Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 9129
Decision Date: June 8, 2022
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Abigail Atienza
Student Email: abigail.atienza@queensu.ca
Course: PSYC 236
Term: Winter
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Abigail:
I am sorry to have read in your letter of appeal the challenges you reported in your letter of appeal and have carefully considered your request to drop PSYC 236 (W 2022) 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 circumstances and documentation indicating that the student??s performance was significantly compromised.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however your appeal outlines circumstances that are chronic in nature which you have had to manage for quite some time, and I commend you for that. The appeals process is not meant to manage an ongoing and/or chronic condition. Instead, a student should pause and evaluate their progress in courses during week 7 of term and if they have fallen behind or their health is impacting their progress, they should drop courses by the week 8 drop deadline. I strongly encourage you to once again reach out to the Queen??s counselling service which is confidential and free as I am hoping they can help support you. If you have difficulty accessing Student Wellness Services, please contact the Faculty of Arts and Science who may be able to assist you with getting an appointment with the designated Arts and Science counsellor. Additionally, you may wish to speak with your counsellor about registering with QSAS if your condition is indeed ongoing since a QSAS Advisor can put in place appropriate accommodations to address both your health and academics.
Another tool to manage your academics in addition to dropping a course by the drop deadline is our Academic Consideration protocol. A student can request short term consideration if they need more time to complete an assignment or 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
Abigail, let me remind you that if a student repeats a course, the low grade is excluded from their GPA and the higher grade is included, which would mean there would be no long term negative impact on your GPA.
I noticed that you are currently registered in 4 courses during the Summer term and I suggest you carefully monitor your success in those course and drop courses by the drop deadline if necessary. Appealing to drop summer term courses when a student has exceeded our recommended maximum of 2 courses during the summer term may not be granted.
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)
Decision Date: June 8, 2022
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Abigail Atienza
Student Email: abigail.atienza@queensu.ca
Course: PSYC 236
Term: Winter
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Abigail:
I am sorry to have read in your letter of appeal the challenges you reported in your letter of appeal and have carefully considered your request to drop PSYC 236 (W 2022) 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 circumstances and documentation indicating that the student??s performance was significantly compromised.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however your appeal outlines circumstances that are chronic in nature which you have had to manage for quite some time, and I commend you for that. The appeals process is not meant to manage an ongoing and/or chronic condition. Instead, a student should pause and evaluate their progress in courses during week 7 of term and if they have fallen behind or their health is impacting their progress, they should drop courses by the week 8 drop deadline. I strongly encourage you to once again reach out to the Queen??s counselling service which is confidential and free as I am hoping they can help support you. If you have difficulty accessing Student Wellness Services, please contact the Faculty of Arts and Science who may be able to assist you with getting an appointment with the designated Arts and Science counsellor. Additionally, you may wish to speak with your counsellor about registering with QSAS if your condition is indeed ongoing since a QSAS Advisor can put in place appropriate accommodations to address both your health and academics.
Another tool to manage your academics in addition to dropping a course by the drop deadline is our Academic Consideration protocol. A student can request short term consideration if they need more time to complete an assignment or 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
Abigail, let me remind you that if a student repeats a course, the low grade is excluded from their GPA and the higher grade is included, which would mean there would be no long term negative impact on your GPA.
I noticed that you are currently registered in 4 courses during the Summer term and I suggest you carefully monitor your success in those course and drop courses by the drop deadline if necessary. Appealing to drop summer term courses when a student has exceeded our recommended maximum of 2 courses during the summer term may not be granted.
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)
Generated June 8, 2022 at 4:35:31 PM.