Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Submission Number: 10368
Decision Date: June 26, 2023
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Julia Eubanks
Student Email: julia.eubanks@queensu.ca

Course: LLCU213
Term: Fall
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: HLTH315
Term: Fall
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PSYC351
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PSYC353
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Dear Julia:

I have carefully considered your request to drop HLTH 315, LLCU 213 (F22), PSYC 351, and PSYC 353 (W23) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:

To grant your request to drop HLTH 315 and LLCU 213 (F22) as the documentation that you supplied confirms an exacerbation of your extenuating circumstances during the 2022 Fall term. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a ‘DR’ notation on your transcript.

To deny your request to drop PSYC 351 and PSYC 353 (W23). As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 1.1 at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that petitions and appeals are only granted where there are significantly extenuating circumstances, which would merit the waiving of a particular Faculty regulation or decision. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student’s control and debilitating to their academic performance.

I certainly empathize with your situation and understand that this is a disappointing decision, however the documentation that you supplied is dated December 10, 2022 and does not speak to the academic impacts of your extenuating circumstances during the 2023 Winter term. With the absence of documentation to confirm that an unexpected extenuating circumstance impacted your academic ability in these courses, I cannot grant your request.

I want you to know that repeating a course is a recommended strategy if you are concerned about a lower grade impacting your grade point average. When repeating the exact same course, both grades remain on your transcript but only the higher one is included within your cumulative GPA.

If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean’s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at 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 queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness and guidance on policy and procedure by visiting their website at queensu.ca/ombuds/.

Sincerely,

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