Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Submission Number: 11323
Decision Date: January 22, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Lingjie Kong
Student Email: 20lk21@queensu.ca

Course: STAT 263
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: PHAR 100
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: FILM 236
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: FILM 110
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: BCHM 218
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PHGY 215
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: MATH 225
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: ANAT 100
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: PHGY 215
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: MICR 271
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: CHEM 281
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Dear Jasmine:

I have carefully considered your petition request to drop BCHM 218, FILM 236, PHAR 100, PHGY 216, STAT 263 (W23), FILM 110 (FW22/23), ANAT 100, MATH 225, PHGY 215 (S23), BCHM 102, BCHM 218, CHEM 281, BIOL 205, MICR 271, and PHGY 215 (F23) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:

To grant your request to drop BCHM 218, FILM 236, PHAR 100, PHGY 216, STAT 263 (W23), FILM 110 (FW22/23), ANAT 100, MATH 225, PHGY 215 (S23) after the academic deadline. I have granted this part of your request as the documentation that you supplied confirms the academic impacts of your extenuating circumstances and that I acknowledge that you weren’t connected with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) until the 2023 Summer term.

To deny your request to drop BCHM 102, BCHM 218, CHEM 281, BIOL 205, MICR 271, and PHGY 215 (F23). 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 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, the documentation that you supplied and your academic transcript.

I acknowledge the ongoing nature of the extenuating circumstances that you reported within your petition letter however, I want to remind you that the petition process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. I have denied this request as the extenuating circumstances that you reported in your petition letter were not unexpected during that term. Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through QSAS, which you were registered for during this term. It is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances 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,
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 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 grade will be included within the calculation of your cumulative GPA.

Jasmine, I also noticed that you are currently enrolled in 18.0 units for the 2024 Winter term. Please know that this is a very heavy course load. If you find that this is more than you can handle, please be sure to drop courses by the published deadline(s). The Academic Deadline to drop a Winter Term course is March 1, 2024.

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)