Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 5598
Decision Date: May 6, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Tongbo Dang
Student Email: 15td9@queensu.ca
Course: Math212
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Tongbo Dang,
I am sorry to have read that you have been struggling this winter term with some health issues. Based on the issues you have outlined in your appeal letter, I have carefully considered your request to drop MATH 212 (W 2019), I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations stress that these rules will only be waived under extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students€™ records without clear and compelling documentation of their extenuating circumstances.
Documentation is a key component to an appeal as it verifies the extenuating circumstances that has been reported. The documentation you submitted is not sufficient as it does not verify the timeline of your circumstances. Although you may not have been able to write your exam in April, you could have requested an Incomplete (IN) grade from your Instructor. The absence of your instructor is not a valid reason not to defer your exam to a later date. I am sure this information is disappointing, however I should remind you that when student repeats a course, the low grade is excluded from their grade point average and the higher grade is included which would mean there would be no long term negative impact on your GPA.
The appeals process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. Instead, students should register with QSAS and work with an accommodation advisor to manage their academics. I also recommend that you meet with an Academic Advisor within Student Services to go over your academic plan moving forward as you may want to consider taking a lighter course load to help you be more successful in your courses while you are working on managing your health condition.
In the future, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your progress in a course by week 7 of the term and if you have not been keeping 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.
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)
10211676Dang_5598
Decision Date: May 6, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Tongbo Dang
Student Email: 15td9@queensu.ca
Course: Math212
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Tongbo Dang,
I am sorry to have read that you have been struggling this winter term with some health issues. Based on the issues you have outlined in your appeal letter, I have carefully considered your request to drop MATH 212 (W 2019), I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations stress that these rules will only be waived under extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students€™ records without clear and compelling documentation of their extenuating circumstances.
Documentation is a key component to an appeal as it verifies the extenuating circumstances that has been reported. The documentation you submitted is not sufficient as it does not verify the timeline of your circumstances. Although you may not have been able to write your exam in April, you could have requested an Incomplete (IN) grade from your Instructor. The absence of your instructor is not a valid reason not to defer your exam to a later date. I am sure this information is disappointing, however I should remind you that when student repeats a course, the low grade is excluded from their grade point average and the higher grade is included which would mean there would be no long term negative impact on your GPA.
The appeals process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. Instead, students should register with QSAS and work with an accommodation advisor to manage their academics. I also recommend that you meet with an Academic Advisor within Student Services to go over your academic plan moving forward as you may want to consider taking a lighter course load to help you be more successful in your courses while you are working on managing your health condition.
In the future, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your progress in a course by week 7 of the term and if you have not been keeping 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.
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)
10211676Dang_5598
Generated May 6, 2019 at 1:41:55 PM.