems (therapists, friends and family help, etc.) and thus better prevent external stressors - such as COVID-19 - to add to my regular struggles.
Thanks so much taking the time to consider my appeal,
Charles Madeira-Shapiro 20026370
I am writing to appeal for a Credit Standing for BIOL206 which I completed in Winter 2021. At the time of the final exam, I was struggling with health issues related to the stress of COVID-19 circumstances during the relevant time period, as per the attached documentation. The circumstances related to COVID-19 severely hampered my ability to perform well on the BIOL206 final exam. Over the exam period, I struggled with performing in all my courses (except BMED373 - no final exam). For example, I did not submit the final assignment for CHEM222, and I did not do well on the final for CLST201 (compared to my average for the course). Despite the fact that the other courses' final exams were also negatively impacted, I am content with the final grades in my other courses, as they did not reflect such a significant drop in performance. I am only appealing for a Credit Standing in BIOL206 because my performance in this exam severely lowered my final grade. Further, the BIOL206 final was mainly multiple choice, which tends to be a relative weakness for me due to my learning disability, and this prospect added to the difficulties I was having due to COVID-19-related stress. It is worth noting that at the Week 8 drop deadline, I was passing BIOL206, and I felt as though I had just completed a successful midterm (which turned out to be quite true). Therefore I did okay at meeting the expectations in the course throughout the bulk of the semester, but the disappointing final exam result was mainly due to COVID-19-related issues which in turn, impacted my overall health, resulting in a final grade which does not reflect the knowledge that I gained or the effort that I put into the course over the term as a whole. It is my hope that once in-person learning begins again, I will be better able to rely on my support systems (therapists, friends and family help, etc.) and thus better prevent external stressors - such as COVID-19 - to add to my regular struggles.
Thanks so much taking the time to consider my appeal,
Charles Madeira-Shapiro 20026370
Decision Letters
Amendment to Appeal 7711
Relevant Petition: 7711
New Information: I have just noticed that the appeal is incomplete but I am not sure why so I am re-submitting everything.
Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to appeal for a Credit Standing for BIOL206 which I completed in Winter 2021. At the time of the final exam, I was struggling with health issues related to the stress of COVID-19 circumstances during the relevant time period, as per the attached documentation. The circumstances related to COVID-19 severely hampered my ability to perform well on the BIOL206 final exam. Over the exam period, I struggled with performing in all my courses (except BMED373 - no final exam). For example, I did not submit the final assignment for CHEM222, and I did not do well on the final for CLST201 (compared to my average for the course). Despite the fact that the other courses' final exams were also negatively impacted, I am content with the final grades in my other courses, as they did not reflect such a significant drop in performance. I am only appealing for a Credit Standing in BIOL206 because my performance in this exam severely lowered my final grade. Further, the BIOL206 final was mainly multiple-choice, which tends to be a relative weakness for me due to my learning disability, and this prospect added to the difficulties I was having due to COVID-19-related stress. It is worth noting that at the Week 8 drop deadline, I was passing BIOL206, and I felt as though I had just completed a successful midterm (which turned out to be quite true). Therefore I did okay at meeting the expectations in the course throughout the bulk of the semester, but the disappointing final exam result was mainly due to COVID-19-related issues which in turn, impacted my overall health, resulting in a final grade that does not reflect the knowledge that I gained or the effort that I put into the course over the term as a whole. It is my hope that once in-person learning begins again, I will be better able to rely on my support systems (therapists, friends and family help, etc.) and thus better prevent external stressors - such as COVID-19 - to add to my regular struggles.
Thanks so much for taking the time to consider my appeal,
Charles Madeira-Shapiro 20026370
Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to appeal for a Credit Standing for BIOL206 which I completed in Winter 2021. At the time of the final exam, I was struggling with health issues related to the stress of COVID-19 circumstances during the relevant time period, as per the attached documentation. The circumstances related to COVID-19 severely hampered my ability to perform well on the BIOL206 final exam. Over the exam period, I struggled with performing in all my courses (except BMED373 - no final exam). For example, I did not submit the final assignment for CHEM222, and I did not do well on the final for CLST201 (compared to my average for the course). Despite the fact that the other courses' final exams were also negatively impacted, I am content with the final grades in my other courses, as they did not reflect such a significant drop in performance. I am only appealing for a Credit Standing in BIOL206 because my performance in this exam severely lowered my final grade. Further, the BIOL206 final was mainly multiple-choice, which tends to be a relative weakness for me due to my learning disability, and this prospect added to the difficulties I was having due to COVID-19-related stress. It is worth noting that at the Week 8 drop deadline, I was passing BIOL206, and I felt as though I had just completed a successful midterm (which turned out to be quite true). Therefore I did okay at meeting the expectations in the course throughout the bulk of the semester, but the disappointing final exam result was mainly due to COVID-19-related issues which in turn, impacted my overall health, resulting in a final grade that does not reflect the knowledge that I gained or the effort that I put into the course over the term as a whole. It is my hope that once in-person learning begins again, I will be better able to rely on my support systems (therapists, friends and family help, etc.) and thus better prevent external stressors - such as COVID-19 - to add to my regular struggles.
