Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 4372
Decision Date: May 14, 2018
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Jamie Sapera
Student Email: sapera.jamie@gmail.com
Course: GEOL543
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2011
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Ms. Sapera:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop GEOL 543 (FW 2011/12) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations (Appeal of Academic Decisions, IIIb) stress that exceptions to this will only be waived under extenuating 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 circumstances beyond his or her control.
The deadlines for dropping courses have been designed and established in order to provide sufficient time for students to determine their interest in the course material, to consider their ability to handle each course, and to evaluate their overall workload.
Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant 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.
While I remain sympathetic to your circumstances and I commend your courage to seek therapy and successfully move forward in your life, the documentation supplied as part of your appeal is unfortunately not sufficient enough to warrant waiving the drop deadline. The letter from Dr. Leith, dated April 25, 2017, confirms that you have had depression and anxiety since 2010 and you were under her care and received therapy. It does not specifically address why you were unable to drop this course by the 8th week of the 2012 Winter term, nor does it address the severity of your symptoms or the specific impact they had on your ability to successfully complete this course at that time. The letter from Mary Rella confirms that you have been receiving counselling from her since September 2015 but it does not adequately confirm the timeline or severity of your condition during the time you took GEOL 543 in 2011/12, since it is based on your self-report only.
There is also no clear explanation supplied in your appeal as to why your GEOL 543 grade was impacted by your circumstances and not your grades in the other courses you took during the 2011/12 academic year which are all in the A and B range.
The appeal system is not designed to compensate for chronic health conditions. Instead students with ongoing health issues are expected to register with Accessibility Services to receive academic accommodations. If the student still struggles despite having approved accommodation in place, like all other students, he or she is expected to drop courses within the academic deadlines. Dropping courses past the deadlines is only permissible when there are well documented, unforeseen circumstances (such as sudden worsening of symptoms or relapses in conditions that were previously being well managed) that impacted a student€™s ability to meet these deadlines.
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)
05692017Sapera2
Decision Date: May 14, 2018
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Jamie Sapera
Student Email: sapera.jamie@gmail.com
Course: GEOL543
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2011
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Ms. Sapera:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop GEOL 543 (FW 2011/12) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations (Appeal of Academic Decisions, IIIb) stress that exceptions to this will only be waived under extenuating 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 circumstances beyond his or her control.
The deadlines for dropping courses have been designed and established in order to provide sufficient time for students to determine their interest in the course material, to consider their ability to handle each course, and to evaluate their overall workload.
Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant 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.
While I remain sympathetic to your circumstances and I commend your courage to seek therapy and successfully move forward in your life, the documentation supplied as part of your appeal is unfortunately not sufficient enough to warrant waiving the drop deadline. The letter from Dr. Leith, dated April 25, 2017, confirms that you have had depression and anxiety since 2010 and you were under her care and received therapy. It does not specifically address why you were unable to drop this course by the 8th week of the 2012 Winter term, nor does it address the severity of your symptoms or the specific impact they had on your ability to successfully complete this course at that time. The letter from Mary Rella confirms that you have been receiving counselling from her since September 2015 but it does not adequately confirm the timeline or severity of your condition during the time you took GEOL 543 in 2011/12, since it is based on your self-report only.
There is also no clear explanation supplied in your appeal as to why your GEOL 543 grade was impacted by your circumstances and not your grades in the other courses you took during the 2011/12 academic year which are all in the A and B range.
The appeal system is not designed to compensate for chronic health conditions. Instead students with ongoing health issues are expected to register with Accessibility Services to receive academic accommodations. If the student still struggles despite having approved accommodation in place, like all other students, he or she is expected to drop courses within the academic deadlines. Dropping courses past the deadlines is only permissible when there are well documented, unforeseen circumstances (such as sudden worsening of symptoms or relapses in conditions that were previously being well managed) that impacted a student€™s ability to meet these deadlines.
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)
05692017Sapera2
Generated May 14, 2018 at 9:36:49 AM.