Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Number: 8399
Decision Date: January 4, 2022
Associate Dean: Jill Atkinson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Austen Lougheed
Student Email: 19ajhl@queensu.ca

Course: PHYS 118
Term: Summer
Year: 2021
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: BCHM 218
Term: Fall
Year: 2021
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline



Dear Austen:

I was sorry to read of the challenges you explained in your letter of appeal and I have carefully considered your request to drop PHYS 118 (S 2021) and BCHM 218 (F 2021). After reviewing your file I have decided the following:

1. To grant your appeal to drop PHYS 118 (S 2021). I recognize that the circumstances you outlined and the strain you had experienced during the 2020/21 academic year may have inhibited your academic success during the summer term as well.

2. To deny your request to drop BCHM 218 (F 2021). 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 and which occurred after the drop date deadline. I do not see a basis for granting the late drop of BCHM 218 since upper year students are expected to monitor their progress during week 7 and drop course in which they are not performing to their satisfaction by end of Week 8. They are also expected to use Academic Consideration if feeling overwhelmed.

Going forward I encourage you to carefully evaluate your progress in each of your courses prior to week 7 and if you have fallen behind or you are not performing in the courses to your satisfaction, you should drop courses by the week 8 drop deadline. Note that if a student repeats a course, the lower grade is excluded from their GPA and the higher grade is included.

Another tool to manage your academics in addition to dropping a course by the drop date is our Academic Consideration service. A student can request short term consideration if they need more time to complete an assignment or had to miss a class due to documented extenuating circumstances. Here is the link for information about that process:

https://www.queensu.ca/artsci/undergrad-students/academic-consideration-for-students

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 ??Board of Studies?). 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).

Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) or Rules of Procedure for USAB are Queen??s university Senate approved appeal policies. In the event that an inconsistency arises between these policies and Arts & Science regulations, SAAP and USAB will supersede.

Sincerely,


Jill Atkinson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)

20212723Lougheed