Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 1698
Decision Date: February 17, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: michael Edwards
Student Email: 0mme1@queensu.ca
Course: PSYC 100
Term: Summer
Year: 2015
Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor: Dr. Jacyln Cappell
Additional Information: Final Exam
Course: ECON 111
Term: Summer
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Robert McKeown
Dear Mr. Edwards:
I have carefully considered your appeal to receive Credit standing in ECON 111 (S 2015). After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, Academic Regulation 10.2.2. states that, Credit standing in a course is reserved for situations in which a student, who has completed and passed all of the work of the course including the final examination, but because of illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected, normally a grade of C or lower€. The Calendar goes on to stress that Credit standing will only be granted under exceptional circumstances. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students€™ records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student€™s performance was significantly compromised by extenuating circumstances beyond his control.
Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant and unforeseen physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance. Additionally, these kinds of extraordinary situations are normally supported by documentation from a professional.
The appeals system is not designed to compensate for circumstances that are ongoing in nature for which the student is unable or unwilling to effectively resolve or manage. While I appreciate that caring for an elderly parent is a very significant responsibility, it appears from your file that this is not an unforeseen circumstance, but one that has been ongoing for some time now. I also appreciate that in these cases unexpected emergencies and events can occur but I don€™t see any evidence of this during the time that ECON 111 took place. All students are fully expected to manage their academic responsibilities and make careful decisions about course load and what they feel they can realistically handle on a term by term basis, taking personal circumstances and family obligations into consideration as part of this decision. Students are also expected to continually monitor their academic progress in courses and if they feel that they are not able to keep up with the demands of a course due to their other duties and responsibilities, then they are expected to drop courses as needed within the drop deadlines. Prior to the start of the summer term you were aware of the scope of your family responsibilities and experienced in judging the amount of time needed to devote to your mother€™s care. This should have been taken into careful consideration when deciding on your course load for the summer and managing your progress throughout the term. As an experienced student, you are also expected to judge the amount of time and effort needed to properly prepare for exams and manage your time accordingly. The exam schedule was released far in advance to allow for this. Unfortunately, finding yourself unable to adequately prepare for the ECON 111 exam because of other exams and conflicting priorities is not considered to be a circumstance beyond your personal control that would warrant changing your final grade in this course.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, you must submit an appeal to the Board of Studies within 21 days of the date this decision was sent. Guidelines for appealing to the Board of Studies and the appeal form can be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on €œBoard of Studies€) Do not use the on-line application for this process. You may contact Mr. Harry Smith, Office of the Ombudsperson for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative. His office is located in room 421 Robert Sutherland Hall and he can be reached by phone (533-6495) or e-mail (ombuds@queensu.ca).
Sincerely,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
03640209Edwards5
Decision Date: February 17, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: michael Edwards
Student Email: 0mme1@queensu.ca
Course: PSYC 100
Term: Summer
Year: 2015
Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor: Dr. Jacyln Cappell
Additional Information: Final Exam
Course: ECON 111
Term: Summer
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Robert McKeown
Dear Mr. Edwards:
I have carefully considered your appeal to receive Credit standing in ECON 111 (S 2015). After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, Academic Regulation 10.2.2. states that, Credit standing in a course is reserved for situations in which a student, who has completed and passed all of the work of the course including the final examination, but because of illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected, normally a grade of C or lower€. The Calendar goes on to stress that Credit standing will only be granted under exceptional circumstances. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students€™ records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student€™s performance was significantly compromised by extenuating circumstances beyond his control.
Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant and unforeseen physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance. Additionally, these kinds of extraordinary situations are normally supported by documentation from a professional.
The appeals system is not designed to compensate for circumstances that are ongoing in nature for which the student is unable or unwilling to effectively resolve or manage. While I appreciate that caring for an elderly parent is a very significant responsibility, it appears from your file that this is not an unforeseen circumstance, but one that has been ongoing for some time now. I also appreciate that in these cases unexpected emergencies and events can occur but I don€™t see any evidence of this during the time that ECON 111 took place. All students are fully expected to manage their academic responsibilities and make careful decisions about course load and what they feel they can realistically handle on a term by term basis, taking personal circumstances and family obligations into consideration as part of this decision. Students are also expected to continually monitor their academic progress in courses and if they feel that they are not able to keep up with the demands of a course due to their other duties and responsibilities, then they are expected to drop courses as needed within the drop deadlines. Prior to the start of the summer term you were aware of the scope of your family responsibilities and experienced in judging the amount of time needed to devote to your mother€™s care. This should have been taken into careful consideration when deciding on your course load for the summer and managing your progress throughout the term. As an experienced student, you are also expected to judge the amount of time and effort needed to properly prepare for exams and manage your time accordingly. The exam schedule was released far in advance to allow for this. Unfortunately, finding yourself unable to adequately prepare for the ECON 111 exam because of other exams and conflicting priorities is not considered to be a circumstance beyond your personal control that would warrant changing your final grade in this course.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, you must submit an appeal to the Board of Studies within 21 days of the date this decision was sent. Guidelines for appealing to the Board of Studies and the appeal form can be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on €œBoard of Studies€) Do not use the on-line application for this process. You may contact Mr. Harry Smith, Office of the Ombudsperson for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative. His office is located in room 421 Robert Sutherland Hall and he can be reached by phone (533-6495) or e-mail (ombuds@queensu.ca).
Sincerely,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
03640209Edwards5
Generated February 17, 2016 at 12:57:04 PM.