Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 2645
Decision Date: October 13, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Ryann Leahy
Student Email: 13rl60@queensu.ca
Dear Ms. Leahy:
I have carefully considered your request to have your appeal to waive a requirement to withdraw heard after the 21-day timeline for submission. After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
The appeal timeline is in place to give students sufficient time to respond to an academic decision. The 21-day timeline offers students time to seek academic counseling, to write up and submit an appeal, and to collect the supporting documents necessary to the appeal. Further, the appeal timeline is in place to ensure that decision making takes place in a timely manner, allowing students to continue in their academic programs without ongoing concern for unresolved matters.
To consider appeals outside these timelines can easily compromise fair decision making. The interested parties and the original contexts within which the matter originated may not be available. Over time, instructors, course content, the norms of evaluating course materials, and program structures may and generally do change. Furthermore, the supporting documents necessary to any appeal may no longer be available or their credibility may more easily come into question. Therefore, the inability to reconstruct accurately the circumstances leading to the original matter under appeal can compromise the decision-making process.
Exceptions to this regulation can only be granted in cases where extenuating circumstances beyond a student's control render the student unable to appeal within the specified timeline. The student must be able to show that the extenuating circumstances were ongoing. The student must also be able to demonstrate that these circumstances prevented the student from acting between the time the original decision was received and the time at which the appeal was eventually initiated. Appeals of the regulation governing the timeline for appeals must be submitted in writing. An appeal of this type should include a presentation of the specific reasons for a delay and should include documentation which supports the reasons for the delay.
You were placed on Academic Probation in May 2015 and that time you received a letter via your Queen€™s email account that outlined the conditions of academic probation; specifically stating that during the 2015/16 academic year you must raise your GPA to 1.60; otherwise, you would be Required to Withdraw for One Year. It is every student€™s responsibility to monitor their academic progress, manage their course registrations and inform themselves of the academic regulations and their current status as a student as well as check their Queen€™s email account regularly. You were well aware of your probation status upon the completion of your final exams in May and it was your responsibility to check your GPA and follow up concerning your status accordingly. Your letter notifying you of the requirement to withdraw was sent to your email account on May 22; however you failed to contact the Faculty Office to inquire about your status until September 12. Your appeal letter further states that you experienced a mild depression for about a month over the summer, but again, this does not account for why you were unable to inquire about your academic standing until September 12 and there is no supporting documentation to confirm these circumstances. For these reasons, I am unable to hear a late appeal from you. Keep in mind that you will be eligible to return to studies as early as Summer term 2017.
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 Ombudsman 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)
10139715Leahy2
Decision Date: October 13, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Ryann Leahy
Student Email: 13rl60@queensu.ca
Dear Ms. Leahy:
I have carefully considered your request to have your appeal to waive a requirement to withdraw heard after the 21-day timeline for submission. After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
The appeal timeline is in place to give students sufficient time to respond to an academic decision. The 21-day timeline offers students time to seek academic counseling, to write up and submit an appeal, and to collect the supporting documents necessary to the appeal. Further, the appeal timeline is in place to ensure that decision making takes place in a timely manner, allowing students to continue in their academic programs without ongoing concern for unresolved matters.
To consider appeals outside these timelines can easily compromise fair decision making. The interested parties and the original contexts within which the matter originated may not be available. Over time, instructors, course content, the norms of evaluating course materials, and program structures may and generally do change. Furthermore, the supporting documents necessary to any appeal may no longer be available or their credibility may more easily come into question. Therefore, the inability to reconstruct accurately the circumstances leading to the original matter under appeal can compromise the decision-making process.
Exceptions to this regulation can only be granted in cases where extenuating circumstances beyond a student's control render the student unable to appeal within the specified timeline. The student must be able to show that the extenuating circumstances were ongoing. The student must also be able to demonstrate that these circumstances prevented the student from acting between the time the original decision was received and the time at which the appeal was eventually initiated. Appeals of the regulation governing the timeline for appeals must be submitted in writing. An appeal of this type should include a presentation of the specific reasons for a delay and should include documentation which supports the reasons for the delay.
You were placed on Academic Probation in May 2015 and that time you received a letter via your Queen€™s email account that outlined the conditions of academic probation; specifically stating that during the 2015/16 academic year you must raise your GPA to 1.60; otherwise, you would be Required to Withdraw for One Year. It is every student€™s responsibility to monitor their academic progress, manage their course registrations and inform themselves of the academic regulations and their current status as a student as well as check their Queen€™s email account regularly. You were well aware of your probation status upon the completion of your final exams in May and it was your responsibility to check your GPA and follow up concerning your status accordingly. Your letter notifying you of the requirement to withdraw was sent to your email account on May 22; however you failed to contact the Faculty Office to inquire about your status until September 12. Your appeal letter further states that you experienced a mild depression for about a month over the summer, but again, this does not account for why you were unable to inquire about your academic standing until September 12 and there is no supporting documentation to confirm these circumstances. For these reasons, I am unable to hear a late appeal from you. Keep in mind that you will be eligible to return to studies as early as Summer term 2017.
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 Ombudsman 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)
10139715Leahy2
Generated October 13, 2016 at 1:43:24 PM.