Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Appeal Number: 9031
Decision Date: May 24, 2022
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Vinessa McPherson
Student Email: v.mcpherson@queensu.ca

Course: DEVS 361
Term: Fall
Year: 2021
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: FILM 303
Term: Fall
Year: 2021
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: DEVS 280
Term: Fall
Year: 2021
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Dear Vinessa McPherson:

I have carefully considered your appeal to drop DEVS 280, DEVS 361 and FILM 303 (F21) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, 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 their control.

I acknowledge that you have been experiencing ongoing health issues since June of 2021 and I want to commend you on registering with Queen??s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) at that time. I am sympathetic to your situation and understand that this is a disappointing decision however, the documentation that you supplied confirms that your extenuating circumstances were ongoing before the academic drop deadline of the Fall term. Your Letter of Accommodation also suggests to me that you were being accommodated during the 2021 Fall term. I want you to know that the appeals process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition as it is the student??s responsibility to connect with their QSAS Advisor if their accommodations are no longer meeting their academic needs.

Going forward, I suggest that you continue to work with your QSAS Advisor who can help you best manage the impacts of your health on your academics. I would also suggest that you take time to assess the impacts of extenuating circumstances on your academics during week 7 of each term. If you have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, you should drop the course by week 8 of the term. The drop deadlines, as they have been outlined in the ??Important Dates? section on the Arts and Science web page, have been established by the Faculty of Arts and Science to ensure a fair and equitable treatment of all students.

Please know that repeating courses is a recommended strategy for students who are concerned about their GPA. When repeating a course, both attempts will appear on your transcript but only the higher grade will be included within the calculation of 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 ??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,

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