Decision Letter
Submission Number: 10045
Decision Date: March 13, 2023
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: zahra matcheswalla
Student Email: 19zam5@queensu.ca
Course: HIST 200
Term: Summer
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST 260
Term: Summer
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Zahra Matcheswalla:
I have carefully considered your petition to drop HIST 200 and HIST 260 (S22) 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 am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision however, the documentation that you supplied confirms that the academic impacts of your extenuating circumstances began well before the 2022 Summer term began, specifically in January, according to the documentation that you supplied from Student Wellness Services. I want to remind you of the letter that you were sent in May of 2022 regarding your academic standing and the requirement to withdraw. You were provided an opportunity to drop your Summer term courses without penalty at that time. I acknowledge that you had sought the support of your family during the Summer term and that you were engaged in therapy however, it was your responsibility to assess your progress in your courses and drop them before the posted deadlines. 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.
If you are concerned with the impact that your grades in these courses have on your cumulative GPA, you may want to consider repeating them. When a student repeats the same course code, both attempts will appear on their transcript however only the higher attempt will be included within the calculation of their 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 https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness and guidance on policy and procedure by visiting their website at https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/.
Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policyE and Rules of Procedure for USAB https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policy/usab-rules-of-procedure 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.??
Yours sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: March 13, 2023
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: zahra matcheswalla
Student Email: 19zam5@queensu.ca
Course: HIST 200
Term: Summer
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST 260
Term: Summer
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Zahra Matcheswalla:
I have carefully considered your petition to drop HIST 200 and HIST 260 (S22) 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 am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision however, the documentation that you supplied confirms that the academic impacts of your extenuating circumstances began well before the 2022 Summer term began, specifically in January, according to the documentation that you supplied from Student Wellness Services. I want to remind you of the letter that you were sent in May of 2022 regarding your academic standing and the requirement to withdraw. You were provided an opportunity to drop your Summer term courses without penalty at that time. I acknowledge that you had sought the support of your family during the Summer term and that you were engaged in therapy however, it was your responsibility to assess your progress in your courses and drop them before the posted deadlines. 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.
If you are concerned with the impact that your grades in these courses have on your cumulative GPA, you may want to consider repeating them. When a student repeats the same course code, both attempts will appear on their transcript however only the higher attempt will be included within the calculation of their 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 https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness and guidance on policy and procedure by visiting their website at https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/.
Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policyE and Rules of Procedure for USAB https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policy/usab-rules-of-procedure 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.??
Yours sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated March 13, 2023 at 2:23:33 PM.