Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 5580
Decision Date: June 4, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Matthew Mullin
Student Email: 16mkm5@queensu.ca
Course: ECON 232
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: ECON 250
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: ECON 222
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Matthew Mullin:
I was sorry to read of the challenges you outline in your letter of appeal where you are requesting to drop ECON 232, ECON 250 and ECON 222 (W 2019) late. After carefully reviewing your appeal, 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 you have been unable to provide documentation which supports the extenuating circumstances you have outlined. You note in your letter of appeal that you met with a counselor at the Student Wellness Centre and we had requested that you provide documentation from that office, but have been unable to do so.
Given the challenges you outline, if you are able to provide supporting documentation that confirms the timeline, severity and impact your circumstances had on this course, you may submit it to asc.appeals@queensu.ca within 21 days of receiving this decision and I will be willing to review your appeal again with the new documentation included. Please indicate in the subject line of your appeal that this is an appeal amendment to Appeal 5580.
In the future, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your 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 Matthew but one that will be valuable as you proceed with the pursuit of your university degree. Let me remind you that if you repeat a course of the same number and name, the grade from the first attempt will be excluded from your GPA, and the higher grade earned from the second attempt will be included in your GPA.
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)
20046839Mullin
Decision Date: June 4, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Matthew Mullin
Student Email: 16mkm5@queensu.ca
Course: ECON 232
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: ECON 250
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: ECON 222
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Matthew Mullin:
I was sorry to read of the challenges you outline in your letter of appeal where you are requesting to drop ECON 232, ECON 250 and ECON 222 (W 2019) late. After carefully reviewing your appeal, 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 you have been unable to provide documentation which supports the extenuating circumstances you have outlined. You note in your letter of appeal that you met with a counselor at the Student Wellness Centre and we had requested that you provide documentation from that office, but have been unable to do so.
Given the challenges you outline, if you are able to provide supporting documentation that confirms the timeline, severity and impact your circumstances had on this course, you may submit it to asc.appeals@queensu.ca within 21 days of receiving this decision and I will be willing to review your appeal again with the new documentation included. Please indicate in the subject line of your appeal that this is an appeal amendment to Appeal 5580.
In the future, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your 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 Matthew but one that will be valuable as you proceed with the pursuit of your university degree. Let me remind you that if you repeat a course of the same number and name, the grade from the first attempt will be excluded from your GPA, and the higher grade earned from the second attempt will be included in your GPA.
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)
20046839Mullin
Generated June 4, 2019 at 2:12:07 PM.