Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Number: 7140
Decision Date: January 11, 2021
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Yiran Yang
Student Email: jerry.yang@queensu.ca

Course: FILM 303
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: FILM 320
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: FILM 236
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Dear Jerry Yang:

I have carefully considered your appeal request to drop FILM 303, FILM 320 and FILM 236 (Fall 2020) after the academic deadline. After reviewing your file and the information that you presented, 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.

I am sure this is a disappointing decision Jerry, but the documentation that you provided does not indicate the timeline and severity of your circumstances nor does it confirm the impact on your Fall term courses. As a fourth-year student, the week 8 drop deadline allows for plenty of time for you to assess your progress and make the decision to drop classes if you find that you cannot keep up with their academic demands.

Please know that repeating courses is a recommended strategy if you are concerned about a lower grade impacting your grade point average. When repeating the exact same course, both grades remain on your transcript but only the higher one is included within your cumulative GPA.

Going forward, I encourage you to connect with Queens Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) to meet with an Advisor who may be able to help you manage your academics along with your ongoing health issues going forward.

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 University Ombudsperson for information about student rights and responsibilities as well as guidance on policy and procedure (www.queensu.ca/ombuds).

Sincerely,

Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)