Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Submission Number: 11195
Decision Date: December 20, 2023
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Kaleo Place
Student Email: 18kcp@queensu.ca

Course: ECON 371
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PHAR 100
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Request an extension of an incomplete grade
Instructor: Mandy Turner

Dear Kaleo:

I have carefully considered your petition request to drop ECON 371 (W23) after the academic deadline and for an Extension of an Incomplete Grade in PHAR 100 (S23). After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:

To grant your request for an Extension of an Incomplete Grade in PHAR 100 (S23) as the documentation that you submitted confirms that you were unable to complete your academic responsibilities between June 2 and July 14, 2023. Your instructor is willing to grade the outstanding work at this time so please connect with Instructor Turner at turner.m@queensu.ca to make these arrangements.

To deny your request to drop ECON 371 (W23) after the academic deadline. As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulations 1.1. 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. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional."

I am sympathetic to your situation and understand that this is a difficult decision, however, I want you to know that I considered this request very thoroughly. In making this decision, I reviewed your Petition Letter, your transcript, and the two pieces of documentation that you supplied dated March 18 and July 18.

I acknowledge the multiple extenuating circumstances that you had experienced during the 2023 Winter term as reported in your petition letter however, I have denied this request as you did not supply documentation that suggests any academic impacts from these circumstances on this course. The documentation that you supplied suggests impacts during the 2022 Winter term and the 2023 Summer terms and does not speak to the 2023 Winter term.

Going forward, if you experience an unexpected extenuating circumstance prior to the drop deadline of a term, I want to remind you that it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact on their classes during week 7 of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by week 8 of term. The drop deadlines, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.

If you are concerned with the impact that this course has on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating it in a future term. When repeating the exact same course code, both attempts will appear on your transcript however, only the higher grade 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 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)