Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 7445
Decision Date: April 12, 2021
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Mykaela Toth
Student Email: 18mt11@queensu.ca
Course: ECON255
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Zan Zabjnik
Course: ECON361
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Sitian Lui
Course: ECON351
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Michael Barbor
Dear Mykaela Toth:
I am sorry to have read of the challenges you reported in your letter of appeal during the Fall term, and I understand that you are seeking Credit standing in ECON 255, ECON 361 and ECON 351 (F 2020) due to the impact those circumstances had on these courses. 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, you reported that you struggled with the circumstances related to your responsibilities as a Don well before the drop date deadline and you could have dropped these courses if the challenges seemed too significant or felt you would be unable to achieve the grades you were seeking. You also mention that you experienced challenges related to your medication but that too could have been address prior to the drop date deadline by dropping courses. In addition, the information I received your instructor in ECON 361 offers proof that you received accommodation for Assignments 2 and 3, as well as the final exam and that you were given substantial extensions on those assignments, so you have already received significant accommodation due to your circumstances. The instructor in ECON 255 advised me that you failed, by a wide margin, both Midterm 2 and the final exam and reports that the learning outcomes for the course were not met. Therefore, the grade earned in that course is an accurate reflection of your learning outcomes. And finally, the grade earned in ECON 351 appears to also be an accurate reflection of the learning outcomes met based on the input received from that instructor. I cannot therefore in good conscience adjust the grades earned in these courses.
I did review your documentation and am pleased to see that you are reaching out for help from our Student Wellness Services and I suggest that going forward, 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 or 8 of the term. If you find that you have fallen behind in your attendance, readings or assignments, it is your responsibility to drop by the end of week 8.
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)
20132353Toth1
Decision Date: April 12, 2021
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Mykaela Toth
Student Email: 18mt11@queensu.ca
Course: ECON255
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Zan Zabjnik
Course: ECON361
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Sitian Lui
Course: ECON351
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Michael Barbor
Dear Mykaela Toth:
I am sorry to have read of the challenges you reported in your letter of appeal during the Fall term, and I understand that you are seeking Credit standing in ECON 255, ECON 361 and ECON 351 (F 2020) due to the impact those circumstances had on these courses. 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, you reported that you struggled with the circumstances related to your responsibilities as a Don well before the drop date deadline and you could have dropped these courses if the challenges seemed too significant or felt you would be unable to achieve the grades you were seeking. You also mention that you experienced challenges related to your medication but that too could have been address prior to the drop date deadline by dropping courses. In addition, the information I received your instructor in ECON 361 offers proof that you received accommodation for Assignments 2 and 3, as well as the final exam and that you were given substantial extensions on those assignments, so you have already received significant accommodation due to your circumstances. The instructor in ECON 255 advised me that you failed, by a wide margin, both Midterm 2 and the final exam and reports that the learning outcomes for the course were not met. Therefore, the grade earned in that course is an accurate reflection of your learning outcomes. And finally, the grade earned in ECON 351 appears to also be an accurate reflection of the learning outcomes met based on the input received from that instructor. I cannot therefore in good conscience adjust the grades earned in these courses.
I did review your documentation and am pleased to see that you are reaching out for help from our Student Wellness Services and I suggest that going forward, 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 or 8 of the term. If you find that you have fallen behind in your attendance, readings or assignments, it is your responsibility to drop by the end of week 8.
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)
20132353Toth1
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