Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 5607
Decision Date: May 8, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: William Melanson-O'Neill
Student Email: 16wmon@queensu.ca
Course: CISC 332
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear William Melanson-O€™Neill,
I am sorry to have read that you have been struggling this winter term with your mental health. Based on the issues you have outlined in your appeal letter, I have carefully considered your request to drop CISC 332 (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.
While I can understand that you have had some challenges this term, you could have submitted a request for Academic Consideration to help you complete the course work in this course €“ but you did not. Also, your rationale that you could not connect with your group work partners, and that you were unaware of the appeal system is weak. Therefore, I cannot grant your request. This may be a disappointing decision, but let me remind you that if a 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.
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. I encourage you to reach out to Queen€™s Accessibility Services (QSAS) in Student Wellness to explore if you qualify for an accommodation that may help you manage your academics along with your health related challenges.
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)
20027959Melanson-O€™Neill_5607
Decision Date: May 8, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: William Melanson-O'Neill
Student Email: 16wmon@queensu.ca
Course: CISC 332
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear William Melanson-O€™Neill,
I am sorry to have read that you have been struggling this winter term with your mental health. Based on the issues you have outlined in your appeal letter, I have carefully considered your request to drop CISC 332 (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.
While I can understand that you have had some challenges this term, you could have submitted a request for Academic Consideration to help you complete the course work in this course €“ but you did not. Also, your rationale that you could not connect with your group work partners, and that you were unaware of the appeal system is weak. Therefore, I cannot grant your request. This may be a disappointing decision, but let me remind you that if a 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.
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. I encourage you to reach out to Queen€™s Accessibility Services (QSAS) in Student Wellness to explore if you qualify for an accommodation that may help you manage your academics along with your health related challenges.
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)
20027959Melanson-O€™Neill_5607
Generated May 8, 2019 at 4:32:18 PM.