Thanks so much for taking the time to consider my appeal,
Charles Madeira-Shapiro 20026370
Student Number: 20026370
Documentation
Professional Letter: maple-note-c315a180 copy.pdf
Professional Letter Detail: Medical Documentation- Covid issues
Level 1 Status
Status: DeniedLevel 2
Appeal Type: Level 2
ID: 5
Submitted: August 4, 2021 at 1:14:29 PM
Relevant Petition: 7711
Decision(s) Being Appealed: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses: BIOL206, Winter 2021 (Dr. Jannice Friedman)
Appeal Letter
Appeal Letter: Dear Queen's University Faculty of Arts & Science appeals board of studies,
The appeal in question, appeal 7711 appears to have been declined because the supporting documentation I provided to support my explanation that extenuating circumstances did not cover the time period necessary. I submitted the appeal because due to extenuating circumstances, I performed below expectations on my final exam, resulting in a lower grade in the course. The exam was on April 28th, 2021 and the documentation provided was determined to only cover April 22nd, 2021. This secondary appeal is to provide an additional piece of documentation (dated April 26th, 2021) to bridge the gap between the first document and the final exam.
It was also touched upon, that I failed some components of the course. This is true, however, I would like to ask you to take into consideration the circumstances surrounding the grade. The assessments in question are 2 quizzes that are graded out of 5 and are worth 2 percent, which I failed. I, unfortunately, got 2/5 on both quizzes (40%), which are worth 2% of my grade. Due to the weighting of these quizzes, these 2 grades do not make nearly as significant the final exam that is worth 30%, which I achieved a mark of 35%, due to the extenuating circumstances. Overall, I believe I was going into the final exam with a grade of approx. 65%. My final exam mark was half of what I had been able to achieve throughout the course. It was due to this disparity that I believed my extenuating circumstances played a role in the low mark, which was why I was advised to appeal.
Thank you for your consideration,
Charlie
The appeal in question, appeal 7711 appears to have been declined because the supporting documentation I provided to support my explanation that extenuating circumstances did not cover the time period necessary. I submitted the appeal because due to extenuating circumstances, I performed below expectations on my final exam, resulting in a lower grade in the course. The exam was on April 28th, 2021 and the documentation provided was determined to only cover April 22nd, 2021. This secondary appeal is to provide an additional piece of documentation (dated April 26th, 2021) to bridge the gap between the first document and the final exam.
It was also touched upon, that I failed some components of the course. This is true, however, I would like to ask you to take into consideration the circumstances surrounding the grade. The assessments in question are 2 quizzes that are graded out of 5 and are worth 2 percent, which I failed. I, unfortunately, got 2/5 on both quizzes (40%), which are worth 2% of my grade. Due to the weighting of these quizzes, these 2 grades do not make nearly as significant the final exam that is worth 30%, which I achieved a mark of 35%, due to the extenuating circumstances. Overall, I believe I was going into the final exam with a grade of approx. 65%. My final exam mark was half of what I had been able to achieve throughout the course. It was due to this disparity that I believed my extenuating circumstances played a role in the low mark, which was why I was advised to appeal.
Thank you for your consideration,
Charlie
Documentation
Documentation Detail: The note that bridges the gap from the note used in the first appeal to the final exam in question.
Document: maple-note-c315a180 copy-0.pdf
Documentation Detail: The note submitted in the original appeal.
History
Originally submitted May 17, 2021 at 2:05:34 PM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Incomplete | Kerri Andrews | 2021-05-17 6:50:30 PM | |
| status | N/A | Incomplete | In Review | Kerri Andrews | 2021-06-10 7:11:50 PM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Denied | Kerri Andrews | 2021-06-21 10:17:33 AM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D. | Kerri Andrews | 2021-06-21 10:17:33 AM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Kerri Andrews | 2021-06-21 10:17:52 AM | |
| new_appeal_level_2 | N/A | Level 2 | Level 2 Appeal ID: 5 | 16cdms | 2021-08-04 1:14:29 PM | |
| status | N/A | Received | Withdrawn | 4 weeks past deadline | Pamela Briand | 2021-08-09 4:20:40 PM |
| status | N/A | Withdrawn | Received | Pamela Briand | 2021-08-09 4:57:26 PM | |
| status | N/A | Received | Denied | Pamela Briand | 2021-09-24 2:18:48 PM |