Decision Letter
Submission Number: 10638
Decision Date: August 18, 2023
Associate Dean:
Student Name: Gunin Singh Bhatia
Student Email: 21gsb9@queensu.ca
Course: ANAT100
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: COGS100
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Gunin,
On Tuesday, 15 August, the Board of Studies reviewed your appeal of Associate Dean (Academic) Jenn Stephenson’s decision to deny your petition to drop COGS 100 (Winter 2023) after the deadline and for CR Standing in ANAT 100. (Note that your original petition was to drop ANAT 100 after the deadline, but as it is not possible to drop a course you have passed, the Associate Dean saw CR standing in this course as the most viable alternative.) Board members present that day were Scott-Morgan Straker (Chair), Christopher Ferrall (Faculty member), James Mingo (Faculty member), and Amaiya Walters (Student representative). Pamela Briand (Arts and Science resource staff) was also present. Upon careful consideration of the written submissions contained in your file, the Board voted to deny your appeal.
The Board acknowledges that you made a mistake for which you accept responsibility, and that this mistake had serious consequences for you. It is because of these consequences that your petition to drop PHIL 259 (Fall 2022) was successful: the documentation you provided establishes extenuating circumstances that affected your ability to function academically during the Fall Term 2022. However, this documentation is not sufficient to support your petition with regard to the Winter 2023 courses. Your appeal letter states that you were experiencing depression during the Winter term, but the form you provided from Student Wellness Services states only that you were experiencing moderate impairment from October 2022, and that you began receiving treatment in June 2023. It does not establish that you were unable to drop your courses by the published deadline. By your own account, you underestimated the difficulty of COGS 100 and ANAT 100 and didn’t realize the extent to which you were struggling in these courses until it was too late. As the Associate Dean’s decision letter states, it is the responsibility of all students to monitor their progress in their courses, and to drop courses by the published deadline. Only when there are compelling extenuating circumstances, supported by documentation, can that rule be waived, and the documentation you provided does not meet that standard. With regard to CR standing in ANAT 100, the instructor notes that while you met the learning outcomes (and hence passed the course) you did not complete all assignments in the course; your form from Student Wellness Services does not explain why you could complete some assignments but not others, and therefore does not establish that CR standing is warranted. Therefore, the Board agreed that the Associate Dean’s decision in both cases was reasonable.
The appeals process is intended for acute, unforeseeable circumstances that affect a student’s performance or that prevent a student from dropping a course by the deadline. Your personal statement and your form from Student Wellness Services acknowledge that your struggle is ongoing, starting in October 2022 and continuing into 2023. If you struggled academically because of your circumstances in Fall 2022, it is foreseeable that those same circumstances might cause you to struggle in Winter 2023; the University has other mechanisms that are more appropriate for dealing with ongoing circumstances, mechanisms such as Academic Accommodations or Consideration. The appeals process is not the appropriate one to use in cases such as this, because students with ongoing challenges are expected to take steps to seek support. Fortunately, your success in retaking COGS 100 in Summer 2023 erases any negative effect on your GPA of the Winter Term course, and you still have plenty of time at Queen’s to demonstrate that your grades for Winter 2023 are not indicative of your ability.
In April 2021, the Queen’s University Senate released a new appeals policy, which you can read here: https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policy. According to this policy, this is the last step in the appeal process for this matter, since your ability to progress to the next level is not affected by this decision.
I understand that this decision comes as a disappointment; nevertheless, on behalf of the Board of Studies I wish you good health and success in your studies.
Sincerely,
Scott-Morgan Straker
Chair, Board of Studies
Decision Date: August 18, 2023
Associate Dean:
Student Name: Gunin Singh Bhatia
Student Email: 21gsb9@queensu.ca
Course: ANAT100
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: COGS100
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Gunin,
On Tuesday, 15 August, the Board of Studies reviewed your appeal of Associate Dean (Academic) Jenn Stephenson’s decision to deny your petition to drop COGS 100 (Winter 2023) after the deadline and for CR Standing in ANAT 100. (Note that your original petition was to drop ANAT 100 after the deadline, but as it is not possible to drop a course you have passed, the Associate Dean saw CR standing in this course as the most viable alternative.) Board members present that day were Scott-Morgan Straker (Chair), Christopher Ferrall (Faculty member), James Mingo (Faculty member), and Amaiya Walters (Student representative). Pamela Briand (Arts and Science resource staff) was also present. Upon careful consideration of the written submissions contained in your file, the Board voted to deny your appeal.
The Board acknowledges that you made a mistake for which you accept responsibility, and that this mistake had serious consequences for you. It is because of these consequences that your petition to drop PHIL 259 (Fall 2022) was successful: the documentation you provided establishes extenuating circumstances that affected your ability to function academically during the Fall Term 2022. However, this documentation is not sufficient to support your petition with regard to the Winter 2023 courses. Your appeal letter states that you were experiencing depression during the Winter term, but the form you provided from Student Wellness Services states only that you were experiencing moderate impairment from October 2022, and that you began receiving treatment in June 2023. It does not establish that you were unable to drop your courses by the published deadline. By your own account, you underestimated the difficulty of COGS 100 and ANAT 100 and didn’t realize the extent to which you were struggling in these courses until it was too late. As the Associate Dean’s decision letter states, it is the responsibility of all students to monitor their progress in their courses, and to drop courses by the published deadline. Only when there are compelling extenuating circumstances, supported by documentation, can that rule be waived, and the documentation you provided does not meet that standard. With regard to CR standing in ANAT 100, the instructor notes that while you met the learning outcomes (and hence passed the course) you did not complete all assignments in the course; your form from Student Wellness Services does not explain why you could complete some assignments but not others, and therefore does not establish that CR standing is warranted. Therefore, the Board agreed that the Associate Dean’s decision in both cases was reasonable.
The appeals process is intended for acute, unforeseeable circumstances that affect a student’s performance or that prevent a student from dropping a course by the deadline. Your personal statement and your form from Student Wellness Services acknowledge that your struggle is ongoing, starting in October 2022 and continuing into 2023. If you struggled academically because of your circumstances in Fall 2022, it is foreseeable that those same circumstances might cause you to struggle in Winter 2023; the University has other mechanisms that are more appropriate for dealing with ongoing circumstances, mechanisms such as Academic Accommodations or Consideration. The appeals process is not the appropriate one to use in cases such as this, because students with ongoing challenges are expected to take steps to seek support. Fortunately, your success in retaking COGS 100 in Summer 2023 erases any negative effect on your GPA of the Winter Term course, and you still have plenty of time at Queen’s to demonstrate that your grades for Winter 2023 are not indicative of your ability.
In April 2021, the Queen’s University Senate released a new appeals policy, which you can read here: https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policy. According to this policy, this is the last step in the appeal process for this matter, since your ability to progress to the next level is not affected by this decision.
I understand that this decision comes as a disappointment; nevertheless, on behalf of the Board of Studies I wish you good health and success in your studies.
Sincerely,
Scott-Morgan Straker
Chair, Board of Studies
Generated August 18, 2023 at 1:59:00 PM.