Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 5520
Decision Date: May 1, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Savannah Hall
Student Email: 18sch1@queensu.ca
Course: PHIL 203
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Savannah Hall:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop PHIL 203 (W 2019). 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. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however finding a course uninteresting is not considered an extenuating circumstance. Further to that, your documentation refers to an illness during November and December 2018 and notes that your health had significantly improved by January 2019. Therefore the timeline of your circumstances do not line up with your documentation.
In the future, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your interest and progress in a course by week 7 of the term and if you are finding the material too difficult or have not kept up with the course work, you should drop the course by the week 8 drop deadline. The drop deadline is set at week 8 to allow students plenty of time to assess their progress in a class and withdraw without any academic penalty if they feel that they cannot keep up with the demands or have the academic background needed to successfully complete it.
This is a difficult learning experience Savannah but one that will be valuable as you proceed with the pursuit of your university degree.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at 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 the Office of the Ombudsman (www.queensu.ca/ombudsman) for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
20154201Hall
Decision Date: May 1, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Savannah Hall
Student Email: 18sch1@queensu.ca
Course: PHIL 203
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Savannah Hall:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop PHIL 203 (W 2019). 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. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however finding a course uninteresting is not considered an extenuating circumstance. Further to that, your documentation refers to an illness during November and December 2018 and notes that your health had significantly improved by January 2019. Therefore the timeline of your circumstances do not line up with your documentation.
In the future, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your interest and progress in a course by week 7 of the term and if you are finding the material too difficult or have not kept up with the course work, you should drop the course by the week 8 drop deadline. The drop deadline is set at week 8 to allow students plenty of time to assess their progress in a class and withdraw without any academic penalty if they feel that they cannot keep up with the demands or have the academic background needed to successfully complete it.
This is a difficult learning experience Savannah but one that will be valuable as you proceed with the pursuit of your university degree.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at 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 the Office of the Ombudsman (www.queensu.ca/ombudsman) for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
20154201Hall
Generated May 1, 2019 at 12:21:26 PM.