Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 5994
Decision Date: September 5, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Yekeen Abu-Shiraz
Student Email: 16yas1@queensu.ca
Course: PHGY 214
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2018
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: R John MacLeod
Dear Yekeen Abu-Shiraz:
I am sorry to have read that you have experienced challenges which you believe impacted your studies and that you are seeking Credit standing in PHGY 214 (FW 2017/18). After reviewing your appeal letter and the information we have received from your instructors, I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, Academic Regulation 10.3.2. states that, Credit standing in a course is reserved for situations in which a student, who has completed all of the work in the course including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade in the course, but because of illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected, normally a grade of C or lower.€ Credit standing is only granted in cases where there are well documented and unforeseen extenuating circumstances outside of a student€™s control. 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 extenuating circumstances beyond his or her control.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however, there is no clear indication as to why this course was impacted by your circumstances more so than your other courses. You mention in your appeal letter that this course was impacted by your circumstances due to the heavy examination assessments but most courses throughout your undergraduate degree have included examinations. In addition, there were several examinations throughout this course with an October mid-term, December exam and February midterm being completed prior to the March 1st drop date which gave you plenty of time to assess your progress and the impact the heavy examination assessment was having on this course. If you felt that your anxiety was impacting your performance, you had plenty of time to drop this course.
Going forward, I suggest that you inform yourself of the academic regulations concerning deadlines as they are outlined in the Important Dates section on the Arts and Science web page and assess your progress in your courses or discuss your options with an Academic Advisor during week 7 of the term. It is your responsibility to drop courses by week 8 of the term if necessary.
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. The Office of the Ombudsman can also assist students with advice about policies and procedures. You may contact the Ombudsman at ombuds@queensu.ca or by phone at 613-533-6495.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
20028524Abu-Shiraz
Decision Date: September 5, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Yekeen Abu-Shiraz
Student Email: 16yas1@queensu.ca
Course: PHGY 214
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2018
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: R John MacLeod
Dear Yekeen Abu-Shiraz:
I am sorry to have read that you have experienced challenges which you believe impacted your studies and that you are seeking Credit standing in PHGY 214 (FW 2017/18). After reviewing your appeal letter and the information we have received from your instructors, I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, Academic Regulation 10.3.2. states that, Credit standing in a course is reserved for situations in which a student, who has completed all of the work in the course including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade in the course, but because of illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected, normally a grade of C or lower.€ Credit standing is only granted in cases where there are well documented and unforeseen extenuating circumstances outside of a student€™s control. 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 extenuating circumstances beyond his or her control.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however, there is no clear indication as to why this course was impacted by your circumstances more so than your other courses. You mention in your appeal letter that this course was impacted by your circumstances due to the heavy examination assessments but most courses throughout your undergraduate degree have included examinations. In addition, there were several examinations throughout this course with an October mid-term, December exam and February midterm being completed prior to the March 1st drop date which gave you plenty of time to assess your progress and the impact the heavy examination assessment was having on this course. If you felt that your anxiety was impacting your performance, you had plenty of time to drop this course.
Going forward, I suggest that you inform yourself of the academic regulations concerning deadlines as they are outlined in the Important Dates section on the Arts and Science web page and assess your progress in your courses or discuss your options with an Academic Advisor during week 7 of the term. It is your responsibility to drop courses by week 8 of the term if necessary.
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. The Office of the Ombudsman can also assist students with advice about policies and procedures. You may contact the Ombudsman at ombuds@queensu.ca or by phone at 613-533-6495.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
20028524Abu-Shiraz
Generated September 5, 2019 at 12:51:06 PM.