Decision Letter
Submission Number: 11414
Decision Date: February 12, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Tigere Mutsvene
Student Email: 19tnm3@queensu.ca
Course: ANAT 216
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: BCHM 310
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: MICR 221
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Tiggy:
I have carefully considered your petition request to drop BCHM 310 (FW22/23), ANAT 216, and MICR 221 (W23) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
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 have been experiencing since September of 2021 as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied. I also recognize that you have been seeking successful treatments for several years now and that you had medication changes during the 2023 Winter term beginning in January. I have denied this request as the petition process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. The academic drop deadline for these courses was March 3, 2023, and according to your petition letter and documentation, this circumstance was not unknown to you or unexpected at that time.
Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). 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.
Tiggy, 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. 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)
Decision Date: February 12, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Tigere Mutsvene
Student Email: 19tnm3@queensu.ca
Course: ANAT 216
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: BCHM 310
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: MICR 221
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Tiggy:
I have carefully considered your petition request to drop BCHM 310 (FW22/23), ANAT 216, and MICR 221 (W23) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
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 have been experiencing since September of 2021 as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied. I also recognize that you have been seeking successful treatments for several years now and that you had medication changes during the 2023 Winter term beginning in January. I have denied this request as the petition process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. The academic drop deadline for these courses was March 3, 2023, and according to your petition letter and documentation, this circumstance was not unknown to you or unexpected at that time.
Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). 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.
Tiggy, 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. 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)
Generated February 12, 2024 at 12:03:13 PM.