Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 3449
Decision Date: July 18, 2017
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Michael Edwards
Student Email: 0mme1@queensu.ca
Dear Mr. Edwards:
I have carefully considered your appeal to defer your final exams in PSYC 100 (FW 2016/17) and PHAR 270 (W 2017) and receive an extension to receive a further deferral of your final exams in ECON 112 and EMPR 220 (F 2016). After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, all students are expected to write exams for courses, as scheduled. The exam schedule is released by mid-October and mid-February each year to allow students time to make any needed arrangements around this schedule. No exam deferral is granted unless there are documented extenuating circumstances that prevent a student from writing at the scheduled time. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student€™s control and debilitating to their overall academic performance. Additionally, these kinds of extraordinary situations are normally supported by documentation from a professional.
We spoke regularly over the winter term and we discussed your progress in your courses. We also discussed your exam schedule and at that time you felt confident about writing all of your exams, as scheduled. You were cautioned by the Faculty Office on several occasions that it was a heavy load and encouraged to take a lighter course load in winter term to avoid being overloaded at exam time and like all students, you had access to your exam schedule by mid-February leaving you a sufficient amount of time to plan and manage other personal responsibilities around it.
Your exams were scheduled as follows:
ECON 112 (deferred exam from December) April 13
PSYC 100 April 18
PHAR 270 April 21
EMPR 220 (deferred exam from December) April 24
I understand that you had an ongoing legal issue that you were dealing with but the documentation supplied to explain why this caused you to miss all of your exams is not sufficient. You contacted the Faculty Office and asked to defer one exam on April 8 because you thought you would be expected in court during these dates. You were advised that an exam deferral would not be granted because you were not able to supply any documentation to confirm that you were required to attend court on these dates. You requested to move an exam date again on April 12 with no documentation and received the same reply, confirming that you were expected to write your exams at the scheduled dates and times. You did supply some documentation on April 13, 2017 stating that your motion to the court would not be accepted for filing because it was not served in accordance with the rules. While I understand that this news would have caused you some stress and it was a matter that you wished to address promptly, there was no deadline indicated in the letter for action or any response requested. Therefore, I do not accept your argument that these circumstances prevented you from attending your April exams. It was your personal choice to prioritize this matter and deal with it immediately, forgoing your exams, with the knowledge that your request for a deferral would likely be denied based on those reasons and documentation.
The other points you raised in your second letter concerning your family, employment and financial situation as well as your personal health do not appear to be relevant to this particular appeal as there is no evidence to show how these particular circumstances impacted your ability to attend your April exams.
Finally, I would like to note that your file shows a pattern of registering in courses and deferring exams for various reasons, despite the advice given to reduce your course load to a level that you can comfortably manage. I would recommend that you take only two courses per term over the next year to allow you the time you need to balance your family responsibilities and your health with your academic work. I would also be happy to continue with our regular phone appointments over the fall and winter terms if you would like to receive further ongoing assistance and advice.
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)
03640209Edwards7
Decision Date: July 18, 2017
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Michael Edwards
Student Email: 0mme1@queensu.ca
Dear Mr. Edwards:
I have carefully considered your appeal to defer your final exams in PSYC 100 (FW 2016/17) and PHAR 270 (W 2017) and receive an extension to receive a further deferral of your final exams in ECON 112 and EMPR 220 (F 2016). After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, all students are expected to write exams for courses, as scheduled. The exam schedule is released by mid-October and mid-February each year to allow students time to make any needed arrangements around this schedule. No exam deferral is granted unless there are documented extenuating circumstances that prevent a student from writing at the scheduled time. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student€™s control and debilitating to their overall academic performance. Additionally, these kinds of extraordinary situations are normally supported by documentation from a professional.
We spoke regularly over the winter term and we discussed your progress in your courses. We also discussed your exam schedule and at that time you felt confident about writing all of your exams, as scheduled. You were cautioned by the Faculty Office on several occasions that it was a heavy load and encouraged to take a lighter course load in winter term to avoid being overloaded at exam time and like all students, you had access to your exam schedule by mid-February leaving you a sufficient amount of time to plan and manage other personal responsibilities around it.
Your exams were scheduled as follows:
ECON 112 (deferred exam from December) April 13
PSYC 100 April 18
PHAR 270 April 21
EMPR 220 (deferred exam from December) April 24
I understand that you had an ongoing legal issue that you were dealing with but the documentation supplied to explain why this caused you to miss all of your exams is not sufficient. You contacted the Faculty Office and asked to defer one exam on April 8 because you thought you would be expected in court during these dates. You were advised that an exam deferral would not be granted because you were not able to supply any documentation to confirm that you were required to attend court on these dates. You requested to move an exam date again on April 12 with no documentation and received the same reply, confirming that you were expected to write your exams at the scheduled dates and times. You did supply some documentation on April 13, 2017 stating that your motion to the court would not be accepted for filing because it was not served in accordance with the rules. While I understand that this news would have caused you some stress and it was a matter that you wished to address promptly, there was no deadline indicated in the letter for action or any response requested. Therefore, I do not accept your argument that these circumstances prevented you from attending your April exams. It was your personal choice to prioritize this matter and deal with it immediately, forgoing your exams, with the knowledge that your request for a deferral would likely be denied based on those reasons and documentation.
The other points you raised in your second letter concerning your family, employment and financial situation as well as your personal health do not appear to be relevant to this particular appeal as there is no evidence to show how these particular circumstances impacted your ability to attend your April exams.
Finally, I would like to note that your file shows a pattern of registering in courses and deferring exams for various reasons, despite the advice given to reduce your course load to a level that you can comfortably manage. I would recommend that you take only two courses per term over the next year to allow you the time you need to balance your family responsibilities and your health with your academic work. I would also be happy to continue with our regular phone appointments over the fall and winter terms if you would like to receive further ongoing assistance and advice.
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)
03640209Edwards7
Generated July 18, 2017 at 1:24:19 PM.