Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Submission Number: 10875
Decision Date: November 27, 2023
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Sharaf Khan
Student Email: sharaf.khan@queensu.ca

Course: BCHM 218
Term: Winter
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: BCHM 218
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Laura van Staalduinen

Course: COMM 231
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Jim Hamilton

Course: STAT 263
Term: Winter
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PHGY 216
Term: Winter
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: COMM 221
Term: Fall
Year: 2022
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PSYC 370
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PHGY 216
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PHYS 118
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Anne Topper

Course: CHEM 281
Term: Summer
Year: 2022
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: John Carran

Dear Sharaf Khan:

I have carefully considered your petition to drop BCHM 218, PHGY 216, STAT 263 (W22), COMM 221 (F22), PSYC 370, PHGY 216 (W23) after the academic deadline and for Credit Standing in CHEM 281 (S22), COMM 231 (W23), BCHM 218 and PHYS 118 (S23). After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:

To grant your request to drop BCHM 218, PHGY 216, STAT 263 (W22), COMM 221 (F22), PSYC 370, PHGY 216 (W23) after the academic deadline as the documentation that you supplied confirms academic impacts over the past two years. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript. Please know that a student may not petition to remove a DR notation from a transcript.

To grant your request for Credit Standing in CHEM 281 (S22) as I acknowledge the impacts that your extenuating circumstances had on your academic ability during the 2022 Summer term. Your instructor has confirmed that you completed all of the components in this course and have met the learning outcomes. Your grade in this course will be replaced with a CR notation on your transcript.

To deny your request for Credit Standing in COMM 231 (W23), BCHM 218 and PHYS 118. As you know, Academic Appeal and Petition Regulation 1.1. states 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”. It also is clear that “the petitions and appeals process does not compensate for extenuating circumstances that the student is unable to resolve, or for which the student is unwilling to actively seek accommodations. In addition, the petitions and appeals process does not compensate for extenuating circumstances that are actively being accommodated”.

While I acknowledge the ongoing nature of your extenuating circumstances, the petition process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. Academic impacts from chronic circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through QSAS during the term.

I am sympathetic to your situation and understand that this is a difficult decision, however the information that I received from the instructors of these classes indicate that you were accommodated in various ways during the 2023 Winter and 2023 Summer terms. As you were aware of your academic struggles by this time, it was your responsibility to evaluate the impact that your circumstances had on these classes before the drop deadline 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 fair and equitable treatment of all students.

If you are concerned with the impact that these courses have on your cumulative GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating them in a future term. When repeating the exact same course code, both attempts will appear on your transcript however only the higher attempt will be included within the calculation of 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 as well as guidance on policy and procedure (queensu.ca/ombuds).

Sincerely,

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